Author: Staff Reporter

Yesterday I approached Rayners in the industrial area looking to buy sacks.  The plan was to sew sacks together to make a (temporary) ceiling for a shack in Hlalani which my gardener has built for himself. Not only were the staff of Rayners friendly and helpful but supervisor, John Tarr, GAVE me the sacks and not only that, instucted two of the workers to SEW them for us. This was done with utmost efficiency and good will by Sonwabo Williams and Andile Booi. And the end result:  a sheet of strong double layer sack fabric 3.4 x 3.4 neatly folded…

Following the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) decision to temporarily suspend SA Express’ operations, contingency plans and a variety of avenues of assistance have been put in place to accommodate passengers affected by this grounding, the airline has announced. Passengers with SA Express tickets, who are booked on certain routes would be accommodated on their strategic partners’ flights including SAA, Mango Airlines, and SA Airlink, or on alternative carriers, where possible. The airline urges passengers whose flights have been re-accommodated to proceed to check-in counters at least three hours prior to their scheduled departure to ensure a smooth re-accommodation. “SAA,…

The annual Diocesan School for Girls/St Andrew’s College Youth Music Festival got off to an excellent start on Tuesday 15 May with two excellent choral concerts. The junior choir festival included five choirs from DSG Junior, Graeme College, Kingswood College, and Victoria Primary School and had some charming performances which bode well for the future of choral singing in Grahamstown. In the evening, there were seven choirs performing in the senior choir festival. St Andrew’s, DSG, Graeme, and Victoria Girls’ High School (VGHS) were very well-represented. There highlights included a VG tribute to Nelson Mandela and energetic performances of both…

ABUNDANT LIFE WORSHIP CENTRE – Kuyasa School Hall 10.30am Morning Service – Pastor NC Julius 079 496 4256 AFM OF SA – God’s Glory Assembly – Indoor Sports Centre – Ext 6 9am Youth and Sunday School Services 10am Morning Service Pastor B.L. Kutu 082 828 6194 AGS/AFM EL SHADDAI (Former AOG Church, Blackbeard Street) 10am Morning Service Pastor Pieter Swartz 082 414 7711 Elders: Dennis Goliath 073 272 8112 Ronnie Scheepers 083 610 2926 BODY OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL RAINBOW MINISTRIES – Makana Hall 9am Children Ministries 9.30am Intercession 10am Sunday Service Apostolic MM Mngcongo 071 906 4286 BOWKER STREET…

Rhodes University students studying Applied Drama and Theatre put the community engagement to its test on Saturday, 12 May 2018. In real time, at the National English Literary Museum (NELM), the memory of a time in history, written in a play Sophiatown was returned to. Nine students facilitated a workshop for more than fifty Nombulelo Secondary School grade 11 learners. Sophiatown is a prescribed setwork for English First Additional Language. It is written by the Junction Theatre Avenue and the students applied their theatrical skills and techniques to teach and learn about Sophiatown (the place and play), “creating a teaching…

Awareness of media ethics in the South African press is growing, the Press Council of South Africa heard at its quarterly meeting this month. Executive Director Latiefa Mobara was reporting on work for the Council in the first four months of 2018 by herself, Press Ombud Johan Retief, Public Advocate Joe Latakgomo and Chair of Appeals, Judge Bernard Ngoepe. “The office received 175 complaints during the period,” Mobara said. “Most were able to be resolved by mediation facilitated by Joe Latakgomo, the Public Advocate. He had received 100% compliance from editors enabling speedy, amicable resolution of most complaints. “Only 23 were referred to Press Ombud, Johan…

Police found a massive stash of dagga in the bushes near Coega around 8pm on Saturday night 19 May 2018, following a tip-off. SAPS spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said Motherwell Cluster Operational Command Centre members discovered 13 black bags of dagga in the bushes next to Coega Road with total weight of over 300kg and an estimated street value of more than R600 000. Motherwell Cluster Commander, Major General Dawie Rabie, applauded the find and said 300kg of dagga off the streets put a dent in the drug traffickers’ operations and helped ensure a safer environment for communities.

The Diageo Empowerment Trust South Africa (DETSA) is extending opportunities to ambitious sorghum farmers in KwaZulu-Natal specifically Danhauzer, Umzimkhulu and Vryheid and the Eastern Cape (Mqekwezeni, Ngendese, and Tabase) who would like to supply the United National Breweries. The opportunity is open to farmers who qualify as Exempt Micro Enterprises (EMEs) or Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSEs) in terms of the official Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes. “DETSA aims to stimulate community economies, create local jobs and grow the national economy. To do this, we aim to create a new cadre of successful black entrepreneurs and integrate them into the mainstream economy,” explains Sinethemba Mafanya, Manager, Diageo…

Fifteen bags of abalone valued at nearly R1 million were handed over to the authorities after police stopped and searched a bakkie on Marine Drive, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, on Friday 18 May. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said the PE K9 unit received information about a suspicious bakkie in Marine Drive and, with the assistance of a private security company, held observation on the vehicle. “The vehicle was stopped by police and on searching it, nothing suspicious or illegal could be found inside,” Govender said. “The driver was allowed to leave.” K9 members then combed the immediate area and in nearby…

Five suspected perfume robbers were caught after a high-speed chase less than two hours after armed robbers raided a Port Alfred chain store’s perfume counter today. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said well-coordinated teamwork between various police units and services led to the arrest of five suspects in this morning’s robbery. Govender said two men walked into the store around 9.15am today, approaching two assistants for help with perfumes. “They allegedly informed the assistants that they had come to rob the store,” Govender said. Two more people entered the shop and asked the assistants to put the perfumes in the…