Author: Sue Maclennan

Nombulelo Khathani and her mother Nontsikilelo Mancam lost everything except the clothes they were wearing in a fire that gutted their corrugated iron home in Raglan Road late on Thursday afternoon, 29 July. The fire started at the electricity meter box, Khathani said. Destroyed in the blaze were a cupboard, and the family’s beds and bedding, a sofa, clothing and food. Ward 10 Councillor Luyanda Sakata, who visited the family afdter the incident, asked for GMDirect’s assistance in appealing for help for the family. “This is the second time it’s happened to them,” Sakata said. “The last time Gift of…

A group of concerned citizens, officials and city leaders met recently at the Ethiopian Episcopal Church in Raglan Road to discuss how to ensure Makhanda stays safe in light of the recent violence and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The meeting of a range of Makhanda stakeholders was called out of concern about the violence and looting that tore apart areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng earlier this month. It was co-chaired by Archbishop Nkosinathi Ngesi of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church and non-racial sport activist Phumzile Adam. The group is expected to issue a statement soon. Adam said, “Our aim is to…

Elizabeth Davies was born in Evans Street and has lived there all her life. In the late 80s, when she was a child, they used to swim in the river. But around 20 years ago, it started to get too dirty to even wade in. Elizabeth was heartbroken at the progressive degradation of the river and its surrounds. Enter the River Rescuers. At the beginning of 2020, Helen Holleman started cleaning up the river at the Jarvis Street bridge, and so River Rescue started, born of a dream to make the rivers safe places for children to play. “In about…

The Department of Health’s Makana Subdistrict vaccination team has achieved over 31% of its Covid-19 vaccination target and acting head Mohamed Docrat says if they continue at this rate, they will reach 50% of their vaccination target for Makana. Area based vaccination drives are continuing in Makhanda, with 1200 people vaccinated in two days this week at the Joza Indoor Sport Centre. Vaccination campaigns have also been conducted at the Extension 9, Albany Road Recreation and BB Zondani halls and on Friday 22 July, vaccinations move to the Foley’s Ground sport centre in Hlalani. Settlers Hospital and Clicks continue to…

A brand-new water tanker rolled into town on Monday 19 July to serve the community of Makhanda. The 34 500-litre tanker is here through a partnership between Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) and Gift of the Givers. It will be a welcome boost to the three-tanker fleet that Makana currently mostly uses to service the communities of Fort Brown, Manley Flats, Salem, Alicedale and various informal settlements. The new tanker will be dedicated to providing relief for Makhanda. “This is truly a lifesaver,” said Ramie Xonxa, who heads the Makana Council’s infrastructure portfolio committee. “During the worst crises, we have…

Vulnerable communities are likely to be severely affected by extremely cold temperatures in Makhanda and other parts of the Eastern Cape. Communities along the coast between Plettenberg Bay and the Fish River are also at risk from flooding over the next three days, Garth Sampson of the South African Weather service’s Port Elizabeth office says. In Makhanda, the next three days will be very cold. A week of very cold temperatures is expected across most of South Africa from Tuesday, 20 July 2021, lasting well into the coming weekend. The cold temperatures will be due to a succession of cold…

A new party called the Makana Citizens Front is set to contest the upcoming local government elections in Makana. Party representatives this week sent their application for registration to the Electoral Commission. This comes in the same week that the Electoral Commission announced the opening of a new online voter registration facility. The formalisation of the Makana Citizens Front comes after ongoing discussions between various civil society groupings. An interim management committee was elected at a meeting at Fingo Square on 27 June. “This is a historic moment for the people of this city,” said UPM leader Ayanda Kota. “We…

Wednesday night was Makhanda’s coldest this year. And in several other places in the region too, according to SA Weather’s Garth Sampson. “Last night was the coldest night in places over the Eastern Cape for the YEAR (2021) thus far,” he said this morning. Port Elizabeth     1.0 C      (Previous 1.8) Uitenhage           -1.2        (Previous -0.7) Addo                     -2.1        (Previous -1.5) Middleton              -6.8        (Previous -5.8) Q/T/Komani        -6.0        (Previous -3.1) In his weekly report, Makhanda weather watcher Jim Cambray said, “Only 0.1mm rain/dew and temperatures ranged from 1.3-26C… so last night was our coldest night.” Molteno, close to Buffelsfontein which recently registered minus-17, shows…

Police say the motive is unknown for an incident in the early hours of Monday 12 July that left the burnt-out shell of a freight truck abandoned opposite the old Extension 7 graveyard in Makhanda. The driver was unharmed. Parts of the truck, destroyed beyond repair, were still burning around 10am on Monday and children – apparently dispatched by their parents – were salvaging large metal cages from the wreck. A source explained that the truck is used to transport motor vehicle parts: the cages are containers for those parts. While one source said the truck had been empty, another…

Wind speeds in Makhanda today of up to 46km/h will be followed by rain tonight, according to the South African Weather Service. Up to 3mm is predicted for 8pm today, with another 5mm predicted for Tuesday 13 July, the start of a run of cold weather, with maximum temperatures of 10, 12 and 18 predicted for the next three days. WeatherSA has warned of gale-force winds, an extreme cold front, snow, extremely high waves, and rainfall leading to flooding in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape from today, until Friday, 16 July 2021. Below is WeatherSA’s seven-day synopsis,…