Author: Sue Maclennan

The Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) says citizens are the winners in a high court ruling this morning that declared the municipality invalid and ordered it to be put under full administration. In the first judgment of its kind in South Africa, Judge Igna Stretch has ordered that the Eastern Cape’s Provincial Executive dissolve Makana Municipality and appoint an administrator until a new Council is elected. The Mayor and Municipal Manager in their personal capacities face a punitive cost order, along with various national and provincial government entities. Judge Thembinkosi Malusi, who handed down the judgment in the High Court in…

“We’re happy when we are counted among those areas that are incident free when it comes to initiation,” said Local Initiation Forum co-ordinator Ramie Xonxa. The country was horrified at the deaths of 23 initiates in other parts of the Eastern Cape during December and Grocott’s Mail asked the councillor about the welfare of local abakhwetha. Xonxa confirmed this week that all but one of the initiates were back home and that no injuries or deaths were reported among the 364 boys undergoing traditional initiation in Makana Municipality during the December 2019 initiation season. The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance…

On Sunday 5 January, around 60 motorcyclists will roar into Makhanda. Today, Saturday 4 January, Day 3 of the Women Riders World Relay’s South African leg, around 100 women rode their bikes from Blythedale Beach on the KZN North Coast to Matatiele on the eastern edge of the Eastern Cape. Tonight, Grocott’s Mail finally got to chat to WRWR SA ambassador Rialette van Niekerk. It had been a heavy day. “We got hailed on heavily between Port Shepstone and Kokstad and we’re covered in bruises. It looks like we’ve just come out of a piantball park!” Van Niekerk said. Added…

Heartbroken and traumatised after four-year-old Lisakhona Bouwer died in the village playground last weekend, the Riebeeck East community is demanding action. Lisakhona was crushed by playground equipment and died at the scene. Residents say they have been raising the alarm about broken equipment in Riebeeck East’s playpark for years. They’ve called for Makana Municipality to immediately dismantle and remove broken swings, jungle gyms, slides and roundabouts that they say are a safety hazard to children. The Bouwer family lives in KwaNonzamo, the township north of the main village. When Grocott’s Mail visited, the family on Monday, Lisakhona’s parents were in…

“This drought is not only a shortage of water: there’s been a drought of ideas.” Water Research Commission CEO Desigan Naidoo was speaking at the launch of an innovative water treatment works upgrade at the beach resorts of Kenton and Bushmans River Mouth, as the holiday season reached its peak. Guest of honour Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu opened the upgraded facility. A year ago Kenton and Bushmans River Mouth faced a bleak, dry festive season. Furious businesses, residents and holiday home owners demanded to know how water reserves serving Ndlambe’s Wards 3 and 4 had…

Three years ago, KwaZulu-Natal resident Teddy Gabriel visited Makhanda for the first time and was horrified to see the living conditions and poverty in Sun City. This week on Christmas Eve, Gabriel and her family lived up to their angel namesake and handed out home-cooked meals and cold drinks to nearly 80 families living in the informal settlement. It’s become a Christmas tradition for the family. Gabriel is a caterer by profession and brings the ingredients for three huge pots of biryani, all the way from their KZN South Coast home. Teddy and her husband Jewa came to the Eastern…

No injuries or deaths were reported among the 364 boys undergoing traditional initiation in Makana Municipality during the December 2019 initiation season, said Local Initiation Forum co-ordinator Ramie Xonxa. Grocott’s Mail asked the councillor questions about the welfare of local abakhwetha following the deaths of 23 initiates in other parts of the Eastern Cape. The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in called for an investigation into the deaths of the boys in eNgcobo and Komani. Shocking news from other parts of the Eastern Cape, along with the 23 deaths, has been the appearance in Komga Magistrate’s…

Take a friend surfing! Grocott’s Mail and Shaka Surf School are offering one reader a free lesson plus a friend’s lesson half price these holidays.  If you’re thinking about something active to do as a family these holidays, why not try surfing? Shaka Surf School offers surf lessons for all ages and stages –5 years old to 65 and more, beginner to advanced – and encourages family groups. The family business is run by Dave McGregor and his sons Cuan and Kye. All have national surfing titles behind their names – two SA Longboard Champs titles each for Dave and…

Captain Mali Govender of the South African Police Service offers residents and businesses of Makhanda and Port Alfred some holiday safety tips. Online safety When you buy via the internet, ensure you use reputable stores and don’t make deals with individuals you don’t know. Victims find items being sold for unbelievably low prices over the internet. They contact the seller via the internet and make a purchase, only to find that the seller demands more and more cash deposits. The unsuspecting buyer loses all the money they’ve paid and gets nothing for it. Verify bank details and the seller’s details before you…

It’s final, says Netcare: no more private-ward admissions from this Friday It’s not final says the Health Department – we haven’t agreed to end the relationship Doctors frustrated at lack of communication from DoH ‘Lack of demand’ for private facilities is far from the truth, doctors say Private ambulance service Gardmed will stay Netcare still consulting with 72 staff members about their future. The Department of Health, Netcare and Nalithemba must come clean on the breakdown that will see the private wards at Settlers and Port Alfred hospitals close three days from now, says public service watchdog PSAM. The Public…