Author: Sue Maclennan

President Cyril Ramaphosa was set to officially launch a new, multibillion rand train manufacturing factory at Dunnottar Park in Nigel, Gauteng, Thursday 25 October. The 72-hectare site at Dunnottar Park, which cost R1 billion, consists of a Supplier Park and Rail Training School, which will manufacture, assemble, test, commission and deliver 580 new commuter trains. This massive investment will include the local manufacturing of parts, maintenance, training facilities, the creation of jobs, skills development, the achievement of a 65% local content. According to a media release from SA News, it will promote black economic empowerment and support communities. Construction of…

Landowners on the N2 and Highlands Road should be on high alert as the veld fire that has been burning along the Highlands ridge for the past three days continued into the night on Saturday 3 November. The warning comes tonight from Fire Chief William Welkom. With winds picking up, farmers and smallholders  in the Stone Crescent area are poised to move animals and people, should it continue its path down to the N2 west of Makhanda (Grahamstown). Fire station staff said at 8pm that teams were refilling water tanks to return to the ridge north of the N2. Teams…

The Department of Health says they have received no notification from unions of a strike by the Province’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff and that there would be consequences for staff who failed to report for duty. This comes amid protest action by EMS staff on Friday 2 November and warnings to prepare for a possible shutdown of the service on Monday 5 November. “There’s no strike as far as we are concerned,” Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha told Grocott’s Mail on Friday 2 November. Earlier, Grocott’s Mail spoke to EMS staff from Makhanda (Grahamstown), Port Alfred,…

History was made on 25 October 2018, when the only two schools serving the Alicedale community embarked on a campaign to raise awareness against gender-based violence, rape and child abuse. Learners from local schools Hendrik Kanise Combined and George Jacques Primary teamed up to brave the scorching heat and took to the streets of both the KwaNonzwakazi and Transriviere communities to raise awareness on the above social ills. According to Deputy Principal and Life Orientation Head at Hendrik Kanise school, Candice Louw-Arnolds, this campaign has been long overdue and is only the first of many to come. “Too many of…

This Festive Season, perhaps Makhanda is the place you have to be. But we think that with the beach and game reserves on our doorstep, hiking and mountain biking trails on the surrounding hills and the New Year’s Cup soccer tournament providing two weeks of great sporting entertainment – all in the company of the Eastern Cape’s coolest and most resilient people – it’s also the place you want to be. To make sure family and friends visiting you during the holidays want to come back, we’re publishing My Great Big Makhanda Holiday – a guide to having the best…

St Andrew’s College has asked the community to keep the Chauke family, and the boys and staff of the school in their prayers as they come to terms with the death yesterday of Grade 9 pupil Aubrey Chauke. Aubrey, who was in the school’s Graham House, collapsed at the school’s water polo pool yesterday afternoon, after playing a match, the school said in a statement. “All medical interventions to revive him were unsuccessful and he was declared dead by the school Sanatorium doctors. At this stage we have no knowledge as to the cause of death and await further information,”…

Immunisation is an important action parents can take to prevent children contracting meningitis, says a local GP. Being alert to possible symptoms and seeking treatment early may alleviate a serious infection. Grocott’s Mail spoke to a doctor and the Department of Health after the tragic death of a Makhanda (Grahamstown) Grade 10 pupil last week. The child was being treated in a Port Elizabeth hospital for bacterial meningitis. It’s essential to access medical care if meningitis is suspected, says local GP Dr Fiona Meihuizen. Meningitis is an infection of the membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It can…

The Working on Fire programme assembled 300 firefighters and management to provide ongoing firefighting support to the local and district municipalities in the Garden Route. At the same time, just over 200 firefighters in the Eastern Cape have also been battling fires in the Singisi Forest in Mhlahlane (OR Tambo District Municipality) and also in Tsitsikamma, where teams from Working on Fire are assisting SANParks at a fire at Witels Peak, Witelsbos. The Garden Route fires erupted towards the end of October near several towns, from the Hessaqua Municipality (Vermaaklikheid). Storms River Village in Tsitsikamma had to be evacuated Monday…

Through a rusty gate somewhere outside Makhanda, a narrow and winding dirt road watched over by an army of trees leads you to a stone barn. Light filters through decorated window arches to reveal two monsters of the like that struck terror into the hearts of British soldiers. One, the French-origin 155 mm Creusot Long Tom with its 10km firing range was so lethal that in conceding positions during the South African War of 1899-1902, the Boers destroyed the only four brought into the country rather than have them fall into the hands of the enemy. Its total weight is…

“People mustn’t feel judged when they use our services,” Eastern Cape Health Superintendent General Dr Thobile Mbengashe told a small but engaged audience at the ‘Youth and wellness’ public debate in BB Zondani Community Hall on Wednesday night. The event was the second in the #TheDebate2019 series – a partnership between Grocott’s Mail, Radio Grahamstown, Rhodes Music Radio (RMR), Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies and the Rhodes Department of Politics and International Studies. This collective hosted debates in Makana leading up to the 2016 local government elections. #TheDebate2019 is a series of six public events, once a month,…