Author: Sue Maclennan

As the temperature soared toward the predicted 40C maximum a heated exchange in the Makana Council Chamber Monday 29 October, saw the DA caucus walk out in protest, forcing an adjournment of the Special Council Meeting. Citing the failure to pay Eskom and the resulting threat that the supply to the town will be cut on 4 December, the party says the Mayor should resign. They have voiced their support for the call by some residents to dissolve the council and for fresh elections to be held within three months. Along with the regularisation of some encroachments of municipal land…

A wrap of arts happenings in Makhanda If you appreciate political satire, visit an exhibition by Ghanaian artist Bright Ackwerh at the RAW Spot Gallery, 5 Rhodes Avenue (corner Lucas Ave). Through his sharp and unrelenting wit, Bright Ackwerh turns the tables on global leaders who have treated Africa and Africans with disregard, have positioned themselves as Messiahs, or have colluded with African elites. “Everyone wants to be the King or Queen,” says Ackwerh, who places characters such as Robert Mugabe, the Queen of England, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump or Nana Akufo-Addo in funny situations in order to imagine how…

Retired Makhanda (Grahamstown) teacher Nomonde Olive Ngesi passed away on Wednesday 17 October at the age of 87. Her memorial will be held Saturday 27 October, at the Monument. The Newtown, Fingo Village great-grandmother, whom Grocott’s Mail readers came to know and love as ‘Old Eyes’, was airlifted to Port Elizabeth for specialist treatment after a medical emergency. Third-born son Noel, who had followed in his car, was devastated to be told on his arrival that she had passed away en route. Olive was ‘Ma’am’ to many Grahamstown children during a lifelong career as a teacher and a number of successful…

Finance Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele says pulling out the race card amid reports of obscene looting at VBS Mutual Bank is an insult to black excellence. The Finance Minister placed the bank under curatorship earlier this year. In a debate into the affairs of VBS Mutual Bank in Parliament on Tuesday, Gungubele said the open letter penned in response by VBS chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi in March, accusing the SA Reserve Bank and the National Treasury of not welcoming black-owned banks, does not justify the corruption that took place. The debate comes after lead forensic investigator Terry Motau released an explosive…

Armed with placards, protesters stood in the 33C heat outside Makana Municipality’s Finance offices in High Street Makhanda (Grahamstown) Wednesday morning 24 October 2018, encouraging passers by to sign a petition calling on Premier Phumullo Masualle to dissolve the Makana Council in terms of Section 139(1)(c) and appoint an administrator. The call was first made in a social media campaign launched on 29 September and that by midday Thursday 11 October had seen the petition receive 5633 signatures and was growing at a rate of 100 a day. A video shared on social media showed potholed roads, illegal dumping and…

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Wednesday rejected media reports alleging the eFiling system is on the verge of collapse. This followed testimony by SARS executives at the Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance earlier in the day. “The perception created that the eFiling system is on the verge of collapse is incorrect, and unfortunately has the effect of creating unnecessary alarm and uncertainty. SARS would like to assure taxpayers that the SARS eFiling system is stable and performing well within specification, as evidenced by the system’s uptime (i.e. availability) at a rate of 99.7%.” The revenue…

Makana’s new chief financial officer, due to start on 1 November, faces everything from ghost workers to a growing debt of close to R200 million – over and above the municipality’s operating budget that in the last financial year was adjusted to R432m – according to figures in the agenda for April’s Budget Steering Committee meeting. The municipality earlier this month confirmed they had resolved on a candidate to be appointed as chief financial officer (CFO) and sent Council’s selection to the MEC for Cogta (Fikile Xasa) for concurrence. “We cannot give out the name yet, but [it] is a…

Health Superintendent General for the Eastern Cape Dr Thobile Mbengashe will be on the panel in the next edition of #TheDebate2019 in BB Zondani Hall on Wednesday 24 October at 6pm. How do young people in Makana experience public health? is the question we’re asking under the topic, ‘Health: youth and wellness’. Talking about their experience of working with young people and their well-being in our town will be representatives from NGO Raphael Centre and health practitioners. UPSTART Youth and others will be there to ask tough questions. There to answer them, along with the other panellists, will be Health…

Public service watchdog PSAM says the Hawks should be securing preservation orders against the assets of suspected beneficiaries of alleged fraudulent payments by Makana Municipality. This was in response to confirmation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation  that they are investigating an alleged ‘ghost’ employee at Makana Municipality. Some sources speculate that Makana may have as many as 80 employees on its payroll who cannot be accounted for. Hawks Eastern Cape spokesperson Captain Anelisa Feni on Friday 19 October told Grocott’s Mail that a “new case” of an alleged ghost employee at Makana Municipality was being investigated. Several inside…

Makhanda (Grahamstown) farmer Leonie Yendall doesn’t need any persuasion to get on her bicycle and explore South Africa’s back roads and byways. Sharing her pedal-powered journeys on social media, she’s taken friends and family to places many of them have never been, and might never reach. But her latest journey was extra special. She clocked up her kilometres for a cause, raising R4 752.28 in donations to date for the Raphael Centre and spreading the message of eye care awareness along her more than 1400km trip on the back roads from Upington in the Northern Cape to Makhanda. And that was…