Author: Sue Maclennan

A buyer paid the top price of R80 000 for a bull at the annual Frontier Bonsmara sale at the Hobson & Co auction yards this week. The bull was one of a group of 58 from Eastern Cape breeders Craig Handley and Justin Stirk that fetched the average price of R47 120.69. A Handley stud pregnant cow fetched the record price of R50 000 in a group of 15 animals with an average price of R22 666.67. The sale hall was packed shortly after the midday start of the auction. A who’s who of farmers from the district at the top of their…

The East London branch of SANCA has an extra burden following the closure, first, of the Grahamstown branch, then, earlier this year, the Port Elizabeth office. The Council provides different services in different parts of the country, explained senior social worker Rhiannon Bond. “SANCA East London has four social workers and two auxiliary social workers who were allocated to service the entire Buffalo City Metro; now we have to do as much as we can for the whole of the Eastern Cape. Practically, that’s impossible, but we do our best to provide as comprehensive a service as we can to…

Eugene Repinz is involved in support groups for recovering addicts in Grahamstown and that’s given him an understanding of the extent of the problem here. Grocott’s Mail spoke to him in his personal capacity about the drug problem in Grahamstown, how addiction works, and some of the ways drug users can get help. “There’s a big problem in Grahamstown and it has got worse over the years,” says businessperson Eugene Repinz.  “It’s fuelled by poverty, and the availability of different types of drugs.” Of the association between substance abuse and violent crime, Repinz says the effect of drugs on people…

“Substances are fantastic,” says clinical psychologist Scott Wood. “Nothing makes you feel better in the short term. “The problem comes when you withdraw from the substance. You move up the grades on a scale of antisocial behaviour – starting with selling your own clothes for money, then stealing, then snatch and grabs. “At the top end of the scale is psychosis, either intoxication induced or withdrawal induced.” That’s the state in which people sometimes commit violent acts, says Wood, who runs Fort England Hosopital’s substance abuse rehabilitation programme. The programme serves a huge area, from the Tsitsikamma in the west,…

Robbery, theft and violent crime are some of the direct consequences of the drug trade. Police make a strong and direct link between the drug trade and other crimes in in Grahamstown (Makhanda). A case in the Regional Court earlier this year dealt with two brothers accused of selling drugs from their family home in the city. Included in the evidence in was a report from SAPS Grahamstown detailing the effect on the community of the peddlers’ activities. There was a marked increase in robberies in streets in the area, the report notes. “In most of these instances, knives were…

Call for action after drug-fuelled murder A Grahamstown (Makhanda) magistrate has called for the return of specialised police units after sentencing a young man who, in a drug-caused psychosis, bludgeoned to death a close family friend and neighbour. The murder was carried out with extreme violence, leaving such a gruesome scene that the seasoned criminal magistrate could hardly bear to look at the evidence photos. Siphamandla Tawule, 21, was arrested on Christmas Eve last year after he ripped a cupboard door off its hinges and used it to beat his neighbour Nokuzola Kepentete, 63, with such force that he split…

Gadra Education celebrated their 60th anniversary on Wednesday 8 August on the back of their milestone 2017 achievement of 100 matriculants successfully registering at Rhodes University. The NGO serves and supports public education in Grahamstown (Makhanda), bringing to children from disadvantaged backgrounds or poorly resourced schools a network of tutoring and financial support. Chairperson Dr Ken Ngcoza introduced a celebration in the Drill Hall with a heartfelt tribute to the town and its people. “That this organisation has remained alive for 60 years is testimony to the richness, depth and ubuntu of our community,” said Ngcoza. Ngcoza lectures in Science Education…

Address to guests at Gadra’s 60th anniversary celebrations by treasurer Margie Keeton Dear Friends, it is a great honour to share some of the history of this special organisation. A 60th anniversary is such a milestone that it is celebrated with diamonds as we see in the decorations around us. I just have to advise that the diamonds on the tables are not real ones (sorry, folks). This is because the real Gadra diamonds are sitting on the chairs around the tables. And how beautifully this Gadra family is shining tonight. 60 years is a long time so let’s start…

Competing taxi associations Border Alliance (BATA) and Uncedo will meet on Wednesday 15 August to resolve a disagreement over the sharing of stand fees. A dispute over stand fees (the duty payable to the rank management once your taxi is full and ready to leave) has seen Uncedo up and go from BATA’s long-distance car rank in Link Street and establish their own loading area for vehicles to Fort Beaufort, King William’s Town and Peddie, less than 500 metres up the road. Border Alliance and Uncedo are the main taxi operators in Grahamstown (Makhanda). Each has its own rank, and…

Two Grahamstown (Makhanda) primary school principals are thrilled that work is set to start this week on early childhood development centres (ECDs) at their schools. The sites were handed over to contractors during meetings on Tuesday 7 August 2018. When the 2020 intake of Grade Rs take their first excited steps into Samuel Ntlebi and NV Cewu primary schools in Joza’s Ward 2, they should be enjoying dedicated ECD facilities. A third school in Ward 2, CM Vellem Primary, has also been identified for Grade R facilities; however, they have hit some stumbling blocks in the land allocation process. Three…