Author: Sue Maclennan

Party agents in Grahamstown reported slow attendance at local voting stations over the weekend, which were opened for those eligible to register as voters or check their recorded addresses and other details were correct. Voting stations that Grocott’s Mail visited were quiet, with party agents at two reporting fewer than 100 people trickling in on each day. Although in the lead-up to the weekend, Friday saw Fingo Village residents block roads with faeces and burning tyres in protests against the bucket system, no incidents such as the service delivery protests that disrupted registration at other centres around the country were…

Expand and deepen the country’s creative and cultural economy and create millions of jobs, says Minister Nathi Mthethwa. EMPLOYMENT, job creation and the transformative power of creativity were some of the key issues discussed on day-one of the South African Cultural Observatory’s (SACO) 2018 international conference currently under way at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Under the theme, Beyond the Creative Economy? Trends and Issues in National and Regional Economies, the cultural think-tank’s two-day conference is tackling big debates surrounding the current realities and future directions of the creative economy. It is interrogating the growing potential of…

The Rhodes Community Engagement Division has launched a podcast they say is aimed at bringing to life the many ways in which the university interacts with communities around it. Called Engagement in Action, the podcast kicks off with the Environmental Learning Research Centre’s Amanzi for Food project. Forthcoming episodes will feature, among others, the work of the Pharmacy and Psychology departments and the Vice Chancellor’s education initiative. Director of Community Engagement, Di Hornby says, “We have an integrated approach to community engagement at Rhodes. It’s not something that’s added on, it’s woven in to the life of the university. Our…

By Strauss de Jager – NG Kerk In the beginning when God created, we are told in Genesis 1:2 that the “earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Then, by his Word (which we later come to know as Jesus – see John 1) God infused this chaos with his wisdom and power and love, to be infinitely diverse and interconnected, useful and beautiful. The Holy Spirit did not stop acting during God’s creative project, He has been and still is active throughout history.…

With Day Zero now estimated at fewer than 130 days, Grahamstown’s looming water crisis loomed large in the City Hall at the last council meeting. If Makana sticks to the budget it passed on 28 February, Grahamstown’s leaky pipes and inability to properly supply water to the eastern side of the city could finally become part of our history. Called to approve the municipality’s 2017/18 Adjustment Budget, the refurbishment and expansion of existing water bulk supply infrastructure, replacement of old pipes and the secondment of a water engineer were tabled in last month’s full sitting of Council. Adjustments have reduced…

“If you are sleeping well, something is wrong: this town should be keeping you awake day and night.” That’s what acting municipal manager Ted Pillay told Makana officials during his briefings during his first three weeks in Grahamstown, starting at the beginning of February. Pillay received a warm reception from an audience of around 250 Grahamstown Residents Association members and others, curious to see him in person and hear about his plan to turn around the embattled municipality. Pillay said his own job was 24/7 and that his wife had for that reason accompanied him for his time here. He…

Motorists will get some reprieve at the fuel pumps from Wednesday following an announcement by the Department of Energy of the drop in fuel prices. As of 7 March, the petrol price will drop by 36 cents a litre and between 44 and 47 cents less for a litre of diesel. According to the Energy Department, the drop in the fuel price is a result of the strengthening of the Rand against the US Dollar and a decrease in the prices of crude oil. “The Rand appreciated, on average, against the US Dollar from 12.20 to 11.82 Rand per USD…

Grahamstown Music Society Concert at NELM: 26 February 2018 Adam Campbell: Saxophone Peter Cartwright: Piano Reviewer: Jenny Brand On Monday night, Grahamstown’s audience had the rare privilege to be treated to a connoisseur’s choice of saxophone music, presented to us by the former Kingswood pupil Adam Campbell, accompanied by Old Graemian, Peter Cartwright. The new NELM auditorium was jam-packed, quite a change from the dwindling audience numbers we have witnessed in the past decade or so. The programme kicked off with the female composer, Paule Maurice’s, Tableaux de Provence, a staple of the saxophone repertoire. It is a series of…

When head of the Middle Terrace Clinic Sister Roslyn Mager retired at the end of February, she’d served 40 years in the nursing profession – 27 of those in public health. Mager started her career in Cape Town with 10 years at Tygerberg Hospital, followed by two years caring for the frail and disabled in Kraaifontein before moving to Grahamstown with husband Etienne and working at Fort England for two years. When Mager started at the community clinic, it was in Albany Road, where Cassels Funerals now stands. “I’ve really enjoyed working in the community,” Mager said. “I felt I…

Rhodes University’s Financial administrator Linda Booi was among the Grahamstown women who inspired around 40 girls from local schools attending the inaugural workshop of the Grahamstown Girls’ Leadership Project. Hosted on a recent Saturday morning at Nombulelo Secondary School, the initiative is the brainchild of Zenande Leadership Consulting’s Pam Yako, former administrator in Makana Municipality. “It doesn’t matter whether you come from Grahamstown or Joburg,” Booi told the girls after relating her own journey to a successful career. Booi grew up in Grahamstown. “It’s only you holding yourself back if you don’t take opportunities that come your way.” The workshop…