Author: Sue Maclennan

Dam levels in most parts of the Eastern Cape have shown a significant improvement in water levels following recent rains, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s weekly report, updated on Tuesday 21 November. However, they warn that the drought is not over and dam levels remain a concern, particularly during summer. For Grahamstown the news is also fairly positive, with Howieson’s Poort Dam now full and overflowing into the town’s main western reservoir, Settlers. An update on Thursday 23 November from Makana Municipality confirmed that Howieson’s Poort is at 100% and Settlers at 16.5%. According to a report…

New rhino treatment changes the game Buffalo Kloof Reserve outside Grahamstown undertook its second-stage rhino horn infusion programme in unseasonably cold weather on Wednesday 22 November. Members of the Rhino Rescue Project were supported by an impressive team of reserve staff, VetPaw (Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife) and a veterinary team led by wildlife vet Will Fowlds. Media were invited to observe the procedure, which entails the infusion of a toxin and dye into the animals’ horns, rendering them unuseable to end users and therefore of no value to poachers. The anti-poaching initiative first treated the horns of animals…

Around 15 Morgans rolled into town last Friday, turning heads and pulling in motorheads, classic aficionados and vintage-style fans alike. They were driven by CapeMog, the Western Cape register of the South African Morgan Owners’ Group, who were on their annual tour. In Grahamstown they were welcomed by Basil Mills, who told them tales of Frontier history over tea at the Monument. He then took them on a tour of the NELM building and garden. Lunch followed at The Highlander – complete with a solo piper from St Andrew’s College – before the group drove to Kenton and Port Alfred…

Robbers targeted two Beaufort Street businesses within 200 metres of each other – Diamond Cash and Carry and Pep Cell – within 48 hours. On Saturday 18 November Diamond Cash and Carry staff were threatened with firearms shortly after opening around 9am. A staff member whose identity we’re not disclosing said first one man entered the shop, pointed to a box of cigarettes and asked their price. “The second guy asked how much the plastic rolls cost. He asked for a discount and I agreed on one,” the staff member said. “One man said to the other, ‘Take out the…

The Makana Drama Development Festival hosted by Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company took place at the Rhodes Theatre on Saturday 11 November. The annual festival showcases community drama productions. Junior and Senior Community drama groups performed and winners of the Senior group will be invited to apply for the National Arts Festival Fringe programme and assisted to develop their production. RESULTS  Junior Festival Best production – Umbono by Zinzolwam Eastern Cape Creatives Senior Festival Best Performance – Ingoma by Steader Nkwinti Legacy Production Best Runner Up – 2017 Pieces by ALA Entertainment NOW WATCH! Impromptu poets and pantsula dancers kept the audience entertained during the judging: https://youtu.be/cEdwZgFg9vY?list=UUPLAYER_grocottsmailonline

The future of around 126 Fish River Sun employees and their families hangs in the balance as talks between Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, Sun International and the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union continue ahead of the resort’s threatened 30 November closure. Meanwhile, after 20 years, the Prudhoe Community are just a few months from hearing judgment on their claim to the land the resort is on. The Prudhoe Community, represented by the Legal Resources Centre in Grahamstown, lodged their claim in December 1998 in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act and are claiming restoration of…

Once again we are dedicating the Grocott’s Mail Christmas Cheer Fund to a tiny organisation with a big heart. Kickstarting the Fund as always is GBS Mutual Bank, with a donation of R4000. And as has become their tradition, the Pro Carmine Choir will perform their annual Christmas concert in support of Child Welfare Grahamstown. Since 1917, Child Welfare SA Grahamstown has been serving the community through the promotion of child and family care, child protection services and health development. The first of its kind in South Africa, this non-profit organisation caters for over 1000 children and families a year.…

Makana Municipality has this week come under pressure from all directions, with civil society organisations rallying around service delivery and accountability demands, as the Province threatens administration and the DA calls for complete dissolution of the Council. Around 200 members of the Unemployed People’s Movement marched to the City Hall yesterday to hand over a memorandum demanding action on a range of issues ranging from corruption and the Kabuso Report to housing allocations, poor sanitation and frequent water outages. The group, mostly women and young people who came from various parts of Grahamstown as well as Sevenfountains, gathered at Fingo…

Esther Ramani If we had a government that put the needs of the neediest first, what would Grahamstown/eRhini, arguably the most divided city in South Africa, be like? What would life be like for the Joza Youth Hub, which,  as a voluntary non-profit organisation, seeks to enrich the lives of children and youth in the townships? How would it be for all children and young people to have access to music, to books, to computers, to toys, to games, to swimming pools and other pleasures that the highly-resourced private schools here take for granted? What then would be the role…

Acknowledging that the State President acted within the scope of his mandate in the recent reshuffling of cabinet, the Grahamstown Business Forum would like to express the organisation’s grave concern over the adverse effects of this action on the country in general, but specifically on the business environment. While the GBF fails to see the logic behind decisions that so clearly compromise the government’s ability to address the pressing challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, the organisation is troubled by the possibility that the poorest of the poor will most suffer the consequences of such seemingly thoughtless decisions. The cause and effects are…