Author: Sue Maclennan

STAFF REPORTER Police said yesterday that the R67 between Grahamstown and Port Alfred was clear for travel. Police on Wednesday evening were still advising travellers between Grahamstown and Port Alfred to use alternative routes as the R67 remained closed opposite Nemato township, on the northern side of the coastal town. Two men face charges of public violence after sections of the road were blocked off in service delivery protests from early Wednesday. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said SAPS officers had been deployed in the area daily to monitor service delivery protests by residents of Nemato on the R67. Two men were arrested and face charges…

By Sue Maclennan As South Africa, along with the rest of the world braces for the next big cyberattack, local IT experts say Grahamstown users have not reported being affected by the ransomware attacks that hit computers worldwide on 12 May. The malicious software, called WannaCry, shut down systems at public health and transport services and factories in countries including Britain, the US, Japan, China, Spain Russia and Germany, as well as an smaller businesses and individuals. Just three days after the attacks struck CNN Tech said the world’s biggest cyberattack had hit at least 150 countries and infected 300…

@SusanMaclennan2 As a national child safety awareness campaign launched this week, a Grahamstown teenager said a voice recording about would-be abductors outside her Grahamstown school on Friday was nothing more than a prank among friends. The Whatsapp voicenote went viral last weekend. Meanwhile, police confirmed no case of kidnapping or abduction has been reported in Grahamstown since rumours about predatory men in a grey Polo began and have urged the public to resist spreading unconfirmed reports. On the eve of Child Protection Week, a voicenote was widely circulated in Grahamstown last week in which “Zanele”, purportedly a pupil at Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School,…

Police and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) have launched a man-hunt following the escape of two offenders who had just appearing in Zwelitsha Magistrate Court in King William’s Town on Wednesday 24 May. At around 2pm, 30-year old Lwandile Lolwana and Nkosana Mpe, 35 escaped with a white bakkie, registration number FPH 048 EC and were alleged to have been be armed. They were in court to answer other charges and were supposed to return to jail that evening. “Both offenders are incarcerated for serious crimes, which include rape and robbery and are considered to be dangerous,” the Department of…

While Merelda Rex quips that if she hadn’t shirked on cooking that night it might not have happened, a collision with a donkey in Fitzroy Street last Friday night was anything but a joke. The Grahamstown businesswoman was driving west down Fitzroy Street around 8.30pm and had just crossed the railway line, when she struck a donkey standing in the road. Rex was shocked and distraught and the donkey, although still standing, was injured. Nearby residents and passers by stopped to assist. “Someone called the SPCA,” Rex said. “It was literally 08.38pm. That’s the time I phoned my husband. “The…

Former Director of Music at Grahamstown Cathedral Andrew-John Bethke is one of two South African composers who will receive international exposure when his winning composition is performed in South America in July. In the same competition, Director of the Access Music Project in Grahamstown, Gareth Walwyn won the prize for best arrangement in a prestigious music competition. Former Director of Music at Grahamstown Cathedral and Rhodes Choir conductor Andrew-John Bethke was one of two winners of the recent Choral Composers competition held in Stellenbosch, with his original composition,‘A prayer for Africa’. Joint winner Xander Kritzinger’s work is titled ‘In die skadus van my siel’. Bethke…

The Department of Water and Sanitation recognises 15-19 May as Sanitation Week under the theme ‘Sanitation for health and dignity’. “Sanitation is a condition relating to public health, especially the provision of clean drinking water and adequate sewage disposal. Sanitation is not limited to water borne toilets only. Hence the sub-theme, ‘It’s not all about flushing’, but it also involves practising good health and hygiene and taking care of sanitation facilities,” the Department said in a media statement. In our 5 May edition Grocott’s Mail reported on a sewage blockage and overflow  that had affected four homes in and behind Kota Street…

Photo by Justin Share By Sam van Heerden It is impossible to deny the disparity that permeates Grahamstown. The division between the West and East of the city is visible and enduring. Skate Ubuntu, a non-profit community project, aims to help bridge the resulting social divides through the creation of a communal skate park. The space could help to uplift, engage, and connect citizens, particularly the youth. The proposed park would be a collective place. “[Skate Ubuntu] was inspired by wanting to create a communal area, where people recognise that they’re living within this shared space; that we need to…

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) says there will be controlled blasting today Friday, 19 May 2017 at Shaw Park quarry on the R72 between Port Alfred and the Fish River, starting at 2pm. The R72 road will be closed for approximately 30 minutes to motorists, Sanral said. The Shaw Park quarry is situated next to the R72, near the intersection of the R72 with the gravel road leading to Shaw Park. The quarry extends from the SANRAL kilometre markers 20 800 to 21 200. “Motorists are requested to plan their trips accordingly and be cautious when making use of…

The Department of Water and Sanitation in Eastern Cape is still concerned about the low water levels in certain dams around the province. The current low water levels can be largely attributed to lack of rains caused by drought and climate change. “The situation could get worse as we are fast approaching the winter season which could mean less rain,” according a press release from the Department of Water and Sanitation, which urged all water users in the province to use water wisely to prevent a disaster from happening. “In certain municipalities water restrictions have been implemented as part of…