The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it has kept the promise to pay at least 100 000 clients who applied for the Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress. In a statement on Tuesday the Agency said, “By 31 May 2020, 116 867 clients were paid for the Special Covid-19 SRD Grant. In addition, to date, over 3.5 million were checked to confirm if they are either active Sassa grant recipients, are on UIF database or receive a NSFAS stipend.” The Agency said it had received around 13 million enquiries and applications about the temporary Special Covid-19 SRD Grant…
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Two people were arrested on drunk driving charges on Tuesday 2 June, following three accidents in different parts of town. In one incident, a 14-year-old boy riding his bicycle was hit. The national lockdown was eased to level 3 on Monday 1 June, and with the sale of alcohol now permitted, queues outside Makhanda bottle stores stretched down pavements and across parking lots. The next day (Tuesday), Makana emergency services had attended to three accidents, said Makana Traffic Chief Coenraad Hanekom. “We had three accidents today,” Hanekom said. In one of the incidents, in Fitchat Street, the 14-year-old was knocked…
While there were many changes ahead as the National Arts Festival moves into the digital realm, visual art remained a constant on the programme, said spokesperson Sascha Polkey. “A wide-ranging and eclectic collection of works from South Africa and beyond will be available to view and explore online between 25 June and 5 July,” Polkey said. Using a variety of technologies, the curated programme of the Virtual National Arts Festival includes 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art Blessing Ngobeni; Pitika Ntuli’s solo exhibition Azibuyele Emasisweni (Return to the Source), which features works sculpted in bone; and Phumulani Ntuli’s Frequencies of a Birthmark_Episode 1, a…
THE FRINGE IN 2020: Artists wishing to take part in the vFringe, a new digital platform created especially for artists to showcase their work as part of the Virtual National Arts Festival as well as earn an income online, should visit the Artist Zone on the NAF website for more information. VISUAL ART ON THE vFRINGE: Visual artists who would like to exhibit their work on the new-look National Arts Festival website as part of the online vFringe galleries should get in touch as soon as possible. Find out the details and fill in the online form here. MARKETING YOUR WORK ONLINE: You can make the work but then…
The Virtual National Arts Festival programme is slowly starting to emerge, says spokesperson Sascha Polkey. “It has been cocooned away as our Curatorial Committee got to grips with reimagining what this festival could become. Now, just short of 30 days before ‘lift-off’, we are leaning in to its complexities.” The Festival’s website is readying itself to become a virtual stage: all events will be accessed through the website portal – both curated work and un-selected ‘fringe’ events. The Curated Programme is a schedule of events that will be released each day from 25 June to 5 July. These daily programmes will consist…
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has announced that payment of social grants for the month of June will begin on 3 June. The first day, 3 June, will be for the elderly people (Old Age and War Veterans Grants) and the second day, 4 June, will be for people living with disabilities (Disability Grant). “The prioritising of the older person and disability grants is an effort to ease congestion at SAPO outlets, retailers and bank infrastructure,” SASSA said, “thus minimising the risk of Covid-19 infection.” All other grants such as child support should be collected from 5 June.…
The suspected mastermind behind a stock theft syndicate operating in Makhanda (Grahamstown) since 2011 has been arrested. She was arrested on 27 May 2020 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal and charged for stock theft, fraud, and failure to give a satisfactory account of stock known to be stolen. The 41-year-old woman is suspected to be behind a stock theft syndicate described by the police as “ruthless” that began its activities in and around Makhanda in 2011. “At least 411 cattle with an estimated value of R6 165 000 are suspected to have been stolen by this gang,” said Eastern Cape spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi…
Thanks to Rotarian Viv de Klerk, the Rotary Club of Grahamstown this month launched an innovative fund-raiser: a challenging two-part cryptic Quiz that provides families and friends with something to do over the lockdown period. The Quiz consists of 25 cryptic clues to the names of celebrities and famous people – mainly South Africans. It’s great fun trying to come up with the right answers either as individuals, in families or during virtual gatherings. Rotary aims to raise much-needed funds for the Covid-19 projects they are supporting in Makhanda. Share this post with your friends and consider donating to their Covid-19 fundraising…
School principals, religious leaders, institution and NGO heads are among no fewer than 50 prominent local personalities who have pledged to support a 14-hour fast on Friday 29 May to raise funds for feeding projects in Makhanda. Co-ordinated by the Makhanda Circle of Unity coalition, leaders of churches, local government, businesses, educational institutions, health services and NGOs have committed to going without food from 6am to 8pm. The gesture is in intended to raise funds for feeding projects, and organisers have asked that participants donate the amount they would have spent on food for that day to the Makana Revive…
The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has entered into a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to host a Deep Space Ground Station. The station, which will be based in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape, will support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. It will be integrated into an existing network of three sites in the US, Spain and Australia. As the fourth site, the station will complement the other three sites and provide improved coverage and redundancy for critical mission support. SANSA will operate, maintain and manage the station. Cabinet has approved the…