The poem is just about unbearable smells people experience in every street due to the heat waves from the sun. Umphutha is not a comfortable word to translate. Kwanga thina bahlali singakhe sikhathalele iindawo esihlala kuzo, sitshise inkukuma kungenjalo siyigrumbele kwakunye nezilwanyana zaze khaya xa ziye zafa. How can we celebrate human rights in these conditions? Ezweni lokuzalwa kwethu Kungumvimbo ukusoloko usendleleni Ukuhlala endlwini kuyingxotha Ukuba lundwendwe kuzintloni Nokutya kommelwane akusa thembakali Kuba ivumba elinyekenyeke liya chekra Kusuke kwathi nkxwee kwizitalato zethu Livumba elingxolayo Elikwenza unge uza kuwa isiduli Kunqongophele imvula yona Oko sesikuxolele kungaphaya kwethu Ivumba kumantloko endlela Livumba…
Author: Staff Reporter
Read More
The window period for applications by voters to cast special votes in South Africa’s upcoming National and Provincial Elections opens today and closes on 18 April 2019. There are two categories of special votes cast inside South Africa: Special votes cast during home visits: These are only available to voters who are unable to reach a voting station (a voter may apply to be visited at an address outside of his/her voting district where registered) due to physical infirmity, disability or pregnancy. These will be conducted between 09H00 and 17H00 on Monday 6 May 2019 and 7 May 2019 (if…
Social Development MEC Dr Pumza Dyantyi, together with other government leaders, are visiting Lusikisiki today Thursday 4 April 2019 following faction fights between Sicambeni and Zitha villagers, the MEC for Social Development said in a media release. Simmering tensions had led to the torching of 28 homesteads last weekend, leaving over 200 people displaced. The conflict was reported to be around village boundaries. “Violence due to the fights has disintegrated families and resulted in the death of one person,” Dyantyi said. So far, the displaced villagers had been placed in the local church hall. Mainly women and children had been caught…
World Autism Awareness Day: 2 April Access to early screening, treatment and education can pave the way for a better quality of life for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but a lack of awareness, trained professionals and support limits this in especially lower-income communities in South Africa, Africa and the world. On World Autism Awareness Day (Tuesday, 2 April), the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) highlighted that autism is found across all countries, ethnic groups and socio-economic classes, affecting about 1-2% of the global population, yet resources that can improve the lives of those affected by…
By JOHN JACKSON It is exciting for concert-goers in this town when acclaimed musicians based outside the country perform here, especially in periods outside the National Arts Festival. And if they have grown up here, the pleasure is all the more. This was the case last year when saxophonist Adam Campbell and pianist Peter Cartwright performed to a capacity audience at NELM in the first concert of the Grahamstown Music Society’s 2108 series. On Monday 1 April at 7.30 pm Adam Campbell will be performing, once again in the NELM auditorium and under the auspices of the GMS. This time he…
The Electoral Commission says the order of political parties on the national and provincial ballot papers for the 2019 National and Provincial Elections was decided on to improve the legibility of the ballot paper and to accentuate distinguishing features between and among political parties. The IEC issued a statement to clarify why parties appear in the order they do. “The Electoral Act empowers the Commission to determine the design of the ballot paper to be used in an election. The preeminent consideration of the Commission in designing the ballot paper is to enable easy identification of the party of choice by…
Child Welfare SA Grahamstown have five new social work volunteers, who will be trained by our office. We are so excited to have these volunteers as part of our team. The intention is for them to be a support service for our social workers and they will be going on home visits. They will help on prevention cases where social workers have not yet been able to visit. Their task will be to identify strengths and weaknesses in homes, which will in turn enable the office to run appropriate programmes according to the different communities we serve. In the process, the…
Minister of Police, Bheki Cele has called on police management to follow due process in dealing with staff and ensure deserving members are promoted. This came, Cele said in a press conference on Thursday 14 March, as social media reports suggested SAPS members were planning to embark on a strike. Cele said there was a backlog of 69 219 South African Police Service promotions dating back to 2011/2012. Cele said there was currently a backlog in the grade progression of employees between levels 5 and 7. “We call on the management to follow due process during the promotions and ensure deserving members…
Following the certification of the voters’ roll, 26 756 898 million voters are eligible to cast their votes in the 8 May national and provincial elections. Of those, 55% are women, according to the Electoral Commission. In a statement, the IEC said the voters’ roll was certified and published on the Electoral Commission website earlier this week following the publication of the provisional voters’ roll for scrutiny and objection. Digital copies of the voters’ roll were also being provided to all political parties which will contest the elections. “Since its inception ahead of the 1999 national and provincial elections, the…
Clothing shop break-in A case of business burglary is being investigated following a break-in at Edgars store in High Street that took place between 5.27pm on Monday 4 March and 1.22am the next day, police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender reports. “At about 1.22am the manager was phoned by their security company because the alarm was going off in the shop,” Govender said. “The manager rushed to the shop and on arrival she found that the front door had been smashed open with a big rock. Clothing and cosmetics to the value of R112 900 were stolen.” No arrests have been made…