Author: Sue Maclennan

South Africans should not panic but rather be alert. That is the advice from President Cyril Ramaphosa following the announcement of the first case of the Coronavirus in the country. The President has assured that government is and will continue to demonstrate urgency and caution as the country deals with its first confirmed case of Coronavirus. The President on Thursday held an impromptu briefing shortly after landing at the Waterkloof Airforce Base in Pretoria. The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, had earlier announced the first case of Coronavirus (COVID-19) just moments before a Parliamentary debate on South Africa’s readiness…

6-month jail sentences wholly suspended pending compliance with the 2015 high court order The Mayor and Municipal Manager have each been handed down a six-month jail sentence for contempt of court. The sentence is wholly suspended on condition they comply with a 2015 high court order relating to the municipal landfill at Makhanda. In addition, the Judge has also ordered the registrar to forward a copy of Municipal Manager Moppo Mene’s affidavit to the National Directorate of Prosecutions for investigation. The sentence was handed down on 4 March 2020 by Judge Miki Mfenyana, who heard the application by the Makana…

A hunting rifle found stashed in the tailgate of a bakkie intercepted outside Makhanda in July 2018 had been used to shoot animals in Kragga Kama and Shamwari game reserves. This is among the evidence being led against six men facing rhino-poaching charges in the Grahamstown High Court this week. East London residents Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge and Nhamo Muyambo, and  Abraham Moyane were arrested in July 2018 during Operation Full Moon – the Eastern Cape Rhino Task Team’s code name for its anti-poaching operations. All six have since been in custody. They are accused on…

Union slams Department’s ‘lack of will’ A senior manager at Fort England Hospital in Makhanda who was ordered off the premises last Friday is being used as a ‘sacrificial lamb’, says Hospersa. The union has briefed lawyers following treatment of operations manager Stafford Fry that they’ve flagged as unfair, contrived and unprocedural. They say Fry’s removal is nothing more than an attempt to silence him after he reported numerous instances of misconduct and corruption within the institution. On Friday 21 February 2020, members of the public alerted Grocott’s Mail to a protest by a group of Fort England staff outside…

Work started last weekend on renovations to Makana Municipality’s Engineers and Local Economic Development departments’ buildings. The initiative is part of engineering company MBB Consulting’s Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, Managing Director Pravesh Nosib told Grocott’s Mail. “We have decided to refurbish/paint the front façade of the Engineers Department building and LED Building of the Makana Municipality,” Nosib told Grocott’s Mail. “These two buildings are located next to the City Hall and haven’t been painted for a number of years. Most of the buildings in that Street have been recently painted (Birch’s, Lewis Store, Clicks, etc) and hence these two buildings…

Ten young cricket players from Makhanda will share the spotlight with the national T20 cricket team at the second of the KFC T20 series against Australia in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. Three girls and three boys from Oatlands Primary, and four boys from St Mary’s DCC will form the guard of honour for the Standard Bank Proteas as they walk on to the St George’s Park grounds for the opening ceremony. The young cricketers are part of the KFC Mini Cricket Programme and are “just so excited” according to St Mary’s Primary and St Mary’s DCC coach Caron* May. “”The kids…

Police say an old hoax is once again doing the rounds on social media. The message is in the form of a photo of what looks like a newspaper advertisement. It falsely purports to be from the police, using the SAPS logo among other things. The hoax warns of a supposed scam involving a child standing on the road crying and asking to be taken to a particular address where, according to the false warning, the good Samaritan will become the victim of a crime. It also warns against accepting free key holders at service stations, claiming that these contain…

The Province’s application for leave to appeal against dissolving the Makana Council will be heard in the Grahamstown High Court on 3 and 4 March. An application for leave to appeal has also been filed by the municipal respondents. Meanwhile, lawyers for the UPM this week filed a Section 18 application to have Judge Igna Stretch’s 14 January ruling enforced. Within hours of Judge Stretch ordering the Eastern Cape executive to dissolve the Makana Council and place the municipality under administration, the ANC’s regional leadership said they would encourage the Provincial respondents to appeal the ruling. Premier Oscar Mabuyane later…

By PHILIP MACHANICK James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works (JKWTW) was meant to be upgraded to double its capacity on a project that was due to complete end 2017. Then end 2018. Then not at all. Early 2019, we have a dire water crisis as a result. Water from the west side from Waainek Water Treatment Works was soon to run out and JKWTW was producing half its rated capacity of 10 megalitres a day on a good day, sometimes nothing at all. Some areas on the east were without water for weeks, water queues at the spring outside town started…

Parents, learners and teachers protested outside Riebeeck East Combined School this week to highlight unhappiness about the situation of two teachers there. A parent who spoke on condition of anonymity said two teachers at the school had been instructed to remain at home until they received their appointment letters. They had subsequently been instructed to come and teach, pending their appointment letters. “This is a recurring problem: teachers are assigned to the school, but without appointment letters,” the parent said. “This means they don’t get paid and classes get disrupted later on in the year as a result.” On Wednesday…