Author: Sue Maclennan

The SPCA says that while it is very concerned about the welfare of stray animals, it is the municipality that is responsible for complaints about animals that are a nuisance, or attack people. SPCA Manager Phil McDougall replied to questions from Grocott’s Mail after two two dogs allegedly involved in attacks on several dogs and cats across the city were euthanased on Sunday 28 April. The dogs – a pitbull and a bull terrier – attacked a puppy in Knowling Street in Makhanda (Grahamstown), 3km from their Sunnyside home. The dusk attack left the puppy’s 10-year-old owner terrified and distraught.…

MATTER OF FACT In our article titled ‘Makhanda on top form’ about the 27 April 2019 Freedom Day celebrations in Makhanda (Grahamstown) (Grocott’s Mail, 3 May 2019) we referred to a performance for President Cyril Ramaphosa by Kwantu Community Choir. Chairperson of the Classical Choral Singers and Academy (CCSA) Mfundo Makasi has written to explain that CCSA, Abancedisi Adult Choir and Makhanda Kwantu Choir took to the stage as the Makhanda Mass Choir to perform for this event. “This was to promote the spirit of unity among the three groups – [building] one voice which will resound [through] Makhanda and show…

FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK                              Dear Residents It is that time in the municipal calendar where residents are expected to make direct inputs to the plans and budgets of the municipality. On 28 March 2019 the Council adopted a draft budget for the 2019/2020 financial year.  In terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Council is obliged to consult communities. Integrated development planning (IDP) is a processes through which the municipality can establish a plan for short, medium and long- term development. It enables the municipality to align its financial and institutional resources behind agreed policy objectives and programmes. As…

FIRE PROHIBITION PERIOD 2019/2020 The Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) in conjunction with the Eastern Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre (EC-PDMC) a directorate within the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has announced that due to the Veld Fire Season and prevailing drought conditions, no burning or open fires as defined are permitted as follows: Makana Municipality as from 1 July 2019 until 31 October 2019; Kouga – and Koukamma Municipalities as from 1 November 2019 until 28 February 2020; Ndlambe- and Sundays River Valley Municipalities as from 1 November 2019 until 31 January 2020; Dr Beyers Naude…

Gift of the Givers recently brought a third water tanker to Makhanda (Grahamstown). It was delivered days before the city’s supply was due to halve, as Settlers Dam becomes too low to extract water from. Meanwhile senior adviser in the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) Neil Mcleod was due to meet with Makana officials this week to discuss the next steps in managing Makhanda’s water crisis, and stepped water tariffs to reduce consumption were proposed. A 30-ton superlink truck with a capacity for 20 000 litres of water has been sponsored to Gift of the Givers by Afri-Save Cash & Carry,…

Stepped water tariffs are to be introduced in Makana Municipality to discourage high water consumption. Tabled in this week’s full council meeting were proposed changes to the drought water tariffs for the 2019/2020 financial year. “We are in a serious drought situation,” Chief Financial Officer Gerard Goliath explained to councillors on 2 May 2019. “Some towns have no supply, and others, such as Alicedale, are very low.” “We have been asking consumers to reduce their water consumption – but some choose not to,” he said. “The only way to enforce reduced use is to implement a stepped tariff.” Goliath pointed…

Makhanda (Grahamstown) resident Cindy Deutschmann has laid charges are theft and assault against members of the Presidential Protection Unit and the police following an incident outside the Miki Yili Stadium where the country’s Freedom Day celebrations were held last Saturday, 27 April. Deutschmann was a member of a group participating in a protest opposite the stadium’s main entrance. The charges followed a similar complaint by a fellow protester. Police earlier fired stun grenades to disperse another group of protesters on President Cyril Rampahosa’s planned route to the stadium. A poster circulating on social media during the two days leading up…

Earning a University Doctorate is an extraordinary achievement and for Dr Phumlani Cimi it represented not only academic excellence, but a triumph over personal challenges. On 9 April 2019, Dr Cimi received his PhD in Botany. Two weeks later, friends, family and colleagues gathered at the Albany Museum to celebrate his success. Dr Cimi is a Professional Natural Scientist in the field of Botanical Sciences based in the Schonland Herbarium at the Museum. His Doctoral thesis is titled: An investigation of plant conservation strategies employed in Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa: an educational exploration. The topic evolved from his dual interest…

Trust in public institutions is key to reconciliation, say experts in community healing Kenneth Lukuko and Mikhail Petersen. The pair from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) were in Makhanda (Grahamstown) last week to meet community members, NGOs and local government representatives. The IJR visit was timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Graham’s Town – a decisive event in the history of not only the town, but the nation. The bicentenary is one of the reasons Makhanda has been chosen to host the national government’s event for South Africa’s 25th Freedom Day celebrations on 27…

The ANC’s election campaign has been slow to get on the road, but it’s now at full throttle – and last weekend’s event in the Indoor Sport Centre, launching the Department of Women’s Sanitary Dignity Programme, also served as the festive launch for a campaign that will build up to the visit of President Cyril Ramaphosa to Makhanda (Grahamstown) for the National Freedom Day Celebrations on Saturday 27 April. The fact that we have a constitutional democracy that has survived 25 years is something to celebrate. The fact that alongside the considerable positive achievements of our democracy, citizens’ constitutional rights…