Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

By ESTERI MSINDO The 2019 Eastern Cape budget speech highlighted the negative effect of the revised equitable share formula that allocates provincial budgets according to the population in the province and disregards the extreme poverty in some provinces whose population is relatively low. The 2019/20 Human Settlements budget has not increased from the 2018/19 provincial budget hence a number of targets for different programmes may not be attained. The Department has resorted to reprioritisation of programmes, shifting funds from programme to programme. Reprioritisation is strategically used to address human settlements delivery challenges where there is no additional funding. Unfortunately, spending on…

By Tlamelo M Mothudi In the 2019/20 Provincial budget speech, the MEC for Finance Honourable Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane tabled a provincial budget of R83.2 billion and a health budget of R 25.2 billion. In his address, the MEC placed emphasis on the need to enhance the capacity of the state to deliver services. While the allocation of funds (R 440.9 million in 2019) to provide this capacity in departments like Health and Education is encouraging – a brief review of performance to date does little to allay concerns. During his budget speech, the MEC outlined that the provincial budget allocated…

St Andrew’s College and Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) were well represented at the South African Junior Nationals in Durban from the 20 to 24 March.  Toni Rafferty, Emma Podesta and Courtney Repinz, all from DSG, produced excellent results all round. Rafferty swam in five finals, winning a gold in the 50m freestyle and bettering her own Eastern Province record, a silver in the 100m freestyle breaking her EP record, a silver in the 50m butterfly and a fourth place in the 100m butterfly. Podesta swam in two finals, namely the 50m backstroke, placing tenth and in the 100m butterfly,…

Dear Residents of Makana Municipality, we understand that the notice issued by Eskom on 14 April 2019 has caused great anxiety among residents and businesses alike. We empathise and we would like you to know that we are actively addressing this issue. I would like to take this opportunity to assure everyone that the municipality has acted swiftly to avert an interruption to our bulk electricity services as stated in the notice. Makana has experienced severe cash flow problems since 2013. Eskom is the biggest creditor of the municipality, being owed R 84 478 288.80 – as per their latest invoice. This…

A total of 30 532 voters have applied to cast their vote in the national elections at one of South Africa’s 121 foreign missions. The applications were received by the deadline to submit a notification to vote abroad (using a VEC 10 form) on Wednesday 13 March. Of these, 29 334 were approved. In 2014, the Electoral Commission received 27 899 applications to vote outside the country of which 26 716 were approved and a total of 18 446 actually voted in the election. The breakdown of approved applications per region is as follows: Region Total approved applications Africa 2…

By: MATTHEW JENNINGS St Andrew’s College officially kicked off their long-anticipated rugby season with a 47-12 victory against Nico Malan High School. The first team had some regular absentees that were expected to start, but did not, however St Andrew’s coped remarkably well against a side that started their official season much earlier, having already played three games. The St Andrew’s dedication and enthusiasm in their training during preseason showed on Lower Field, especially in the very rainy and cold conditions – A taste perhaps of what to expect next term in Winter. The SAC Second and Third teams snatched wins…

Another exciting line-up of teams from around the country will make for a memorable two days of schoolboy rugby when the annual Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival takes place on 21 and 23 March. A total of 25 first teams from as far afield as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban will take part in the two-day sporting extravaganza, and a total of 80 matches will be played on seven fields during the festival. Besides the Grey fields – Phillip, Pyott, Gordon and Pollock – games will also be played at the Old Grey, Crusaders and Police fields. The festival also features matches in…

Seven Fountains, a village blessed with determined, passionate and committed individuals ready to pull themselves up by their bootlaces to improve their lives, is starting to shine, thanks to support from the nearby Lalibela Game Reserve. A new development initiative coordinated by the Reserve, which aims to empower an ambitious but largely unemployed community with much needed basic skills, was recently launched. The first step is a community sewing project. To this end, industrial sewing machines and overlockers were procured, donations of materials and equipment garnered, as well as the services of a professional fashion designer offered: a community of people…

“Sport has the power to change the world,” Mandela said. “It has the power to inspire. … Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.” Last week John Kani echoed the same sentiment when receiving a lifetime award for his contribution to the arts, at the Fiesta Awards. In his acceptance speech he referred to the troubled times that kept us apart and how, e g, isiXhosa speaking and Afrikaaans people were denied one another. We were denied the opportunity to get to know and enrich each other’s lives. And even now mutual appreciation…

The Principal, staff and learners of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the following businesses for their generous support given to the Valentine’s Dance held on Friday 22 February 2019: A-Z Furnishers, ABM Office National, City Fashions, Connocks Butchery, Forever Pure Water, Fusion, Grahamstown Glass& Picture Framers, Ian Doyle/ Legends, Lorenzo Doyle, Maxi-Gas, Pick n Pay Grahamstown, Pep Home, Redwood SPur, Suzi Q, Seaflight Fisheries and Tip Top Butchery. A special thank you to all the parents who supported the dance and came out in their numbers to have a fun-filled evening…