Author: Sue Maclennan

Local journalism

By 2pm Friday 25 May, water from Grahamstown and Alicedale taps should be safe to drink, say officials. This follows intervention from national government ensuring the correct chemicals were delivered yesterday to Makana’s water treatment plants. But there has been widespread outrage over the municipality’s breach in its duty to supply safe water to residents, with calls for accountability and stronger oversight of the essential service. On Monday, Makana issued a notice to residents, advising them to boil municipal water as a precaution, due to high concentrations of bacteria, including e.coli. A…

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There will be road closures in Hill Street (between Beaufort and High), Cawood Street and High Street (from Hill Street to Cawood Street) from 6am tomorrow, Thursday 24 May, as infantry, marching bands and military vehicles form up for the Army’s Freedom of the City parade. According to a media release from 6SAI Battalion they, along with the First City Regiment, will exercise the right to the Freedom of the City by presenting a parade in front of the City Hall in High Street and a march-past through the streets of Grahamstown. “This action by the civic authorities is greatly…

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One of two men facing charges in connection with the drug-linked alleged abduction of Rhodes University students on Tuesday 22 May announced his intention to apply for bail. The men appeared in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court briefly this morning, for the fourth time. They are charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances. Their last appearance, on 23 April, was for a bail hearing. Both abandoned their bail applications and remained in custody. This time, accused number two indicated his intention to apply for bail. Neither may be named because they have not yet pleaded. The case is postponed to 29 May…

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Grahamstown’s CM Heunis marks 80 years in the construction industry From state-of-the-art Ntsika High School to the Design and Technology Centre at St Andrew’s College; from the restoration of the Guy Butler Theatre at the Monument in just over six months after it was gutted by fire, to Rhodes University’s Eden Grove, CM Heunis construction company has done it all. The company, founded in 1938, is in its 80th year. At a recent function to mark the occasion, third-generation captain at the helm, Neels Heunis, gave a hint of  the fascinating social dynamics of Grahamstown while revealing just how much…

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The district head of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) says he is very sorry that Grade R teachers in Grahamstown have undergone the trauma of being paid late and says he will leave no stone unturned in seeing that the official responsible faces consequences. Meanwhile public service watchdog PSAM says the late and non-payment of Grade R teachers is a symptom of the marginalisation of early childhood development (ECD) practitioners. Two weeks after payday, some Grade R teachers in the DBE’s Grahamstown Cluster Management Centre are still waiting for their monthly stipend. Usually paid on the last day of…

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Nontlahla Mbenenge was admitted to the Bar by her father, Honourable Mr Justice Selby Mbenenge along with Bantubonke Tokota in the High Court in Grahamstown on Tuesday 15 May. Nontlahla said she had tried to avoid a career in law at first, but the bug had bitten during the Labour Law module of her HR degree at Rhodes University. “That was when I really understood what the law is about.” She went on to complete a law degree at the University of Fort Hare in East London. Her father, who is Judge President of the Eastern Cape, is delighted at…

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Makana Municipality has advised residents to boil municipal water due to high concentrations of bacteria, including e.coli. The problem is expected to be resolved with the delivery of the correct chemicals to Makana’s water treatment plants today. A notice dated Monday 21 May from the directorate of engineering and Infrastructure Services and signed by acting municipal manager Ted Pillay is headed ‘Public notice: Water quality’. It warns residents of Grahamstown and Alicedale of a high concentration of e.coli – a bacterium found in the faeces of animals and humans – in municipal water. “The municipality therefore request the residents, as a…

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Several Grahamstown shopkeepers moved the bulk of their stock to safe storage and others closed their doors yesterday as false rumours of a taxi protest flew around the town. Yesterday Grocott’s Mail visited several spaza shops in Extensions 6 and 7 affected by looting on 24 April. That day saw civic organisations join hands with local branches of the taxi associations in a service delivery protest. While community leaders and Makana Council representatives addressed a large crowd outside the City Hall, criminals targeted immigrant-owned spaza shops, breaking into them and stealing goods. Some residents, and later on children returning from…

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Fraudsters leave Grahamstown man broke, distraught By Sue Maclennan A Grahamstown entrepreneur says scamsters who persuaded him to part with a R10 000 deposit for a large order of army boots purportedly destined for the South African National Defence Force have destroyed him. Ndumiso Nkonki says he has been juggling small enterprises since 2008. In 2014, he set up Private Eye Community Watch, which now has offices in Lingelihle, Extension 6. He also recently established a non-profit soup kitchen there, which is generously sponsored by local businesses. Last year, Nkonki registered to be a supplier of stationery and office equipment…

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The imminent intervention to turn Makana Municipality around, led by Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Zweli Mkhize, is the fourth in as many years. Are we dizzy yet? asks Grocott’s Mail. FIRST INTERVENTION WHO Pam Yako FROM Zenande Leadership Consulting STATUS Section 139 (1) (b) Administrator appointed by the Provincial government MANDATE Water; Corporate Services; Service Delivery; Finance STARTED August 2014 FINISHED 22 July 2015 HIGHLIGHTS * Yako mobilised civil society and business in Makana, drawing together skilled individuals from the community into workstreams to tackle problem areas. * Motivated and strengthened leadership at middle management level,…

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