Talk 31 December 2020

Ta l k

OF THE

T h u rsd ay, 31 December 2020

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WOUTER HENSENS MJ VAN JAARSVELD EUGENE DE WITT DIFFORD LOUW CRAIG THEUNESSEN

It’s been a tough year

Business, tourism leaders share hopes for future

ROB KNOWLES

As 2020 draws to an end,

some of Ndlambe’s

business and tourism

leaders were asked to share

their opinions on the current

holiday season and their

thoughts on the year ahead.

Difford Louw of the Royal St

Andrews Hotel said that, with

the first two months of trading

since reopening behind them,

he was cautiously optimistic

that season might be better than

he could have hoped.

“However, since the last

presidential address and Sarah

Baartman District also now

declared a Covid hotspot, things

are starting to not look so good

any more. It is difficult to remain

hopeful for a number of

r e a s o n s ,” Louw said.

“Firstly, we are in the middle

of an ongoing water crisis

because of what is seemingly a

result of municipal

mismanagement. Then we are at

risk of the government imposing

additional lockdown rules that

will affect the trading of

accommodation and food and

beverage establishments.

“Imposing additional

lockdown rules will be

extremely unfair to

establishments that have done

so much to ensure that their staff

and facilities are safe and Covidcompliant

in order to safely

receive their guests. Instead of

more blanket lockdown rules,

providing efficient enforcement

officials might result in giving

potential holidaymakers the

confidence to support and visit

our local tourist towns.”

Louw said the current

prospects of a poor season

would result in going into 2021

at an even bigger disadvantage.

The new co-owner of Pick n

Pay at the Heritage Mall, MJ van

Ja a r s ve l d , said: “Obviously, the

restrictions have put a bit of a

damper on business, but there is

nothing we can do about it. We

have to deal with what we’ve

g o t ,” he said.

Van Jaarsveld’s objective is

to continue to offer a high level

of service throughout the

period. “We need to look after

our customers and ensure they

remain safe,” he said.

Asked about his

expectations for the New Year,

Van Jaarsveld said things could

only get better.

“A lot depends on what

happens next with the Covid

p a n d e m i c ,” he said. “Th i s

includes the roll-out of the

vaccine and how successful we

are in handling the second

wave .”

Co-owner of the Sunshine

Spar in Kenton-on-Sea, the

Nemato Spar in Port Alfred and

the SuperSPAR at Rosehill Mall,

Craig Theunissen, wa s

disappointed when he heard the

decision by Eastern Cape

premier Oscar Mabuyane,

followed by the National

Coronavirus Command

Council, to close the beaches.

“Too many little towns along

the coast will suffer as a result of

beach closures and the

subsequent lack of business

i n c o m e ,” said Theunissen.

TotT asked if Theunissen was

optimistic about the New Year.

“Once they have sorted out

the problem of the pandemic,

businesses will once again

b o o m ,” he answered. “All my

staff say the same. They are

disappointed that the beaches

are closed but that every day

they see taxis full of people,

some without masks, travelling

to and from work. There is an

inconsistency here.”

Sunshine Coast Tourism

manager Sandy Birch said there

was a general lack of money this

year due to salary sacrifices and

the threat of unemployment due

to the pandemic.

“Although there is less

money about, those people with

holiday homes are still arriving

in our area,” said Birch. “But the

beach closures are an issue, and

people need to know about all

the other wonderful things you

can do in the area.”

Birch described some of the

more interesting things to do

that did not involve the beach.

“There is so much of

historical and cultural interest to

discover throughout Ndlambe

that we don’t really need the

b e a ch e s .”

Port Alfred Business

Chamber chair Dr Rick Pryce

said the season was certainly

slower than in previous years

because of the pandemic and

the closure of the beaches.

“I think we are all a little

disillusioned over the beach

c l o s u r e s ,” said Pryce. “It is

definitely bad for businesses in

our area.”

On a more optimistic note,

Pryce spoke of the year ahead

and what that might mean to

businesses in the area.

“Things might change,” he

said. “Perhaps that will only

happen after a third wave of the

v i r u s .”

Dr Wouter Hensens,

executive dean of Stenden

South Africa, which also runs

MyPond Hotel in the Port Alfred

CBD, was a little more positive

in that the hotel had managed to

s u r v ive .

“The hotel bookings have

been holding fairly well,” said

Hensens. “Most people I speak

to understand the current

situation and the conditions of

visiting the area. The water crisis

is another factor that visitors

have to be aware of.”

Hensens, who hails from The

Netherlands, said he and his

family were going nowhere this

Christmas but rather staying in

the area.

“Th e r e ’s plenty to do in the

area without going to the

b e a ch ,” he said. “We need to

make the best of a bad situation.

All we can do is the best we

can.

“We need to keep businesses

alive and everyone employed.”

Eugene de Witt, owner of

the Kenton Garage and the

Continental group of businesses

in Kenton-on-Sea, said that with

so many variables on the table it

was almost impossible to

predict what would happen

during the holiday season.

“Our expectation from a

business perspective is that our

visitors will feel safe in our

village and enjoy a deserved rest

after a very challenging year all

round for everyone, he said.

“As a business, we have

gone to great lengths to uplift

our offering as well as make

adjustments that put our

business in step with physical

distancing requirements so that

customers will feel comfortable

utilising the safety measures

that we have tried to create

throughout our food business

under the Continental food

b ra n d .”

In summary, De Witt

believes season 2020 will be

remembered as a season where

nothing was as it used to be.

“Families will spend even

more time together and in close

proximity to home,” he said.

“As we waddle into 2021

knowing even less about what

the future holds, as no previous

trends holds true any more, I

believe that as business owners

we will have to move even

further outside the box in order

to make our businesses

sustainable.

“ There will be many aspects

of ‘normal’ business that will

disappear and be replaced with

challenges we have never

experienced before.”

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YEAR IN REVIEW: Headline News

JA N UA RY

● Port Alfred reached Day Zero

in its water crisis on December

30 2019, when Ndlambe

Municipality announced the

Sarel Hayward Dam was down

to 6% and they were no longer

able to pump water from the

Kowie River weir or the dam.

The flow stopped to the high

lying areas first, in Nemato, the

East Bank, and Forest Downs

and other parts of the West

Bank. By January 9 municipal

water tankers started delivering

water to various areas for

residents to collect in

containers on a daily basis, but

these tankers only started

delivering to the East and West

Bank on January 4.

● The Ndlambe mayor and

municipal officials felt the heat

of the community in a public

meeting on the water crisis at

the Port Alfred Civic Centre on

the evening of January 14. By

this time some residents had

been without water for nearly

three weeks. Amatola Water

bore the brunt of the criticism

for their failed bulk water

project, both from residents and

the municipality. “We don’t

trust Amatola, we don’t want

A m a t o l a ,” mayor Khululwa

Ncamiso said.

● Ndlambe Municipality

appeared intent to lease land for

a controversial sand mine close

to 43 Air School, residential

areas in Nemato and the Kowie

Nature Reserve, despite

detailed objections. Interested

and affected parties (IAAPs)

were stunned that week to

receive a letter from Ndlambe’s

infrastructural development

director Noluthando Vithi-

Masiza dated January 20,

advising them of the application

from Abanco Investments for

the sand mine, together with an

application for environmental

authorisation in terms of the

National Environmental

Management Act had been

¿

29 Miles St, Port Alfred

PO Box 2871, Port Alfred, 6170

046 624 4356 / Fax: 046 624 2293

Chiara Carter, chiarac@dispatch.co.za

Jon Houzet, houzetj@talkofthetown.co.za

Anneli Hanstein, hansteina@arena.africa

Chris van Heerden, vanheerdenc@arena.africa

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QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS: From left, Ward 10 councillor Ray Schenk,

mayor Khululwa Ncamiso, infrastructural development director Noluthando

Vithi-Masiza and her deputy Sipho Babama addressed residents on the water

crisis at the Port Alfred Civic Centre on Tuesday January 14

granted. The letter further said

comments and objections had

to be submitted by ‘Fr i d ay

January 20.’

● Houses under construction

in areas of Port Alfred were not

being built according to

municipal building regulations,

and Ndlambe Municipality

seemed reluctant to do anything

about the situation. A local

builder took Talk of the Town to

the sites of two houses, one

under construction and the

other already occupied to show

that these houses do not

conform to the conditions of the

title deeds.

F E B R UA RY

● In February Ndlambe

Municipality received another

qualified audit opinion from the

Auditor General for the

financial year ending June 30

2019. Among the reasons for

the qualified opinion was that

“the municipality did not have

adequate internal controls to

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please contact the Public Advocate at 011 484 3612, fax: 011 4843619. You can also

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confirm the indigent status of

the customers who were not

billed for service charges”. The

AG said he was unable to

confirm the revenue from

service charges by alternative

means, and whether any

adjustments were necessary to

the amount of R127.1-million

attributed to service charges

revenue from exchange

transactions and R9.4-million

for related receivables from

exchange transactions. Another

glaring item in the AG’s report

was about the huge water losses

– something reported on in the

previous AG’s report.

● On February 6, Judge Murray

Lowe granted Sigadla Ndumo

leave to appeal against Minister

of Arts and Culture Nathi

Mthethwa for his decision to

change Grahamstown’s name

to Makhanda. Lowe delivered

the original judgement in a suit

against the name change in

November last year. Ndumo,

who co-chairs an organisation

called Keep Grahamstown

Grahamstown (KGG),

challenged Mthethwa’s

decision on the basis that no

proper consultative process had

been followed. An appeal

against changing the city’s

name is still to be heard by a full

bench of the Eastern Cape High

Court.

● It came as a shock to many

when Netcare pulled out of the

public private partnership (PPP)

deal at both the Port Alfred as

well as Settlers Hospital in

Grahamstown due to, it

claimed, a lack of demand for

private

healthcare.

Consternation followed as

residents complained bitterly

that the facility had been

removed and that they would

now have to travel to Port

Elizabeth for procedures that

could have been performed

locally. Other residents

complained that one of the

reasons they moved to Port

Alfred was the fact that it had a

SEAWEED WALL: Photographed on Tuesday morning, February 18, following

heavy rains, so much seaweed had washed up at Kelly’s Beach that wave action

formed it into a wall. Talk of the Town asked if any readers could explain why

this happened

private healthcare facility.

● Portia Makhanya, chief

regional director of the

Department of Water and

Sanitation (DWS), was at the

Ndlambe special council

meeting on Wednesday

February 26 and asked to

explain the current situation

with respect to the water crisis.

Councillors at the meeting

shook their heads as Makhanya

was asked to address the

chamber and explain what was

happening with Amatola Water,

the implementation agent

appointed by DWS. Ndlambe

speaker Vivian Maphaphu

restated the council’s resolution

to get rid of Amatola Water so

that Ndlambe could use the

allocated funds to implement a

system that worked.

MARCH

● Corruption was alleged in a

lawsuit against the awarding of

multimillion rand tender for the

construction of a sea water

reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant

intended to alleviate Port

Alfred’s water crisis. Umhlangabased

company MEB Energy

launched the case in the

Grahamstown High Court,

claiming in court papers that

after submitting their bid to

Ndlambe Municipality, their

representatives had been

approached by people asking

for a R1-million “commission”

to arrange that the tender be

awarded to MEB Energy. MEB

Energy also said it was “highly

suspicious” that the winner

bidder, Cape-Town based

Quality Filtration Systems

(QFS), had a price almost R90-

million lower than MEB

Energy’s bid. The SWRO plant

story continued the following

week when the tender,

“shrouded with suspicions of

corruption” was suspended by

the Grahamstown High Court

pending a review hearing.

● A questionable contract

award by Ndlambe

Municipality which resulted in

a botched job going nearly

R200,000 over price was

highlighted by the Kenton-on-

Sea Ratepayers Association

(Kosra). The municipality put

out a tender to repair the

retaining wall at Middle Beach,

Kenton, late last year after the

wall was damaged by high seas.

A contractor was awarded the

job and according to Kosra,

“numerous errors were made,

resulting in large amounts of

work being required to be

redone”. The contract was

awarded to a non-qualifying

company, Lutiwell, whose sole

director is former councillor

Zache Ngxingo.

● On Monday March 23

President Cyril Ramaphosa

announced lockdown in South

Africa for 21 days from March

26 to April 16, 2020, to contain

the spread of the coronavirus

and to allow hospitals to get

r e a dy.

● Agri EC won an order in the

Grahamstown High Court at the

end of March compelling the

Eastern Cape department of

transport, safety and liaison to

fix dilapidated rural roads. Agri

EC had to return to court to get

the order which enforces an

agreement made between Agri

EC and the MEC for transport,

safety and liaison two years ago.

A number of farmers joined as

applicants in the suit in their

individual capacity, while the

director-general of transport,

safety and liaison and Makana

Municipality were corespondents.

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APRIL

● Just six days into the National Lockdown, on

April 2, the main story comprised of answers

from readers on the question of how they were

keeping themselves busy during the then

projected 21 days of lockdown. Most said they

were preparing for the three-week lockdown,

reading or rearranging their homes. No one

suspected the lockdown would carry on past

April 21.

● Allegedly violating drug laws as well as the

national 21-day lockdown, two Somalian men

were arrested on Wednesday night, April 1, by

members of the Port Alfred K9 unit. The K9 unit

members spotted a suspicious Mazda with black

shaded windows driving past the BP garage from

the direction of East London going towards Port

Elizabeth. According to our source the estimated

value of drugs was R26,200. He said they were

arrested for drug dealing and for contravening the

National Disaster regulations. He said they had

no permit for travelling from one district to

a n o t h e r.

● Coronavirus door-to-door screening started in

Port Alfred on Thursday April 9, with Nemato

being the first area covered. Nemato residents

braved cold and windy weather, assembling on

Joe Slovo opposite Nomzamo High School.

● At the end of April a complaint was made

against a Kenton-on-Sea policeman for allegedly

unjust and heavy-handed enforcement of the

Covid-19 lockdown regulations. A mother in

Marselle, Nontsikelelo Kelemane, said a

detective she knew only as Helesi, had

apprehended her daughter while she was on the

way to the shop to buy prepaid electricity. On top

of this, she alleged the policeman had been

drinking on duty. “Each and every one knows

how bad the coronavirus is, but it's not fair that

the police must violate our rights,” Kelemane told

To t T.

M AY

● Ndlambe Municipality’s water needs to take

priority over complaints about irregular tender

process deviations and allegations of corruption,

the Grahamstown High Court ruled at the

beginning of May. Judge NG Beshe dismissed

with costs an application for an interdict by MEB

Energy, the losing bidder in a R100-million

tender for a sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO)

plant intended to alleviate Ndlambe’s water

shortages. MEB Energy insisted it was

inexplicable that the winning bidder, Quality

Filtration Systems (QFS), had a price almost R90-

million lower than theirs.

● With hunger stalking residents of Nemato as a

result of the national lockdown, Ward 7

community members joined the growing number

of voices crying out over the distribution of food

parcels and vouchers meant for social relief. Two

Ward 7 residents, Lulamile Jelu and TM Booi,

who claimed to have registered their names for

food parcels from SASSA which were delivered to

their ward councillor, Mbuyiseli Yali, for

distribution. But they said they were left out when

food parcels were distributed.

● Two Makhanda residents, both employees at

the ambulance station of the Eastern Cape

emergency medical services (EMS) tested

positive for the Covid-19 virus, leading Mayor

Mzukisi Mpahlwa to appeal to the public to

desist from spreading rumours.

● In May the Grahamstown High

Court dismissed an application for

leave to appeal by Makana

Municipality and the provincial

government against the court’s

earlier decision to place Makana

under administration. The case

against Makana was launched more

than a year ago by the Unemployed

Pe o p l e ’s Movement), which argued

the municipality had failed its

constitutional obligations, leading

to deteriorating basic services and

financial ruin in Makhanda.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT:

Talk of the Town came across

this Ndlambe Municipality

honeysucker (vacuum tanker)

discharging raw sewage in the

bush on the verge of Wharf

Street adjacent to Nemato at

about 2.45pm on Saturday

March 7.

JUNE

● Taking the law into their own

hands, four men abducted a 16-

year-old Bathurst boy they

suspected of stealing a TV and

took him into the bush where

they allegedly beat him with an

axe handle and threatened to

hang him. Phaphama Nobebe

alerted Talk of the Town to the

incident, which was later

confirmed by the victim and

SAPS.

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● Questions were raised about

Ndlambe Municipality’s

alleged decision to lease land at

Station Hill to a company

whose directors include ANC

members and former municipal

officials. There had long been

suspicions about who had the

lease for the land, between

Station Hill and the R67, and

plans to build a shopping centre

there. EFF Member Phaphama

Nobebe approached Talk of the

Town and said Ndlambe

Municipality had leased the

land to Ezethu Holdings and

provided a CIPC document

listing past and present directors

of Ezethu.

● A teenager who raped and

robbed a German student on

Port Alfred’s West Beach last

November was sentenced to 14

years in prison. The 17-year-old

from Endlovini, who may not be

named as he is a minor, was

found guilty by the

Grahamstown High Court and

sentenced on June 5 to an

effective 14 years and six

months in prison, but had

already served six months in jail

awaiting trial. A week before he

raped the 18-year-old German

student, the Endlovini teenager

robbed another girl at West

Beach, taking her cellphone

from her at knifepoint, which

was considered an aggravating

f a c t o r.

● The murder of a young

Nemato woman who

mysteriously disappeared more

than a week earlier motivated

the local EFF to stage a protest

and march in June to draw

awareness to gender based

violence. Since the country

moved from level 5 of the

lockdown to level 4 and 3,

gender based violence (GBV)

had dominated news.

J U LY

● Ratepayers expressed anger

over the rates increase and

extravagant line items in

Ndlambe Municipality’s budget

passed by council on Friday

June 26. The council meeting

was held over Zoom and could

not be attended by Talk of the

Town or members of the public.

Parra and the Ndlambe

Ratepayers Forum made

appeals to the municipality to

make cuts to line items like

overtime, casuals and catering,

and not to increase rates (by

6.1%) or municipal salaries

(6.5%), as many residents have

been struggling financially

during lockdown. But the

increases were all approved by

council.

● EFF councillor Xolisa Runeli

reported his herdsman had

found a wallet with cards

belonging to PS (Peter) van

Staden, “who was attacked at

Centenary Park yesterday”. Van

Staden said he had gone to

Centenary Park to walk his dogs,

a Weimaraner and a

REMNANTS

OF CONFLICT:

Spent

cartridges from

birdshot which

police shot at

demonstrators

in Wharf Street

on Tuesday

March 17. The

p ro t e s t o r s

were on their

way to the

municipal

offices to air

their

grievances over

a contract for a

reservoir at

Thornhill

QUESTIONS & TESTS: Port Alfred Hospital Nurses were part

of a door-to-door coronavirus testing programme which

started in Joe Slovo Road opposite Nomzamo High School on

Thursday April 9. From left, Kim Whitebooi, Khwezi Mbenge,

Lindile Magwaxaza and Cakhwebe Zono

Weimaraner/Labrador cross. “I

have been walking my dogs

there since lockdown started as

we couldn’t go to the beach. It’s

my third year here – I didn’t

know it was a dangerous place.

I wondered why more people

weren’t using it,” he said.

● The DA opened a criminal

case against Ndlambe

municipal manager Rolly

Dumezweni on Monday July

13, for alleged illegal actions

relating to the awarding of a

R100-million tender for a sea

water reverse osmosis (SWRO)

plant on the Kowie River banks.

“This case arises from the

earlier judgment against

Ndlambe Municipality in the

Grahamstown High Court,

which found that the awarding

of a tender to Quality Filtration

Systems (QFS) for the

installation of a reverse osmosis

plant was unlawful and

i r r e g u l a r,” councillors Skura

Venene and Khanyisa Daweti

said in a statement.

● Two men were arrested for

allegedly breaking in and

attempting to steal goods from a

farm on the Shaw Park road in

July. A charge of assault was

added as one of the burglars got

into a scuffle with the farm

owner when he returned home.

Dudley Waters of Panther Farm

Security first alerted Talk of the

Town to the incident which

happened on Monday July 13,

and worked with SAPS to arrest

one of the suspects on the

Kleinemonde bridges. The

second suspect was arrested on

Thursday night, July 9.

● A 16-year-old youth and 23-

year-old man were arrested as

suspects in the murder of a 76-

year-old Alexandria farmer at

his farm stall on Saturday, July

25. The two made an initial

appearance in the Alexandria

m a g i s t ra t e ’s court the following

Tuesday and the case was

postponed to August 4. Both

remained in custody, the

juvenile at a place of safety.

Chrisjan van Niekerk was found

murdered in his farm shop at

Nooitgedacht, Alexandria, at

about 6pm on Sunday July 26.

AU G U S T

● The crime statistics for the

period April 1 2019 to March 31

2020 for Ndlambe differed from

the national figures and are

lower in terms of contact crime

(crimes against an individual) as

well as sexual offences. The

statistics covered just four days

of the lockdown, which started

on March 27. Property crime

over the period also decreased

in comparison to previous

years, especially crimes at

residential properties (breakins,

robberies and home/farm

i nva s i o n s ).

However, a series of landgrabs

were taking place in the

BANKING ON GETTING GRANTS: Main Street was blocked

off by police on Monday morning, March 30, from Van der Riet

Street to Campbell Street, to accommodate the hundreds of

people queueing at the banks to collect their social grants

during lockdown. While FNB and Capitec banks remained

open, the Absa Bank branch was closed and, according to a

notice on the window, will remain so until April 16.

UP IN FLAMES: Homewoods restaurant in Kenton-on-Sea was

destroyed in a late-night fire on Saturday May 2

Ndlambe municipal area and,

despite protestations from

existing residents and the

municipality, it seemed little

had been done to police the

area and ensure that did not

happen.

● At the August Ndlambe

council meeting land grabs in

Boknes and Trappes Valley

were an item on the agenda

although several others,

including a few in Nemato as

well as at the 43 Air School

turnoff, were also mentioned.

Requirements by the

Department of Human

Settlements are access to

infrastructure such as roads,

sewerage and electricity.

● Port Alfred’s main water

supply, the Sarel Hayward

Dam, was far lower than the

municipality reported,

according to the Port Alfred

Residents and Ratepayers

Association (Parra). Parra

chairman Dawie van Wyk had

been raising concerns about

dam levels for over two weeks

prior, and sent an updated

report to the municipality

estimating the dam was as low

as it was in March, when the

municipality said it was only

6% full. Van Wyk supported his

claim with photographs of the

dam measuring tower, showing

what the dam level was at

different stages over the past

two years.

● The DA said it would not

hesitate to lay criminal charges

after it came to light that Quality

Filtration Systems (QFS) is

unwilling to repay the R20-

million it received in advance

after being awarded the tender

to provide a R100-million

reverse osmosis (RO) plant for

Ndlambe Municipality. This

follows after Talk of the Town

sent a query to QFS asking, in

light of the high court judgment

on July 7, if the company had

paid back the R20m deposit

and, if not, what was the reason

for the delay. At this point the

only response from the

municipality was that “Our

lawyers are busy with the

matter, the municipality will

issue a statement at the

appropriate time.”

● In our September 10 edition

Ndlambe Municipality

revealed it would pay another

R10.5-million to procure

reverse osmosis (RO)

equipment

already

manufactured and acquired by

QFS, after a tender and contract

with the company was declared

unlawful and set aside by the

Grahamstown High Court.

Doing so would have the dual

effect of avoiding litigation with

QFS to get back R20-million

Ndlambe already paid, and

potentially spare municipal

manager Rolly Dumezweni and

other officials from the

consequences of irregular,

fruitless and wasteful

expenditure.

SEPTEMBER

● Questions were raised about

Ndlambe Municipality’s R2.5-

million Covid-19 expenditure

after it came to light that the

municipality spent R54,000

more than it needed to on

thermometer guns. In the last

week of August DA MP and

Frontier Constituency leader

Kevin Mileham issued a

statement about Covid-19

spending.

“One such example is the

procurement of 28 infrared

thermometer guns. Ndlambe

paid R71,247 for the 28 units

but could have bought them

from a local supplier for

R16,772 — a saving of

R 54 , 475 ,” Mileham said.

● Five family members and

their friend were brutally

attacked and robbed by men

armed with pangas while

fishing at the Cob Hole picnic

spot on the Kowie River on

Wednesday September 9.

Although the 75-year-old

grandfather, Piet Bissett, and his

19-year-old granddaughter

Karisna Bissett were hacked on

their heads with pangas and

needed stiches, the official

police report provided to Talk of

the Town states there were “no

injuries”. Other family

members were beaten with

branches and kicked.

● Just 10 days after the vicious

assault and robbery of the

Bissett family fishing at Cob

Hole, there was another brutal

attack on four fishermen by six

men armed with pangas. Andre

Adriaan, who recently moved to

Port Alfred from Makhanda

(Grahamstown), was unaware

of the previous incident when

he brought three friends visiting

from Johannesburg to fish at the

well-known but remote picnic

spot. They had been there about

an hour and a half when a man

in a passing boat warned them

about the previous attack. “He

said he was attacked there,”

Adriaan said. “We decided to

pack up, and as I was cleaning

the fish I had caught, I heard one

of my friends say, ‘hey’. I looked

up and saw these men.”

O C TO B E R

● A Port Alfred farm security

company owner foiled a

hijacking in October when he

tailed a hijacked truck loaded

with alcohol and caused the

robbers to abandon the vehicle

and flee. Dudley Waters of

Panther Farm Security was

alerted to the hijacking of an

Imperial Logistics truck en route

to Port Alfred on a WhatsApp

security group and soon

afterward, at about 1pm,

spotted the truck near the Royal

Marina entrance on Albany

Road (R72). He called Atlas

Security and SAPS for back-up.

Dr. Kevin Christie

Chiropractor

Dr. Natalie Christie

Homoeopath

26 Hill Street, Port Alfred, 6170

Telefax: (046) 624 4867

Distinctive

By TIMBER TOWN

Kitchens

Ŗ

Ŗ

Ŗ

Ŗ

Ŗ



● Senior DA officials met at the

Royal Port Alfred Golf Club on

Tuesday morning of October 7

to discuss the water situation in

Ndlambe and attempt to find

solutions to the myriad

problems around the supply of

potable water to the area.

At the start of the meeting it

was emphasised that all water

restrictions (use of hoses, car

washing and so forth) were still

in effect.

● In the October’s virtual

council meeting, Ndlambe

mayor Khululwa Ncamiso said

there were no homeless people

in Port Alfred and voted to

transfer money allocated to

help the homeless to another

project. Realising the mayor’s

statement was incorrect Talk of

the Town visited the derelict

municipal buildings in Pascoe

Crescent, behind the old market

building and opposite the SAPS

offices to investigate.

Two men agreed to talk to us

about how they had ended up

there. Looking tired and

concerned, the pair held out

little hope that their situation

would improve. “There are 14

people living here at the

m o m e n t ,” said Bill. “We have

four whites, two coloureds and

six blacks living here. Being

homeless can happen to

a nyo n e .”

● Bushman’s River Mouth

residents were outraged at the

state of their picnic spot after

members of the ANC Youth

League held a party there on

Saturday October 17. Resident

Ference Toth sent TotT a video

taken by another resident

showing the aftermath that

showed scores of empty liquor

bottles and other litter scattered

around the picnic spot, as well

as braai facilities and benches

that had been damaged. Some

surrounding bush was chopped

out for firewood and there was

human faeces around in the

bushes.

● After 40 years of service to

the South African Police

Service, former Port Alfred

Cluster Commander and district

commander of Vispol for the

Sarah Baartman District,

Brigadier Morgan Govender

retired.

N OV E M B E R

● As reported in our first

edition of November, Just after

3pm on Saturday October 31,

an alert was received by the

NSRI Port Alfred duty crew to

respond to a drowning in

progress at Kelly’s Beach. The

victim, a man believed to be

from the Far East and aged in his

20s, attended 43 Air School in

its pilot training programme, He

was apparently swept out to sea

by rip currents while swimming

with friends. The sea rescue

craft Rescue 11 Alpha was

launched along with the NSRI

rescue vehicle, and Gardmed

Ambulance Services and Atlas

Security responded to the

scene. Local surfer, Jared

Gordon, saw the incident

unfolding while he was surfing

at Kelly’s Beach and paddled

over to the man to help him.

Two local 12-year-old boys,

Reece Coetzer and Will Beatt,

who were about to leave the

beach with family, were alerted

by a bystander and both took

their surfboards into the water

to go help.

● A week after Ndlambe

Municipality announced

drastic water cuts to stave off

Day Zero, residents across Port

Alfred had barely experienced

any loss of supply. The

municipality announced on

November 13 that the Sarel

Hayward dam was at a critical

level, at only 3.7% capacity.

Water supply is being

augmented through the central

boreholes and the East bank

dune pumps.

● The eastern side of Port

Alfred was going to have a

bright new look when the brand

new Astron Energy filling

station and Fresh Stop opened

for business. In November

contractors, under main

contractor CM Heunis, had

been working extremely hard

for five months to be able to

hand over the completed

project by the end of November.

The official opening date was

December 10, but Paul

Griffiths, a partner in the

Astron/Fresh Stop franchise,

said they hoped to already be

operating a week earlier. Astron

bought Caltex and this was the

first Astron filling station in the

Eastern Cape.

DECEMBER

● Pleas from concerned Port

Alfred residents to Gift of the

Givers were too loud to be

ignored and, as a result, on

Monday afternoon of

November 30 the charitable

organisation made Marjorie

Parrish TB Hospital their first

port of call, delivering muchneeded

support in the forms of

personal protective equipment

SAFETY AT SEA: The Port Alfred NSRI, Station 11, were out on

the Kowie river on Sunday May 17 to train for emergencies at

sea and in the river. Keeping their social distance as well as

wearing safety gloves and masks, the team practiced

manoeuvres in order to ensure the safety of river and ocean

users during the national lockdown

and water. When Dr Imtiaz

Sooliman, chairman and

founder of the Gift of the Givers

(GotG), was asked how they

found out about Port Alfred’s

water crisis, he said: “We have

been getting calls from the

residents that there has been no

water in town for quite some

time. Apparently there is only

two percent of water left in the

d a m .”

● Following the strong winds

and high swells at the end of

November, over 30 seal pups

were rescued on beaches

between Woody Cape and Port

Alfred. Most were recovered

from Boknes and Cannon

Rocks. The seal pups were from

a colony at Black Rock just

outside Port Elizabeth and,

having been caught by the

churning ocean, the current

swept them all the way to

Ndlambe beaches.

● Water shortages in Port

Alfred had been at a critical

stage for weeks, as the town’s

main water supply, Sarel

Hayward Dam, remained

empty. The municipality’s strict

water cut-off regime caused

residents hardship and

considerable frustration. At the

December open Ndlambe

council meeting mayor

Khululwa Ncamiso explained

the current situation,

specifically focused on the

purchase and implementation

of two reverse osmosis (RO)

plants. One will be a seawater

reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant

designed to provide 2Ml (two

million litres) of potable

(drinkable) water per day with

water directly from the Kowie.

The second is for another type

of RO plant that purifies waste

SUBURBAN STATION: Residents thought police were

responding to a crime scene at the Stenden South Africa

campus on the corner of Muller Drive and Grand Street in July.

Talk of the Town attended and discovered it was the site of the

temporary SAPS charge office.

water (effluent). This will be a

3Ml per day plant, and together

they will provide 5Ml per day of

potable water – the amount of

water required for the area.

● Answers to our Facebook

question (asked prior to the

National Coronavirus

Command Councils’ decision)

regarding the general feeling

around the closure of beaches

GOING HOME:

Seals rescued

between Woody

Cape and Port Alfred

beginning of

December were

given a check-up by

marine mammal

biologist, Dr Greg

Hofmeyr of Bayworld

in Port Elizabeth

before being

returned to their

mothers on Black

Rock

was a hot topic with over 300

replies from generally irate

residents. The feeling was that

as they in the open air beaches

were the last places that should

be closed and would cripple the

tourism industry as well as

many businesses. Questions as

to why KZN and Cape Town

beaches remained open were

asked.

With you all the way.

046 624 5222 | harcourtsportalfred.co.za

T’s & C’s

Paper Nautilus Open – 07h00 – 11h00, daily from 15 December 2020 –

03 January 2021.


EDITORIAL

OPINION

Hoping for

a better

year

DIARISE THIS

Due to the current uncertainty with

regard to the lockdown regulations,

please check all events are still

happening beforehand.

Thursday December 31

Cricket clinic for boys and girls, held

by Level 2 ECB coach at the Port Alfred

Country Club. Booking is essential:

Call 076-593-0749.

9-9.30am, ages four-seven, R50;

8.45-10.30am, ages eight-11, R60;

10.40 to 11.40am, ages 12-14, R70.

Live Music at The Pig and Whistle,

Bathurst, 12 midday to 3pm.

Saturday January 1

New Year’s Day

Sunday January 2

Ant Caplan at Graze by the River, from

12 midday to 3pm.

Cricket clinic for boys and girls, held

by Level 2 ECB coach at the Port Alfred

Country Club. Booking is essential.

Call 076-593-0749.

9-9.30am, ages four-seven, R50;

8.45-10.30am, ages eight-11, R60;

10.40 to 11.40am, ages 12-14, R70.

Fish Braai at the Port Alfred River and

Ski Boat Club, at 1.30pm. Bookings on

046-624-4532.

Thursday January 7

Art with Heart at the Healing Heart

Garden. Dot art workshop dates for

children and adults. Two workshops

per day, from 10am to 1pm (family)

and 4pm to 7pm (pizza and paint,

adults)

Paint and Pizza fun for the whole

family. Includes everything you need to

make your very own dot art. Pizza and

refreshments served. 502 Nico Malan

Ave, Bathurst. 4pm to 7pm. Booking

essential: Call Ruth on 082-755-6037.

Family Dot Art fun for the whole

family. Includes everything you need to

make your very own dot art. Platter and

refreshments served. 502 Nico Malan

Ave, Bathurst 10am to 1pm. Booking

essential: Call Ruth on 082-755-6037.

This has been an exceptionally difficult

year. As I have said in this column

before, we often feel we are stuck in

our own Groundhog Day at Talk of the

Town, as we encounter the same problems

year after year.

Sewage spills, water shortages, illegal

dumping and misspent funds are just a few

of the issues that come up again and again.

On top of this was the global Covid-19

pandemic and the devastating economic

effects of the lockdown.

It is hard to keep a positive outlook

when bad things keep happening.

It is not as though we go out of our way

to find the negative — it is all around us.

Often when someone walks in with a

complaint about something going on in

their street or neighbourhood we groan

inwardly and think, here we go again.

But we do not stop caring. We continue

to listen to the concerns of residents and

take up these issues with the powers-thatbe.

We press for answers and hold our local

government accountable.

That is not to say we always get the

desired outcome. Sometimes TotT’s probing

sees results and people are happy. But often

nothing is resolved and the problem keeps

repeating.

At times like this, we have to be content

that our duty is accomplished in the asking,

and that we have informed the community.

If we stopped caring, we’d just pack it in

and bury our heads in the sand and pretend

everything is wonderful.

Good things are also happening, and we

report on those too. We reflect the whole

scope of what is happening in our

c o m m u n i t y.

Often the good is everyday and

expected, while the bad is magnified in

people’s perceptions because it is unsettling

and contravenes the norms of a civilised,

functional society.

If the municipality or the police are

doing their jobs, for example, is it a “good

thing” or is it just to be expected?

Why should we wonder and marvel

when speed bumps are painted or parks are

kept neat, or when criminals are arrested

and justice is served?

We want to live in a society where order

and justice are normal and any deviances

are uncommon aberrations.

So we enter the new year hoping for an

end to the pandemic, an end to the neverending

lockdown and a return to normality.

And we hope our government at all

levels will be driven by a will to serve with

all the resources at its disposal, and not by

the self-interest of party politics.

We hope 2021 is a better year for

e ve r yo n e .

Jon Houzet

❝Why should we

wonder and marvel

when speed bumps

are painted or parks

are kept neat, or

when criminals are

arrested and justice is

served?

THEIR CROSS TO BEAR

EARLIER THIS YEAR: Christian members of the Gonubie community carry a cross from their home all the way to Jeffreys Bay each year to

encourage men to attend the Mighty Men Conference and learn how to be better fathers, sons and husbands. At the entrance to the Willows

Caravan Park are this year’s cross-bearers and their support team, from left, Greg Goddard, Jonny Roach, Grant Levar, Heinrich Greer, David

Smith, Reverend Anthony Mentis and Leon Horn

HAVE YOUR SAY Letters to PO Box 2871, Port Alfred — or e-mail to h o u ze t j @ ta l kof t h e tow n .co. za

This is an open forum for readers to express their opinions. However, the publishers reserve the right to shorten letters. Those printed are not necessarily the views of Talk of the Town. Although noms de plume

may be used, letters must be signed and have an authentic contactable address & telephone number. Talk of the Town reserves the right to not publish letters. Please limit letters to 250 words or less.

Church able to help

thanks to support

When looking back at this time

of year, and evaluating the work

done according to our plan for

2020, it is safe to say it has been

a difficult year indeed.

The year 2020 has presented

so many challenges to us as a

church, the likes of which we

have never before experienced.

Our plan to help feed those

who are destitute has been

abruptly interrupted by the

many strict Covid-19

regulations, and this has

impacted adversely on our Soup

K i t ch e n .

Without PPE, there was no

way we could help, so our work

was on and off but we did not

stop completely to help those

who were in need.

When we could, we

continued to feed the hungry,

preparing take-aways to give to

those in dire need, through the

unwavering support of Pick n

Pay, Ndlambe Soup Kitchen

Forum, Social Development,

Nemato Spar and Debonairs

Pizza.

We wish to thank you all for

your support and may God

richly bless you!

We still need your support,

even as the year ends, and hope

you keep up the good work. You

are helping us to meet the basic

needs of many in our

community, so I again say thank

yo u .

More so, it was such a great

feeling to help our grannies and

mamas and children in

December, spreading some

much needed festive cheer.

We saw smiles on many

faces when we were cooking a

meal for them and handing out

bread, while the children

received biscuits and chocolate.

These have been t o u ch i n g

moments, when you see the

little ones receiving something,

even though it’s so small. Th e i r

faces carry expressions of

excitement and happiness as

well as gratitude.

It really is such a blessing to

witness during these atrocious

times of the pandemic, when

people need hope.

We also encouraged people

and prayed God’s blessing and

protection over them. It was

l ove l y.

For those who wish to

support this work, you can

contact us on 067-756-6274.

BISHOP CALEB MVANDABA,

Christ Ambassador Ministries

Shocked at selfishness

The headline in TotT’s December 17

edition, “Love the order of the day in

Council” should have read, “Love for

each other”, as certainly there was no

love for the people they serve in their

decision to celebrate the end of year

with a braai (which in essence the

residents paid for by way of rates!).

In fact there is nothing to celebrate.

The town is without water (and yet we

still are billed an availability tariff), the

roads are deteriorating, the sewerage

works could be under pressure unless

the water situation is reversed, but

most importantly of all, we have

thousands of residents suffering

hunger, homelessness, unemployment

and most certainly depression.

Where is the council members’

empathy, concern and love for their

fellow human beings whom they have

been elected to serve? To cap it all, the

LOOKING BACK

fact that they gave is each other

presents strengthens my opinion that

they care not one ounce for their

constituents. On their fat salaries, they

don’t need presents.

Maybe setting up a “hunger fund”

and putting their individual R350 into

that fund would have been a suitable

Christmas gesture.

As for the comment, “what can

R350 buy, so we have decided next

year that presents will be restricted to

between R750 to R1,000”—that says

it all. Are they aware that the very

government that they represent has

awarded just that amount, R350, to

any qualifying unemployed person to

live on for the whole month!

That is how out of touch our

councillors are with the real world.

JO RICE

BRIGHTER DAYS:

Back in January Jill

Hoskin showed-off

some of her beautiful

creations at the Port

Alfred Floral Art Group

meeting held at Don

Powis Hall, Settlers

Park

Em e rge n cy N u m b e rs

TideGuide courtesy of the South African Navy

Da t e High Lo w Da t e High Lo w

Port Alfred hospital........... (046) 604-4000

Police station..................... (046) 604-2001/2

De c 31 0447 1655 2313 1053

4 0719 1926 0102 1331

Multi-Security ................... (046) 624-2508

Jan 1 0522 1729 2347 1129

5 0809 2019 0146 1424

Chubb Security ................. (046) 624-4810

2 0558 1805 ---- 1206

6 0909 2127 0240 1532 Sky Alarms ........................ (046) 624-2806

3 0637 1843 0023 1246

7 1025 2256 0349 1658

NSRI ................................... 082 - 990 - 5971

Electricity .......................... (046) 624-1111 (a / h )

Gardmed ............................ 0 8 2 -759 - 2 13 4

EMS (Emergency

Medical Services) ........... 10 17 7

Holistic EMS ...................... 063-460-0042

Fire Department................ (046) 624-1111


YEAR IN REVIEW: C u l t u re

Ja n u a ry

● From asset manager for the

municipality to becoming a follower of

the Hare Krishna movement, Nick van

Lavieren shared his spiritual journey

with friends, family and others at an

information session at MyPond Hotel

on Saturday January 4.

● Child Welfare was grateful to

receive care bags from the Port Alfred

Rotary Anns, who donated 30 care

bags to Child Welfare in January.

The Rotary Anns collected practical

items like toothbrushes, toothpaste,

combs, waterless soap, facecloths,

notebooks and other necessities

throughout the year. Care bags for

children also contain comfort toys,

colouring books and crayons.

● A number of people braved the cold

weather on Saturday January 18 to

attend the first Port Alfred Floral Art

Group meeting for the year, held at the

Don Powis Hall in Settlers Park. Guest

speaker Jill Hoskin showed the

audience some of the beautiful work

she has done.

Fe b r u a ry

● Port Alfred residents, Danyica Boon

and Joshua de Vos were chosen to

represent SA at the Dance Star finals

that were to be held in Porecin, Croatia

in May 2020.

The Dance Star Finals and World

Dance Masters is the most prestigious

dance event of the year for dancers,

teachers, parents and all dance lovers

from around the world.

More than 4,000 dancers from 28

countries were expected to compete

for the coveted prizes. Unfortunately,

due to international Covid-19

lockdowns, the event was cancelled.

● The atmosphere was very festive on

Sunday February 9 when the new Port

Alfred chapter of the Ulysses

Motorcycle Association was opened at

R72 Saloon.

Po r t Alfred’s Ulysses president, Jurie

Erasmus, was very pleased that so

many Ulysses members from other

affiliated clubs in Port Elizabeth, East

London and Queenstown attended.

M a rch

● If you enjoy jazz then the Richmond

House Music Room was the place to be

on Sunday March 1.

The Chris Thorpe Jazz Quartet,

comprising of Chris Thorpe on drums,

Bob Thorpe on bass guitar, Virgil

Matrass on piano and Rick van

Heerden on sax and clarinet, played

some very difficult and challenging

pieces at the penultimate Classics at

the Castle performance.

From compositions like C a r ava n

(Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol), A

Night in Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie) and

Chameleon (Herbie Hancock), the

quartet made light work of the pieces

and also added their own “style” to the

music, as is demanded in the jazz

milieu.

● With the Rev Anthony Mentis

leading the way on his motorcycle, a

group of men carried a large fibreglass

cross all the way from Gonubie to

Jeffreys Bay in anticipation of the 2020

Mighty Men conference that was to

take place over the weekend of March

13 to 15.

● All planned cultural events were

suspended under the level 5 lockdown

on March 26 – originally intended for

just 21 days – to contain the spread of

Covid-19 and to allow hospitals to get

FACE OF SARIE: Port Alfred’s Beatrix Bissett, chosen

from more than 6,000 entries and in the Top 40 in the

Sarie Voorbladgesig competition by the end of

August

r e a dy.

April

● During the first 21 days of the

national lockdown, many people

found themselves without work and

therefore, without pay, and many

families went hungry as a result.

A new group, Ndlambe Lockdown

Support Group (NLSG), formed on

social media, and took the initiative to

raise donations on behalf of those less

privileged, and distributed food and

other items, while adhering to the strict

lockdown regulations.

ECSTATIC ABOUT AWARD NOMINATIONS: It was a

joyful season for Kenton-on-Sea product Kyle White in

July, as three of his music videos were nominated for the

Music Video of the Year at the SA Music Awards

Chris Stylianou, one of the NLSG

founders, said he felt compelled to

assist as there were people in Nemato

t ow n s h i p who had nothing to eat.

“We need to help those who cannot

help themselves,” he said.

M ay

● Round Table Alex/Kenton 210 were

not able to meet in person for their

meetings during the lockdown but it

didn’t stop them doing it electronically

from the confines of their homes.

Even during the lockdown they

continued to look where they could

assist the community in these difficult

times. “We are planning a few quality

events towards the latter part of the

year, dependant on the current

situation improving with regards to

C ov i d - 1 9 ,” chairperson Jacques van

Wyk said.

Round Table members recently

attended the first ever Digital National

Round Table Conference referred to as

Turn to PAGE 8


YEAR IN REVIEW: C u l t u re

Continued from PAGE 7

A R S TA .

“This was an amazing example of

how people can adapt to difficult

c i rc u m s t a n c e s ,” Van Wyk said.

● In May, guest writer John Heather

started writing about his travels,

starting with Irian Jaya, the second

largest island in the world, lying north

of Australia.

● Needy people of Bathurst/

Nolukhanyo struggling during the

Covid-19 national lockdown,

benefitted from generous donations

channelled through the Bathurst

Development Trust (BDT).

On the weekend of May 9 and 10,

about half a dozen trucks delivered 34

tons of food donated by former

Nolukhanyo resident Mzwabantu

Dayimani, who now holds a senior

position in the National Empowerment

Fund (NEF) in Johannesburg.

“The whole village turned out, men

and women, children and

grandfathers, black and white, and

moved the food by hand to needy

homes and into storage. It was the

closest thing I have ever seen to a

m i ra c l e ,” BDT volunteer Tori Stowe

said.

● The second article by former

headmaster John Heather appeared in

the May 28 edition.

This time Heather took us on a

journey to Magadigadi in Botswana.

Ju n e

● Planned to be the best yet, the 2020

Bathurst Agricultural Show was

recently cancelled by the Bathurst

Agricultural Society (BAS) executive

committee due to the national

lockdown, which prevented visitors

and other participants from attending.

The show was initially postponed

with a view to holding it later in the

year. BAS president Danny Wepener

announced the cancellation of the

show in a letter sent to stand-holders in

Ju n e .

Ju ly

● The Ndlambe Lockdown Support

THE KLEINEMONDE

PROPERTY SPECIALISTS

Cell: 082 923 4973 E-mail: owsley@imaginet.co.za

KLEINEMONDE

SOLE MANDATE

SOLE MANDATE

Group (NLSG) made a splash at East

Beach in aid of raising awareness of

their mission and to encourage people

to donate to the cause.

About 30 people stripped off and

headed for the water’s edge just after

7am, as the morning sun rose.

Despite a chilly wind, the

swimmers never hesitated as they took

the plunge.

One of the NLSG founder

members, veteran surfer and former

journalist Dave Macgregor, said the

water was warm and other swimmers

on the day agreed with him.

● Yo u ’d be forgiven for thinking there

was a protest outside Damant Lodge

when a jubilant crowd gathered

singing and cheering!

“It wasn’t a protest but my 100th

b i r t h d ay,” said Phyllis Futter.

“My children, who are scattered

across the globe, couldn’t be with me

because of the pandemic and the travel

restrictions, but family and friends

travelled from as far as Port Elizabeth

and Grahamstown to be at the gates of

Damant Lodge to be with me and to

sing to me.

Social distancing meant we couldn’t

hug one another but I felt the warmth of

their love and I thank them most

sincerely for taking the trouble to share

time with me.”

● If Nelson Mandela were still alive he

would have turned 102 years old on

Saturday July 18, so it was appropriate

that Ndlovini resident Nini Gaga, who

is 102, benefited from a Mandela Day

project organised by the ANC

Ndlambe sub-region.

Gaga had been living in a cracked

three-room house which leaked when

it rained.

ANC members put on a new roof on

Gaga’s house, and distributed food

parcels to 21 other families for

Mandela Day.

ANC convener of the task team in

the Ndlambe sub-region, Vuyisile

Mnyani, said 20 of the families were

from Port Alfred and one from

Bathurst.

Though the renovation was

JOINT MANDATE

TEA AND CAKE:

Pick n Pay hold a

special tea party

for Damant Lodge

residents on

January 24.

Enjoying it are,

from left, Gran

Futter, Wendy

Grove, Tisha

Marshall, Daphne

Maclachlan, Jean

Hazelhurst,

Malcom Nel,

Audrey Geyer and

Brenda Shelton

organised by the ANC, they employed

builders to do the actual job.

● Born and bred in Kenton-on-Sea,

music director, editor and colourist

Kyle White is making a name for

himself in the music industry with three

of his music videos selected for Music

Video of the Year at the SA Music

Awards (Sama).

According to White’s publicist,

Clayton Morar, White scored

nominations for Nasty C’s song

SMA, Whipped by Tellaman and

another by Lady Zamar, which he

considers career highlights. Morar said

the videos had accrued more than 150

million views on YouTube.

Au g u s t

● Guest writer John Heather’s third

article was about the desert people of

the Kalahari.

● Joyce Heny, a well-loved personality

of the area, passed away in August but

left behind an indelible mark on the

history of the area.

Born at the Dewaal Station in the

Hanover District on September 27

1923, Heny was just over a month

away from her 97th birthday when she

died.

Her father, Bill, a relief station

master, moved the family to

Martindale, then on to Alicedale and

Calitzdorp, and finally to Trappes

Valley. After nine years in the Bathurst

district, the family again moved to the

Western Cape, to Kimberley,

Lichtenburg, Warrenton and then on to

Knysna. Finally the family moved to

Bathurst and Port Alfred.

● The Port Alfred Lions were happy to

participate in a project to get

spectacles for needy pupils at Kuyasa

Special School in Makhanda

(Grahamstown) in August.

Kyle McKerrow, who teaches at the

school, engaged in a project to have

pupils’ eyes tested.

Jan-Louis Fourie of Eye Store

assisted her and a colleague with

training and equipment, which

enabled them to screen the pupils.

● Local resident Beatrix Bissett was

one of the top 40 finalists, chosen from

more than 60,000 women, in the 10th

Sarie Voorbladgesig competition.

September

● A local student who used her

birthday as a fundraiser, raised

R20,000 to feed 100 hungry families in

Nemato.

A final year student at 43 Air

School, Precious Sibalo’s birthday was

on August 7, but she decided to forgo a

birthday party and presents to do

something for other people instead.

“I was thinking instead of me

getting lipsticks and make-up for my

birthday as always, why can’t I reach

out to a family. I suggested that my

friends pledge a Pick n Pay Covid relief

food hamper for R200,” Sibalo said.

● With the world experiencing a

global pandemic, and at a time when

international cooperation is required

to resolve issues on health and the

economy, the Model UN (MUN) Club

is an important platform for youth to

understand the complexities of such

negotiations.

Dominique Binns, a first year

disaster management student at

Stenden SA, formed her own team of

which she is the current president, to

participate in local and national

debates in an attempt to find solutions

to some of the most important issues

plaguing countries at this time.

October

● In commemoration of fallen local

struggle icons in Nemato, Ndlambe

Municipality, in cooperation with the

department of sports, recreation, arts &

culture (DSRAC), unveiled a newly

restored monument at the entrance to

the township on the eve of Heritage

D ay.

The above mentioned stakeholders

renovated the long vandalised

monument, which is inscribed with the

names of fallen local freedom fighters,

and also donated 100 masks and South

African flags to two local schools –

Station Hill Primary and Dambuza

P r i m a r y.

● Tisha Marshall celebrated her

102nd birthday on September 22, and

all her friends at Damant Lodge joined

in the joyous occasion with wonderful

cake and eats on the day.

“Tisha still looks beautiful at 102!”

said Damant Lodge staff member Elize

E s t e ve s .

Marshall was born in Gwelo, in the

former Rhodesia, in 1918 and had two

brothers and two sisters.

They moved from Gwelo to

Umvumba, a friend’s farm, after their

father died. Marshall found a job in a

wo m e n s ’ shop, where she learnt to

sew. She earned the princely sum of

three pounds and has been sewing ever

since.

● After months of no local

entertainment due to the lockdown

restrictions, live music fans looked

forward to the Fever Event at Tony's

Jazz Inn in Nemato on November 7,

where local artists and visiting artists

from Port Elizabeth would showcased

their talents.

The event was organised by

Khanyile Mabona and Yodwa

Mthimkhulu, under the auspices of

Trap Fever, a locally established

entertainment platform.

● Christ Ambassador Church’s soup

kitchen, under the leadership of Bishop

Caleb Mvandaba, had been serving

food to the less fortunate well before

the Covid-19 pandemic began, and

thanked Pick n Pay, the municipality

and other organisations and

individuals for supporting them.

MUSIC TO MAKE

YOU THINK: The

Chris Thorpe Jazz

Quartet performs

the penultimate

Classics at the Castle

performance on

Sunday March 1 to a

full house of jazz

fans. From left, on

the stage, are Virgil

Matrass on piano,

Bob Thorpe on bass,

Rick van Heerden on

sax and clarinet and

Chris Thorpe on

drums

SPIRIT OF GIVING: Through their quiz evenings, raffles and various other

events throughout the year, the St Paul’s Anglican Church Ladies Guild

collected R42,000 which they divided equally and handed over to seven

charitable organisations in the area on Tuesday March 17. From left, are

Sheena Ferguson of Healing Horses, Susan Harty of Port Alfred Child

Welfare, Sandra Pool representing the ladies guild, Diny Hartleb of the Port

Alfred Soup Kitchen, Angela Hibbert of Hospice, Margie Thomas of

Ndlambe SPCA and Jenny Middleton of Loaves and Fishes. The

representative of the NSRI were not available for the photograph

N ove m b e r

● Things were stirring at last at the

Kowie Museum, which had been

closed for the Covid-19 lockdown

since March.

Tuesday November 3 was the reopening,

and the curator, trustees and

helpers were thrilled to welcome

visitors again to enjoy the treasures that

are so attractively displayed at the Old

Station.

But before the re-opening, there

was a big dust-up (literally) when

volunteers armed themselves with

aprons, dusters, brooms and elbow

grease to get the museum ship-shape

again, after its long slumber.

● It was TV personality, event planner

and motivational speaker Aleit

S wa n e p o e l ’s 19th town and his first talk

in English when he visited Port Alfred

to speak at the Royal St Andrews Hotel

(RSAH) on his marathon tour of 50

towns across SA.

Swanepoel, who has a lifestyle

show called Tyd met Aleit on Kyknet,

said the idea for his tour came when

lockdown restrictions eased and he

wanted to “go spread a message of

hope throughout SA and tell people

there is a future”.

● LA Lore 3 was released, and

according to co-author Bugs Wilmot, is

potentially the last of the series of short

stories very specifically aimed at

highlighting the humour of the Lower

Albany people and their ability to take

sometimes dangerous situations and

find the humour in them, though not

always intentionally.

December

● Port Alfred resident, 21 - ye a r- o l d

model Jennita Gongota, is a semifinalist

in the Empress SA 2021

competition and is appealing to the

public to vote for her by smsing

“Je n n i t a ” to “35334” so she can bring

the crown home to Port Alfred.

She says voters can vote as many

times as they want – each sms costs R3.

Gongota, who is originally from Elliot

and attended Masikhuthale Secondary

School, won Miss Elliot 2017.

● The Sunshine Coast Hospice Carols

by Candlelight and Tree of Lights was

turned into a virtual event this year, and

did not take place at the Port Alfred

Hospital grounds as in past years, due

to the pandemic.


Port

A l f re d BUSINESS FORUM Keeping you up to date on the local business front

graphic © vadym yesaulov / 123RF.com

LOYALTY APPRECIATED

GET DOLLED UP

BEAUTIFUL CLOTHING: Ladies visiting either the Heritage Mall in the Port Alfred CBD or the Rosehill Mall should visit Le

Dame Mystique as they hold a large variety of women’s clothing, hats, jewellery, wigs, masks and more. Marisa Daneel,

left, and manager Doreen le Roux are at the Rosehill store and invite you to view their clothing range, from the summery

clothes to funky, to elegant, Le Dame Mystique can complement your wardrobe or offer you an entirely new look P i c t u re :

ROB KNOWLES

LONG SERVICE: Philemon Kam Kam is recently honoured for his

35 years of loyal service at Sandawana apartments

ON A MISSION

Boost for local property market

as buyers make most of low

interest rate

What a year we have

had.

The impact of Covid

has caused havoc in the

c o u n t r y.

Businesses have

closed and will

continue to do so.

People are losing

their jobs and others are

moving to a more

secure living

e nv i r o n m e n t .

And, we haven’t

seen interest rates at

these levels for some

time.

Ye a r- o n - ye a r

employment levels are

down 10% but

improving from the

lows experienced midye

a r.

Property inflation in

the Eastern Cape is

within targeted levels at

4.3% and the consumer

price index is at 3%.

So how has this

MY HOME

Simon Oliver

impacted on our

property market?

Properties are

m ov i n g .

They are mainly

below R1.5m and as

there are very few of

these, the prices are

quite firm.

As the properties get

more expensive, buyers

have more room to

negotiate.

Properties that have

unique features and

great views, still

demand premium

prices.

We have also

noticed that many

buyers are preferring to

get into our market by

buying plots and then

building their dream

home when it suits

them.

One always has to

balance the cost of

building down here,

which can be north of

R12,000 per square

metre, against buying a

“fix-me-upper” wh i ch

in the current market

would come in much

lower than the building

cost.

The rental market is

in a state of tension.

We have many

tenants who can only

afford rentals of less

than R5,000 per month

but there is not enough

stock to satisfy them.

With the interest

levels where they are,

these tenants, where

they can, are choosing

to buy.

The weak economy

has resulted in as many

as 25% of tenants being

in arrears.

It is important

therefore to look after

your good tenants and

to carefully check the

credit rating of new

tenants before signing

c o n t ra c t s .

First-time buyers

m ov i n g

out of the rental market,

and affordability

pressure, is

keeping rental inflation

down and in some

cases negative.

If you are interested

in discussing buying,

selling, letting or

renting, please contact

me on 082-653-5643

or via e-mail on

s i m o n . o l i ve r @ s e e f f. c o m .

I look forward to

hearing from you.

COLLECTING FOR

THE HUNGRY: Craig

Ellis of the Port

Alfred Soup Kitchen

was on a mission at

the Rosehill Mall to

collect donations

from locals and

visitors for the soup

kitchen’s feeding

scheme for the poor

Picture: ROB KNOWLES

VOLCANIK

TELEVISION

29 Biscay Road

TEL: (046) 624 3630

THANK YOU TO ALL

OUR CUSTOMERS

AND THE COMMUNITY

FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

WISHING YOU A

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Royal Alfred Marina | R 3 260 000

SOLE MANDATE - Lovely level home on the Royal

Alfred Marina

Bedrooms 3 | Bathrooms 2 | Garages 2

This west facing, 3 bedroom home with a private jetty has

an attractive, enclosed entrance and private little garden.

Furniture an optional extra and can be negotiated.

WEB 4350690

Ben Kember | ben.kember@seeff.com

(M) 082 934 0844 | (O) 046 624 4879

View by appointment.

East Bank | R 1 300 000

SOLE MANDATE - Immaculate Single Story, Low

Maintenance Home

Bedrooms 2 | Bathrooms 2 | Garages 2

This delightful face-brick home is ideally situated on the

East Bank within walking distance to the beach and boasts

two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Spacious open plan

living area leading onto sheltered patio with built-in braai.

WEB 4398390

Diane Hosty | diane.hosty@seeff.com

(M) 082 775 2777 | (O) 046 624 4879

View by appointment.


N E I G H B O U R LY NOTES

E-mail Rob Knowles at knowlesr@tisoblackstar.co.za or fax (046) 624-2293

or drop in at 29 Miles Street from 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

TONIGHT is the night we say farewell

to 2020 and welcome in the New Year.

Of course, due to restrictions, no-one

will be around to welcome in the New

Year as the curfew kicks in.

But we will survive. South Africans

are a tough lot and have bounced back

from worse.

To you and your family, we wish

you all the joy and merriment the

season should offer and hope that 2021

will be the best year yet.

IT’S the last day of what has turned out

to be a very trying year for everyone,

not just in South Africa but around the

wo r l d .

South Africa marks 280 days out of

365 under national lockdown

restrictions that have seen businesses

close due to lack of income, placing

thousands out of work at a time when

money is scarce.

But we have also witnessed some

great acts of kindness and generosity as

well. Out frontline staff at hospitals and

clinics have been generally exemplary,

our EMS serviceman and women have

been on call throughout, despite a

number having been attacked.

Our security companies have

responded to the many crimes

committed in our area, ordinary

people have done without to ensure

others receive food; the list goes on.

Now, with water still a major

concern in Ndlambe, the beaches

closed and Eskom ready to switch off

the lights once more without any

notice, we are left to contemplate the

year that has been and consider

whether we could have done things

d i f f e r e n t l y.

May your plans for 2021 be

productive and positive ones as we

hopefully watch the dangers of Covid-

19 slowly dissipate. The good thing is

that if you’re reading this, you have

survived so far. But let’s hope that 2021

gives us the opportunity to do more

than survive, but thrive and make up all

we have lost in 2020.

HAPPY birthday greetings and best

wishes to everyone celebrating this

special occasion in the week ahead,

especially Allan Pretorius, Ashley

Gardner, Brenton Spence, Peter

Charter, Steve Harris, Christopher

Friderichs, Kyle Jacobs, Denzil

Goosen, Peter Hains, Susan Kok,

Bonnie Blaine, Aiden Norden, Hans

Hon, Vic Goddard, Kosta Kavagias,

Andrew Jones-Phillipson, Luke

Beckett, Mary McGhie, Willem Horn,

Glenda Huxtable, Bradley van Zyl,

Sophie Bessinger, Ryan Vermaak, Chris

Shaddock, Jacques van Wyk, Justine

Hulley, Devon Coetzee, Angela Fourie,

Audrey Barnard, Averil Oosthuizen,

Daniel Paterson, James Charter,

Dominicue Averbuch, Ivy Gulliford, Jo

Wilmot, Vanessa Hilton-Barber,

Russell Shelton and Anina Blouw.

ANOTHER business anniversary and

our congratulations and wishes for

more future success to Winston

Ve r m a a k ’s Colin’s Garden Service, The

Wharf Street Tab and the Historic Pig &

Whistle.

SPECIAL thoughts and prayers are with

all who are not well, having or have

already had tests, operations and

treatments. Sterkte Roy Potter, Andrew

de Vries, Jenny Groenewald, Jenna

Coetzee, Jan Haig and Graeme Sunny

Hill.

WISHING all couples celebrating

wedding anniversaries congratulations

and continued happiness for many

happy times ahead. Good luck to Lou

and Annette Coetzee, Willem and

Marlene van Rensburg, Graeme and

Wanda Kelbrick, Dean and Lorraine

Samuel, Chris and Cindy de Wet Steyn

and Grant and Tricia Campbell.

MAY your 2021 be filled with

many amazing memory-making

moments.

May the blessings of good health,

good humour and good sense be with

you and your family in the coming

ye a r.

THOUGHT for the week:

“Approach the New Year with resolve

to find the opportunities hidden in

each new day”.

BEST regards as always,

The Team

SUNRISE

FROM

SOUTHWELL

ROAD: A

beautiful

sunrise in

Port Alfred

would

possibly be

a warning to

sailors

Picture: ALAN

P O U LT N E Y

SUDOKU - BLOOMING BRILLIANCE

Complete this Sudoku and be in line to win a R250 voucher

from Blooming Brilliance at the Courtyard. Please continue to

submit your entries during our annual shutdown by placing

them in our office door letter box. We will announce all the

winners in the 7th January 2021 edition. Thank you for your

enthusiastic participation and support throughout the year.

BLOOMING

BRILLIANCE

Name:...................................................................................................

WIN A VOUCHER FROM HIGHLANDER PUB

Tel No:...................................................................................................

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S SUDOKU

Name:.........................................................................................................................

Address:....................................................Tel No:......................................................

Please continue

to submit your

entries during our

annual shutdown

by placing them

in our office door

letter box. We

will announce all

the winners in

the 7th January

2021 edition.

Thank you for

your enthusiastic

participation and

support throughout

the year.


YEAR IN REVIEW: School

Ja n u a ry

● Kuyasa Combined School

managed to improve its matric

pass rate of 2018 by 6.05% to

89.83%, maintaining their

position as the top performing

school in Ndlambe for the

second consecutive year,

beating Port Alfred High School

by just half a percentage point.

On the other hand, Hoërskool

PJ Olivier was leading at a

district level with a 100%

matric pass rate, and rising from

a third position it held in 2018

(83.33%).

● Port Alfred High School’s

archery team competed in the

first interschools NASP

tournament of the year in

Uitenhage on January 25 hosted

by the Kwagga Archery Club at

HTS Daniel Pienaar. Very hot

conditions saw the archers

battling the heat and humidity

but good scores and several

personal bests were achieved.

Fe b r u a ry

● At the beginning of February

new students were welcomed

to Stenden South Africa with an

official opening, and an award

ceremony took place at the

Royal St Andrews Hotel a week

earlier. Commenting on the

previous year, executive dean

Dr Wouter Hensens said: “2019

has not been good, either

globally or locally.

“There has been a reduction

in the number of international

students, staff have moved,

gone on maternity leave or

temporarily relocated between

Stenden’s various international

campuses. This has all

happened around the same

time and put pressure on other

s t a f f .”

● In February Port Alfred High

School (PAHS) announced

Nigel Kirt Adams as the new

principal after former PAHS

principal Clive Pearson retired.

C l ive ’ successor Adams came in

with massive experience as he

spent 27 years of his career at

Alphendale Secondary School

in East London where he ended

up as HOD. He also wo r k e d

two years at Lilyfontein School.

He vowed to unite the school,

parents and community while

also fighting for a 100% pass

rate at the school.

M a rch

● The intermediate phase at the

Port Alfred High School held

their annual Valentine’s Dance

a little later this year, on Friday

March 6. Feeling the need to

create an awareness about

waste, the pupils who belonged

to Early Act, the primary school

version of Rotary, presented a

“Trash Fash”, a fashion show of

outfits made entirely from

waste. Creative outfits were

made using newspaper,

cardboard, paper packets, chip

packets and bottle tops.

April

● Winning the “Ultimate

Master of Dance” competition

held in Port Elizabeth earned

grade 12 pupil at PJ Olivier

High School Joanet Myburgh a

place in the EP Performing Arts

team. He was due to dance in

the national rounds in

Rustenburg in mid-year.

M ay

● Port Alfred High School head

of marketing, alumni and

development Laura Guest

thanked and updated donors for

the Phakamisa Pantry Project

which was collecting nonperishable

foodstuffs as well as

essential toiletry items to assist

pupils in need. She extended

her appreciation to members of

the public, the owners of

Rosehill SuperSPAR, members

SCHOOL IS DONE: The matric class of 2020 exited the Port Alfred High School gates officially

for the last time in November, having been formally thanked and wished good luck by the staff,

parents and Grade 11s at a special valedictory assembly. Their final exams ended on December

11

of the Rotary Club of Port Alfred

and the Grace and the Truth

Church for donating goods to

put in the trolleys stationed at

Heritage Pick n Pay entrance

and at Rosehill SuperSPAR.

Ju n e

● The staff of El Shaddai

Christian Academy were

delighted to welcome back

grade 7 and 12 pupils on June 2

when lockdown regulations

were eased. Commenting from

her observation, Amanda

Rathbone said the majority of

pupils were eager to return to

school while also adding that

some appeared slightly anxious

at the screening station.

Rathbone stated that the school

took pupils for orientation

training which included

information on how to wear

their masks correctly, hand

cleaning, sanitising and social

distancing in an effort to lessen

the fear.

● After three months of

shutdown due to Covid-19,

Alexandria Christian Academy

(ACA) in June was the first

school in Ndlambe to resume

classes under strict Covid-19

regulations such as the wearing

LEARNT THE HARD WAY: Commenting on the reopening

of schools in June, Kuyasa Combined School Grade 12 pupil,

Simamkele Sambu said the closure of schools due to the

Covid-19 lockdown had taught her a valuable lesson, to

appreciate education system and her teachers. Sambu was

having mixed emotions about the resumption of schools

earlier in June

HEAD PREFECTS 2021: At a special leadership assembly held

at the beginning of November, Port Alfred High School’s

principal, Nigel Adams, and deputy headmaster, Ian Knott-

Craig, centre announced, from left, Armand Oosthuizen as

deputy headboy, Carissa le Roux as headgirl and Yolisa Bobo as

deputy headgirl

of a mask and social distancing.

The school bought personal

protective equipment worth

R35,000 from its savings

without the department of

education’s assistance.

● It was all systems go for grade

7 and 12 in June as they were

the first to resume classes

following the three-month

forced break due to the Covid-

19 outbreak. Schools in

Nemato resumed classes under

strict Covid-19 regulations such

Turn to PAGE 12

TEMPERATURE SCAN: El Shaddai Grade 12 pupil

Mufarowashe Kuudzadombo having his temperature checked

by staff member Amanda Rathbone in June

T’s & C’s

Highlander Pub open from 10 am until late. Highlander Kitchen open from

12h00 until 21h30 from 01 – 15 December 2020. Highlander Kitchen open

from 12h00 – 22h00 from 16 December – 03 January 2021.


YEAR IN REVIEW: School


as wearing masks, taking

temperatures when entering the

school premises, sanitising and

maintaining a 1.5m desk

distance from all others.

Township schools visited by

TotT included Station Hill

Primary School, Nomzamo

Senior Secondary School and

Mtyobo Primary School.

● Port Alfred High School

pupils Rocco Bothma and

Caden Moller were selected

from a pool of 600 candidates

as the winners of the 2020 Allan

Gray Orbis Foundation

scholarships for grades 8 to 12.

The duo’s 70% overall

academic average gave them an

opportunity to enrol in an

esteemed South African high

school. The Allan Gray Orbis

Foundation Scholarship assists

financially constrained grade 6

pupils who have significant

entrepreneurial potential.

● Humble Madibaz rugby prop

Tembelihle Yase demonstrated

how hard work and a strong

support base had helped him

achieve his dream after a period

of great uncertainty when his

varsity funding dried up. The

25-year Nelson Mandela

University graduate, who was

doing his master’s in marketing,

had feared that his career was

over when a contract with

Eastern Cape Province Rugby

was terminated in 2015.

However, Yase asserted that

friends and family support had

kept him going in 2016.

● Madibaz Cricketers’ duo

Matthew Christensen and

Luphumlo Ncanywa

highlighted proper planning as

the key factor in their academic

excellence. The Nelson

Mandela University products

graduated this year, Christensen

with a BCom in business

management and Ncanywa

with a doctorate in chemistry.

However, the duo’s journeys

through varsity were quite

unique, with Christensen, 23,

having done his degree from

2015 to 2019 while Ncanywa,

aged 32, started his studies in

2005.

Ju ly

● In the wake of news that

some unions were challenging

the department of basic

education when schools

reopened for grades 7 and 12 in

June, TotT sought an affected

pupil to hear her feelings on the

matter. Simamkele Sambu, a

matric pupil at Kuyasa

Combined School, said she had

to learn self-discipline and the

importance of teachers in a hard

way in order to keep up with her

school studies during level 5 of

the lockdown, which kept

pupils out of school for more

than two months. She added

that she was happy to be back at

school but also anxious.

● In response to Covid-19 crisis

a trio schools – El Shaddai

Christian Academy, Kowie

Foundation School and Port

RECYCLING CHIC: The Intermediate phase girls at Port Alfred High School Modelled ‘Trash Fash’ at their Valentine’s Dance on

March 6

Alfred High – joined forces and

appealed to their staff, pupils,

parents, past pupils and

members of the broader

Ndlambe community to donate

any pre-loved items still in good

condition for their Pop-Up

Charity Shop which took place

from July 29 to August 1 in the

Girl Guide Hall. Funds raised

from the pop-up shop went

towards scholarships for

deserving children in need.

● Following uncertainties

regarding the future of the

Stenden campus in Port Alfred

due coronavirus pandemic,

Stenden’s executive dean

Wouter Hensens responding to

the public. Hensens said:

“Stenden South Africa

continues to see a bright future

in Port Alfred and is committed

to staying here.”

He further revealed that

classes were offered online and

students were giving positive

feedback about studying online,

while they also felt safe.

Hensens was responding to

questions from the public on

whether the campus would

close down, as no students had

been on campus since s ch o o l s

were closed due to the

l o ck d ow n .

October

● Saddened by the sight of

children hanging around his

shop during the week instead of

being in school, Mohammed

Nasiib decided to donate

school uniforms to needy pupils

from Mtyobo Primary School,

Nomzamo Senior Secondary

School and Kuyasa Combined

School. One Stop Supermarket

owner Nasiib said it concerned

him to see children mssing

school because they did not

have school uniform.

● Started in the very year the

English Settlers landed in the

Eastern Cape, Bathurst Primary

School celebrated its 200th

birthday in October. Lower

Albany Chronicles (E Morse

Jones) stated that Bathurst was

the SA’s oldest existing school,

with classes first conducted in a

marquee. In 1830 the school

had registered 51 pupils, while

1831 saw two stone classrooms

being built by Charles Stone.

These buildings are still in use

today, having been well looked

after over the years.

SAFETY FIRST: Bushwillow pupils returned to school in June

after the school closure due to the nationwide lockdown.

Children were passing screening station when entering the

school, where teachers checked their temperature and

symptoms and pupils washed their hands with a sanitising soap.

Dr Eleanor Galpin joined the pupil screening on the first day at

school to support the staff. ‘We saw many happy faces entering

the school premises again, ready for a day of exploring and

reconnecting with friends and teachers again,’ parent Anouk

Verheijen said. Pictured from left are teachers Jessica van Graan

and Nomaxabiso Sandi Hoyi with pupil Uviwe Nangu

STRETCHING ARMS: Grade 3s from Shaw Park Primary School practiced social distancing in the

fresh air when schools resumed classes in July. From left are Okuhle Halom, Andrew Pike,

Likhona Solwandle, Likhona Zibi and Savanna Stewart


The city is renowned for its

educational institutions, for

being the national seat of

the judiciary and for its

cultural events

makhanda

festival city

with SID PENNEY

Send your news of local events

and achievements, or of any

issues you might be having to

sidp@imaginet .co.za

or call (046) 624-4356

picture © bernard mackenzie / 123RF.com

Looking back at 2020 in Makhanda

Coronavirus and lockdown hit

headlines in Makhanda in 2020

Little did Makhandans

(Grahamstonians) know that

just three months into 2020,

they and the rest of the country,

and world, would be adversely

affected in a big way by the

Covid-19 pandemic.

Undoubtedly, the

coronavirus was the big

newsmaker of the year, and

continues to be.

Here’s a month-by-month

look at Makhanda, its people,

places, happenings, nonhappenings

and milestones in

2020.

JANUARY 2020:

In a landmark judgment

handed down in the

Grahamstown high court it was

ordered that Makana

Municipality be dissolved and

an administrator appointed

until a new council was

elected.

However, only days later,

Makana mayor Mzukisi

Mpahlwa announced that, after

seeking legal advice, his

council had taken the decision

to appeal the judgment.

Among the new members of

staff welcomed to the Diocesan

School for Girls (DSG) in

January was the new head of

school, Mr Jannie de Villiers,

who wrote in the school’s first

newsletter of the year that 89

new pupils were welcomed to

DSG at the start of the year.

Well-known and well-liked

former

professional

photographer and owner of

FotoFirst, Duncan Greaves,

died in Settlers Hospital at the

end of the month.

He was responsible for the

superb, often stunning

photography in the coffee-table

book Grahamstown Reflected.

Over the years, Greaves was

the official photographer at

thousands of functions and

events such as university

graduations, weddings, prizegivings,

dances, balls and sports

e ve n t s .

FEBRUARY 2020:

St Andrew’s College 1st team

waterpolo captain, Matthew

Hillary, who played his 200th

match for the team in February,

was awarded honours for

waterpolo by the school.

Diocesan School for Girls

(DSG) athletes picked up no less

than 16 medals, nine of them

gold, at the Sarah Baartman

athletics championships in Port

Elizabeth.

Though some water flowed

into Settlers Dam and

Howiesonspoort Dam after the

copious rainfalls towards the

end of February, this did not

mean that water restrictions

would be lifted, and water

rationing remained in place.

The SA National Blood

Service (SANBS) in PE was

delighted with the 270 units of

blood, including 103 from firsttime

donors, collected in

Makhanda in February.

Blood collection drives were

held at the Dutch Reformed

Church hall, Graeme College,

DSG/St Andrew’s and the

military base.

Oliver Cartwright and

Matthew Weaver completed

their 100th parkrun in Makana

botanical gardens on the last

Saturday of February, a rather

special occasion as it was the

first parkrun ever held

worldwide on a Leap Year

S a t u r d ay.

Down at the coast, Oliva

Lange won the St Andrew’s

College senior River Mile and

Courtney Repinz won the DSG

senior River Mile.

MARCH 2020:

Sitting in the Grahamstown

high court, Judge Miki

Mfenyana handed down

suspended six-month sentences

to two of Makana Municipality’s

top-structure officials –

executive mayor Mzukisi

Mpahlwa and municipal

manager Moppo Mene.

They were found guilty of

wilfully ignoring a 2015

judgment ordering them to

bring the municipal landfill site

in line with legislation.

The Grahamstown Baptist

Church, the Mother Church of

the Baptist Union of SA,

celebrated its 200th anniversary

on Saturday, March 14, with

Baptist leaders travelling from

across the country for the

occasion.

A huge field of 578 runners

and walkers took part in the

annual Makana Brick 8km Nite

Race through the streets of

Makhanda.

The proceeds from the event

went the way of Grahamstown

Hospice.

The race was started in

dramatic fashion on Graeme

College’s Somerset field by Basil

Mills firing his thunderous Lee

& Enfield swivel gun.

The overall winner was

Lubabalo Bokuva in 27 minutes

53 seconds, with Lauren Ranger

first lady in 33 mins 14 secs.

Kenrich Motors, with dealer

principal Dean Kent accepting

the award, won the Dealer of

the Year award in the small

commercial vehicle category at

the awards function of Isuzu

Motors SA.

PJ Olivier Primary School

hosted the 23rd Frans Erasmus

Under 13 rugby and netball

tournament in March.

Visiting schools came from

PE, Fort Beaufort, Cradock,

Kenton-on-Sea and Uitenhage.

Erin Powers of DSG finished

10th out of 63 players in the

U16 division at the SA junior

squash open in Bloemfontein,

positioning her as one of the top

players in her age group in the

c o u n t r y.

Thousands of people

converged on the Graeme

College campus for the 22nd

staging of the Pam Golding

Properties/Graeme rugby day,

once again convened and

organised by Graeme legend

Nico van der Meulen.

In the 1st team division,

hosts Graeme scored a narrow

21-18 win over Marlow

Agricultural High, St Andrew’s

College beat Framesby High 15-

12 and Kingswood College lost

12-28 to Selborne College.

Little did the players,

officials and supporters

attending know that the day’s

rugby would be the last for the

2020 schools’ rugby season due

to the Covid-19 lockdown

restrictions.

In declaring a state of d i s a s t e r,

as SA battled the spread of the

coronavirus, President Cyril

Ramaphosa imposed strict

measures to contain the deadly

disease.

At the time of writing,

towards the end of March, the

number of Covid-19 cases in SA

was approaching the 300-

mark.

Within two days of the

announcement of the Covid-19

restrictions, the National Arts

Festival (NAF) issued a

statement saying that the festival

would be going completely

virtual, from June 25 to July 5.

Rhodes University

announced that its first-term

recess was being brought

forward to start on March 18,

and that all undergraduate faceto-face

contact lectures, tests,

tutorials and practicals would

be suspended.

Rhodes University

graduation ceremonies

scheduled for April 2 to 4 were

postponed until further notice.

The popular Makhanda

parkrun, was suspended until

further notice, as were many

other sporting competitions and

e ve n t s .

APRIL 2020:

Military personnel were out

and about in their Casspir

vehicles, as were SA Police

Service members, on foot and in

their vans, ensuring that

residents were adhering to the

strict lockdown regulations and

not roaming about aimlessly.

While water rationing was

temporarily suspended by

Makana Municipality for the

duration of the lockdown

period, throttling of the water

supply continued each night

from 6pm to 6am.

Due to a nationwide

shortage of alcohol-based hand

sanitiser, a team of pharmacists

and pharmacy students, led by

Prof Rod Walker of the Faculty

of Pharmacy at Rhodes

University, began making hand

sanitiser for distribution to

various entities across the

p r ov i n c e .

Thousands of litres of the

liquid were produced over

several weeks.

First National Bank (FNB)

moved its local branch – l o ck ,

stock and barrel - from 102

High Street to Pepper Grove

Mall.

Makhanda residents spoken

to said what they missed most

during the stringent lockdown

was interaction with friends and

colleagues, plus going to

church and attending cell group

meetings, riding mountain

bikes on the commonage,

taking their dogs for walks,

going to the gym, taking part in

weekly parkruns, and treating

the family to restaurant visits.

MAY 2020:

The Grahamstown high court

dismissed an application for

leave to appeal by Makana

Municipality and the provincial

government against the court’s

earlier decision to place

Makana under administration.

Makana Municipality’s fire

station in Knight Street received

two brand new fire vehicles,

both Ford Rangers, to the value

of more than R1m, from Sarah

Baartman District Municipality.

The vehicles were fitted with

self-contained fire-fighting

units.

JUNE 2020:

Hundreds of Grade 12 and

Grade 7 pupils returned to

Makhanda schools at the

beginning of the month after

nearly three months of

l o ck d ow n .

K-Day, a huge occasion on

Makhanda’s annual social and

sporting calendar, featuring

Kingswood College, Diocesan

School for Girls (DSG) and St

Andrew’s College, was

cancelled.

Lucy Ter Morshuizen and

Mikayla Eksteen of DSG were

awarded Gold for the

President’s Award for Youth

E m p ow e r m e n t .

The 2020 National Arts

Festival, due to have

commenced on June 25 but

cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic, was

replaced with the Virtual

National Arts Festival, an online

version of the annual

extravaganza that attracted tens

of thousands of visitors to

‘Festival City’.

Roslyn Parker was inducted

as president of the Rotary Club

of Grahamstown.

JULY 2020:

The Rhodes University campus

came back to life at the

beginning of July, this after three

months of lockdown, as the

university welcomed back its

first group of students.

At a special awards

ceremony held under Covid-19

protocols, honours and colours

awards were made to four

Graeme College sportsmen –

Joshua Pamphilon (honours reaward

for swimming), Garwin

Dampies (double colours for

cricket and tennis), Tinashe

Gomo (colours for tennis) and

Sonwabile Tshona (honours for

c r i ck e t ).

AUGUST 2020:

Scott Jackson, carding a gross

147, won the Belmont Golf

Club men’s championships for

2020. He won the A division,

while Dave Duncan won the B

division and Joos Vos won the C

d iv i s i o n .

Winner of the scholars’

division was Hein van Deventer

of St Andrew’s College.

Former executive director

and National Arts Festival

legend, Lynette Marais, died in

late August.

She was appointed director

in 1989 and retired in 2008 but

continued a close relationship

with the festival.

Former Warriors player

Andrew Birch, with 15 years of

professional franchise cricket

experience, was appointed

cricket coach at Kingswood

College.

St Andrew’s College

appointed Rev Richard

Wyngaard as its new chaplain.

SEPTEMBER 2020:

The SA National Blood Service

(SANBS) announced that from

September 1 it would be visiting

Makhanda every Tuesday

between 11am and 4pm –

previously it visited the Dutch

Reformed Church hall on a

monthly and later twicemonthly

basis.

Allen James was elected

president of Belmont Golf Club,

taking over from Rob Beer, who

held the position for three

ye a r s .

September 11 marked

Albany Museum’s 165th

anniversary of serving the

community – it is the secondoldest

museum in SA.

Murray Campbell of St

Andrew’s College achieved the

Gold standard of the President’s

Award for Youth

E m p ow e r m e n t .

More than 200 colourfullyattired

local residents of all ages

took part in Makhanda’s version

of the Jerusalema Dance

Challenge on Church Square on

the last Sunday afternoon of

S e p t e m b e r.

OCTOBER 2020:

The Old Rhodian Union

selected Advocate Izak Smuts of

Makhanda as one of three

recipients of Rhodes

U n ive r s i t y ’s Distinguished

Alumni Award for 2020. A

Graeme College alumnus,

Smuts’ time as a student at

Rhodes spanned from 1974 to

1979 when he obtained a BA

(Hons) LLB degree.

NOVEMBER 2020:

Judge Gerald Bloem of

Makhanda was elected as the

new chairperson of the Rhodes

University Council.

Work was completed on a

R2m upgrade to the ablution

facilities at Ntsika Senior

Secondary School, as well as

connecting the school to the

municipal sewage system.

Several Rotary Clubs in the

US, Canada, UK, Brazil and SA

came on board and assisted by

providing funding.

New Street landmark, Hotel

Victoria, just down the road

from the Cathedral, escaped fire

damage towards the end of

November when one section of

the adjacent Hotel Victoria

Mews burnt down. The hotel

itself emerged unscathed, as did

Gino’s Restaurant.

DECEMBER 2020:

The National Arts Festival

announced that there will

indeed be a festival in 2021.

Artistic director, Rucera

Seethal, said they were going

ahead with a 2021 festival and

would adapt their formula if

need be.

Rhodes University

announced that first-year

students in 2021 will arrive on

campus over the weekend of

March 6 and 7, a month later

than in the past.

Dean Andrew Hunter and

Rev Claire Hunter announced

that they will be moving back to

Cape Town after 13 years at the

C a t h e d ra l .

Angus McRae and Leard

King won the Settler City Toyota

open at Belmont Golf Club, a

competition played as a

betterball stableford.

Kingswood College

awarded waterpolo honours to

Aidan Chamberlain, Isabella de

Bruyn and Liam Lacey,

basketball honours to Zolani

Booi, tennis honours to Jenna

Wright and athletics honours to

Dwayne Pharo.

Wishing all our

loyal advertisers

and readers

a peaceful and

prosperous 2021!


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YEAR IN REVIEW: Sport


applied to the National Lotteries

Commission (NLC) and

received funding of

R149,903.65. The club, which

promotes the game of rugby

among the talented youth of the

community, with the intention

of keeping them away from the

scourges of alcohol and

criminal activities, used the

money to purchase apparel and

training equipment, including a

s c r u m - m a ch i n e .

Ju ly

● After being hampered by the

lockdown strict regulations

since March, high cholesterol

survivor, as well as founder of

Team Sweat, Bubele Vulani,

resumed exercising on July 4

when some of the restrictions

were eased, restarting where

they left off due to Covid-19.

He was diagnosed with high

cholesterol in 2014, which led

to him changing his lifestyle and

diet and he is now helping

others to avoid the position he

found himself in.

● A gruelling run from

Makhanda (Grahamstown) to

raise funds for the Ndlambe

Lockdown Support Group

(NLSG) by Nemato Change a

Life (NCAL) rowing coach

Sheldon Nelson, ended in

triumph on July 18 when he

arrived at the Port Alfred Civic

Centre.

Nelson, who had taken the

NCAL youth and coached them

into a competitive rowing team

that excelled in the sport, raised

funds for NLSG to feed needy

people during the lockdown.

Au g u s t

● Due to the lockdown

regulations in August, SPAR

called on women to participate

in the SPAR Women’s Virtual

Challenge, which was to be

held on September 26.

The participants were asked

to choose their route of choice

and run or walk a distance of

their preference between 6am

and 6pm, and share their

experience on social media,

using the hashtags #BeSunshine

# S PA RV i r t u a l C h a l l e n g e .

After every entry was sold,

SPAR was able to donate food

parcels to 30,000 survivors of

gender-based violence and

their families.

R170,000 was also donated

to the Jacaranda Good Morning

Angel initiative.

September

● In golf, the Ladies’ Club

Championships were held over

two days on the weekend of

August 29 and 30, and were

played in three divisions with

the best nett playing both days.

Ingrid Griffiths was the

shining star of the competition,

wining the best nett on Saturday

on 69, while Angela Trollip was

a runner-up on 70.

On Sunday, Griffiths went

on to win the best nett with 65,

while Lynette Harbrecht was

runner-up on 73.

Ingrid won the total best nett

on 134 and Yvonne Hill was

runner-up on a gross 189.

● Local residents were

encouraged to participate in the

Rooting4Rhino Virtual Run

2020 on a date and route of

their choice, from September

24 to November 16.

The virtual challenge was

held in place of the annual

Rhino Run, which could not go

ahead as normal this year due to

the lockdown restrictions on

public gathering.

The virtual run for rhino

aimed at raising much-needed

funds for anti-poaching units,

monitoring technology and

deployed K9s.

October

● The Kowie Build It soccer

team proved to be a well-oiled

machine when they went up

against Ndlambe FM’s

presenters in a friendly football

match in October.

The game saw Ndlambe

FM’s presenters suffer a heavy 8-

1 defeat.

Ndlambe FM challenged

Kowie Build It to the friendly

match after six months of no

action due to the Covid-19

lockdown rules.

● A new football club for the

youth was established in 2019

in Port Alfred.

By June, sports people were

unable to participate in team

sports due to the pandemic, and

the Club, Young Pirates,

suffered as a result.

The club could not purchase

kit or even basic equipment and

they resorted to appealing to the

community to assist them.

N ove m b e r

● From a field of 450 cyclists,

Donovan O’Reilly was the

winner of the 2020 Buco G2C

(Grahamstown to sea)

Mountain Bike race on

November 8, in a time of

1:50:02.

The 47-year-old broke the

record of last year’s winner,

Jason Peach, with 1:50:15.

The first woman home was

19-year-old Kelsey van Schoor

in 1:57:30, who was in 13th

place overall.

The 58km race commenced

in Makhanda and ended at Rose

Hill Mall in Port Alfred.

The first e-biker, in their own

category since their bikes

include a mechanism to store

energy that can be used to assist

the rider over more strenuous

stretches, was Stephen van

Niekerk. The e-bike riders set off

half-an-hour before the rest of

the cyclists.

● The 10km Fazi Tsipa fun run,

organised by the House of

Happiness Old Age Service

Centre, attracted 34

participants.

The fun run is named after

the centre’s oldest resident, 72-

year-old Fazi Tsipa, who is a

former Golden Games multiple

medal winner. The run was from

Titi Jonas Hall to Lilac Lifestyle

farm.

● There was a dazzling

selection of some of the best

horses in the province on

display during the Eastern Cape

Showing Champs Festival 2020,

hosted at the Bathurst

Showgrounds from November

13 to 15.

The annual provincial event

was presented by the Eastern

Cape branch of the South

African Showing Association

(SASA), which is one of the

English equestrian disciplines

affiliated to the South African

Equestrian Federation (SAEF).

The competitors were from

East London, Port Elizabeth,

Hofmeyr, Grahamstown and

other parts of the province, with

the annual SASAEC awards

ceremony also hosted in the

village at the Historic Pig and

Whistle on November 14.

December

● It was a bittersweet year-end

function and prize-giving for

Kowie Striders’ Sticks Stiglingh

as it was his last as chair after

five years at the helm.

However, Stiglingh is

graduating to become chair of

the Port Alfred Country Club, of

which the striders is one of the

SWEATING OUT: Diagnosed with high cholesterol, Bubele Vulani manage d to get healthy and formed the Team Sweat group

which trains at the krantz braai area (aka Ntakazilali) while also advising participants on good nutrition. From left were Zakes

Vulani, Pumeza Mpiyakhe, Bubele Vulani (trainer), Lubabalo Vulani, Hlubi Sonyakatsha, Nono Vulani, Elam Charls and Kuhle Payi

CENTENARY YEAR: Port

Alfred Bowling Club

members celebrated the

100th birthday of the club

on August 14. Committee

members, from left, were

Jenny Frost (treasurer),

Noeleen Kirsten (vicepresident),

John Hodges

(men’s captain), Peter

Wansell (bar manager), Dave

Freeme (president), Rodger

Darkes (croquet captain),

Colette Reid (ladies’ captain)

and Wendy Heny (secretary)

RED VS BLUE: Ndlambe FM presenters, in blue jerseys and Build Its team of employees, in red jerseys, with senior presenters

Michael Dama and Vukile Ndolo on the far right, enjoy the camaraderie during a friendly soccer match on September 27. The

fitter and more versatile Build It team walked away the winners in an 8-1 victory

members clubs.

Stiglingh thanked the

attendees, sponsors and

everyone who had helped make

the club a success. Stiglingh

awarded the chairperson’s

trophy to Zanel Venter, thanking

her for handling the club’s

finances.

● The NSRI Golf Day on

December 3 drew a big field of

118 participants, in stiff but

good-natured competition

It was a fundraiser for the

National Sea Rescue Institute in

Port Alfred, a volunteer

organisation which relies on

donations and Lotto funding.

The NSRI’s tremendous

work was demonstrated by the

huge support on the d ay.

The winning four-ball was

Earl Tsolikile, Mike Gidana,

Olthando Ndabeni and Gideon

Veto, while Likona Fina, Willem

Esterhuizen, Flip Scholtz and

Othimna Matiwana were the

runners-up.

nSPORT

Ta l kTow OF THE

CONTACT US WITH SPORTS NEWS: (046) 624-4356 (Jon Houzet)

Thursday 31 De ce m b e r, 2020

YEAR IN REVIEW: Sport

Sports scene resumes

WILL IT BE HOWZAT: Cuylerville looking to take one of Rhodes’ wickets at the Port Alfred High School A field on the first day of

Pineapple Tournament in March

TOP OF THEIR GAME: At the Kowie Striders’ y e a r- e n d

function and prize-giving held on November 26, Avril

Beyleveld received the award for female runner of the year,

and outgoing chair Sticks Stiglingh for male runner of the year

Ja n u a ry

● The Port Alfred 2019 Cricket

Clinic saw 23 boys and girls

participating in the five-day

event at the Port Alfred Country

Club in December and January.

Local youngsters, together

with holidaymakers, were

taught cricketing skills under

the instruction and watchful

eyes of coaches Justin Dollery,

Sino Bakaqana and clinic

organiser Travis Henderson.

On the final day, cricketers

showcased the skills they had

learnt, and were later handed

their certificates and prizes at a

p r i z e - g iv i n g .

● The South African Air Force

Association held its annual

Victory Cup competition at the

Royal Port Alfred Golf Club on

January 4, where players and

winners received some great

prize donated by the generous

donors from the area.

Benefiting from the

competition were local

charities such as Child Welfare,

the Port Alfred Soup Kitchen

and other deserving causes

whose funds are buoyed each

year by contributions from the

Saafa.

Fe b r u a ry

● Mzansi’s Rugby Academy, a

brand new initiative in Port

Alfred, was launched in

February with the objective of

developing the sport among

township youth, and a view to

providing opportunities for

future champions.

On the day, trials were also

held for Under 9, U11 and U13

players at the Station Hill sports

field, where about 70 youth

participated.

● The sixth round of this

season’s Claude Pittaway

Round Robin, sponsored by

Hillscapes, was held on

February 22 from Kleinemonde

East to Fish River Mouth, in

windy weather conditions.

Port Alfred Rock and Surf

spokesperson Terry Stewart said

they had a 73% turnout from

their members for the day, with

69 fish caught and a total weight

of 100.15kg recorded.

On the other hand, there

was a 100% release rate.

M a rch

● The provincial department of

safety & liaison, together with

the Alexandria Police Station

and Community Policing

Forum, convened a sports

programmed themed the “Safer

School Sport Festival” at the

beginning of March, which was

aimed at addressing the issue of

violence in public schools.

Detailing the purpose of the

sports event, Luthando Dastile

said: “We saw the level of

violence and criminality within

our schools, where pupils are

fighting among each other.

“We decided to put our

heads together to come up with

sporting activities which seek to

address these social ills that are

happening in our schools.”

● Swimmers were preparing to

participate in the Marina Mile

swim, just one of the events in

the 2020 Royal St Andrews

Hotel Amanzi Challenge that

was meant to take place from

April 10 to 19 but did not due to

national lockdown restrictions.

The Marina Mile is a swim

along the Kowie River which

allows five different categories

with each having its own

entrance fee.

● Bathurst Primary School held

its annual Sports day at the

Show Grounds on March 6.

The day started off with flat

races for Grades R to 7 ,which

gave much excitement to

parents and pupils.

The big fun began when the

foundation phase pupils

competed with bean bags on

the head, followed later with

sack races for the rest of the

s ch o o l .

● The first half of the Pineapple

Tournament saw some huge

scores being posted, with

stunning turnarounds in games

that seemed to be in the bag.

There were boundaries

galore at the hospital field when

Station Hill played against Port

Alfred seconds.

● After a full week of big hits,

fine wicket-taking and a glut of

runs, Southwell became the

2020 Kowie Toyota Pineapple

Cricket

Tournament

champions, receiving the

trophy at the prize-giving at Port

Alfred Country Club.

In 2019, the trophy was

shared between Southwell and

Salem but this year Southwell

managed to win the title for the

first time since the 2010

tournament.

April

● Before the introduction of the

lockdown, two young friends,

Reinhardt le Roux and Joshua

Burgess, caught a tagged fish in

the Kowie River which they

released again.

The garrick had tag

information which was

recorded before it was released

again.

● The nationwide lockdown in

March resulted in Nelson

Mandela University’s Varsity

Shield campaign being

postponed, with only roundrobin

matches remaining.

The FNB Madibaz’s rugby

team were strong contenders

when the decision to postpone

the campaign was taken.

M ay

● When celebrating 25 years of

teaching karate in May, East

Cape Shokotan-Ryu’s head

instructor, Gary Grapentin, in

conjunction with Talk of the

Town, offered the first 25

readers who responded to the

article the opportunity to join

ECSR’s Step-by-Step Online

Beginners Karate classes, which

also began in May.

The lessons were free of

charge and took about three

weeks, while participants were

also given an option to join

ongoing lessons.

● When the nationwide

lockdown was enforced in

March, Madibaz Sport athletics

manager, Nellis Bothma, urged

his students to take positive

lessons out of the lockdown.

Like many different sporting

codes worldwide, students and

national meetings run by Varsity

Athletics and Athletics SA were

put on hold. Bothma

encouraged athletes under the

Bestmed Madibaz banner to

keep fit individually for the

GETTING INTO

THE GAME:

Children from

Nemato

enjoyed taking

part in trials for

Mzansi’s Rugby

Academy at the

Station Hill

sports field in

February

VICTORY PRIDE: The winning ladies three-ball at the NSRI Golf Day on December 3 were, from

left Margie Siegers, Trish Barwick and Sue Roll

resumption of competition.

Ju n e

● The small community of

Klipfontein, situated off the

busy R72 outside Bushman’s

River Mouth was given a great

boost when the Klipfontein

United Rugby Club successfully

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Talk 31 December 2020

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