Komani Residents Given Ultimatum: Pay Rates or Lose Electricity
But protesters say they are being billed for services they do not receive
Queenstown
R2.1bn Sale of SA Soft Drinks Maker, Twizza Finalised
Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking’s Corporate Finance Advisory team is proud to confirm the successful completion of the of R2.1 billion sale of South African non-alcoholic beverages manufacturer, Twizza Proprietary Limited (“Twizza”) to The Beverage Company Proprietary Limited (“Bevco”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of India-based Varun Beverages Limited (“Varun”) for an amount of R2.1 billion. …
Shosholoza Meyl Faces Uncertain Future
Long-distance trains to return in 2027 but funding for locomotives is unclear
Elderly Komani Residents Protest Over Electricity
Mayor says their electricity meters will be blocked until they settle their debt
Nowhere to Swim in Komani This Christmas
Municipal swimming pools have fallen into disrepair
Municipality Silent on Why It Can’t Provide Electricity
“We no longer care about bricks because we know they will take forever,” says Komani woman who has lived in shacks for 24 years
Eastern Cape Families Affected by 2023 Floods to Wait Until Next Year for Houses
Huge housing project launched before the floods is still in initial phase
Bigger and Better Than Ever Before
In a significant boost for women’s rugby development, SA Rugby has confirmed a brand-new club competition for women, with Betway as the title sponsor, while the U20 Women’s Tournament will see more participating teams than ever before converge on Johannesburg next month. Both tournaments will take place in the week of 5-10 October in Gauteng …
Repairs to Crumbling Clinic Delayed
A R9-million tender was awarded to a contractor last year to renovate Haytor clinic
FNB Girls Weeks Light Up – Big EP Win
Motivated by the presence of the Springbok Women’s team, Eastern Province and Western Province recorded the biggest wins on day one of the FNB U18 Girls Week in Johannesburg, while Border, the Golden Lions and WP were among the top performers in the first round of the U16 tournament. South Africa’s most promising female rugby …
Top Schoolgirls Gear up for FNB Youth Weeks
South Africa’s best junior female players will be in action at the FNB U16 and U18 Girls Weeks staged at Queens High School in Johannesburg from Monday, two important tournaments on the local rugby landscape. The two tournaments form part of SA Rugby’s 2025 FNB Youth Weeks programme and will run from 30 June until …
Instead of Going to School, These Children Have to Queue for Water
Six-year delay in water project leaves Komani residents dry
Patients to Be Moved From Cofimvaba Hospital as Nurses Down Tools
The Eastern Cape health department has issued an ultimatum to return to work
Urgent Intervention Required in “Man-Made” Komani Water Crisis
Dear Editor The town of Komani is facing a “man-made” Day Zero crisis due to the inability of the inept Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) to timeously repair a massive leak in the main water pipeline from the Waterdown Dam. Komani is situated in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality, but the CHDM is responsible for the …
Urgent Need for Reliable Power and Patient Safety at Frontier Hospital
Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted the response from Health MEC, Ntandokazi Capa, and would like to reaffirm our commitment to the well-being of patients at Frontier Hospital and the importance of safeguarding lives through reliable power infrastructure. We are deeply concerned about the ongoing disruptions at Frontier Hospital. This morning’s information relating …
Two Die After Continued Electricity Outages at Frontier Hospital
Dear Editor. Two patients at Frontier Hospital have tragically lost their lives due to continued electricity outages that have severely disrupted operations and compromised patient safety. Over the past weekend, a generator malfunction forced critical patients on life support systems to be moved, with some placed on oxygen cylinders. Despite the best efforts of medical …
Urgent Government Intervention Needed in Enoch Mgijima Municipality
Dear Editor The electricity crisis in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality is on the brink of escalating beyond merely depriving residents of services and collapsing the local economy. The crisis is also threatening the lives of hospital patients and negatively impacting school examinations. Electricity outages of up to 10 days, caused by dilapidated electrical infrastructure, have …
Eastern Cape Ncop Delegation Calls for Resuscitation of Delayed Infrastructure Development Projects
On the last day of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) 2024 Provincial Week Programme, the Eastern Cape's Permanent Delegates to the NCOP expressed their displeasure with the rising number of delayed infrastructure development projects in the province.
The delegation reiterated this displeasure during the last day of its week-long oversight visit to the selected infrastructure projects in the Chris Hani District Municipality as part of the NCOP's Provincial Week Programme. The delayed projects included Fikile Gwadana Road, Louis Rex Primary School and the Komani Economic Industrial Park.
The delegation heard that the newly established Queenstown Economic Industrial Area project started on 14 February 2022 and was expected to be completed on 13 February 2023. However, due to a court action, the project was delayed for eleven months, from August 2022 to July 2023. The new completion date was 30 September 2024, but the project is still far from completion, mainly due to budgetary constraints.
The Louis Rex Primary School in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality has 33 prefabricated temporary classes. The project, which is at 54% completion, encountered a delay mainly due to poor performance by the first contractor.
The school's principal informed the delegation that the school is overcrowded and has no recreational facilities, school clerk, staff room, or security guards. As a result, the school is vulnerable to all forms of crime emerging in the region, including extortion.
The Komani Industrial Park, situated within the greater Komani urban area, comprises two existing industrial areas of Queendustria and Ezibeleni township and is one of the district's economic hopes.
The delegation heard that the park is faced with problems that include relocation of investors due to, among other things, water shortage, insufficient electricity supply, lack of ICT connectivity, insecurity, and lack of funding for park operations.
The delegation called on the leaders of the district and local municipalities where these projects exist to ensure that all of them are resuscitated and accordingly budgeted for so that they can be completed.
The leader of the delegation, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, said, "It is high time that we commit ourselves to salvaging the situation. Let us engage all the roleplayers to ensure that all these projects become alive and the objectives for which they were planned are fulfilled."
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Protesters Beg for Development in Their Small Eastern Cape Town
Tsomo residents march to municipal offices
UIF commissioner to host employer breakfast session in Queenstown
UIF commissioner to host employer breakfast session in Queenstown
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is calling on employers in the Eastern Cape to attend an Employer Breakfast session that is set to take place in Queenstown next week.
The session which will be held at Aloe Grove Guest Farm, will be hosted by the fund’s Commisssioner, Teboho Maruping.
Employers from all sectors, including commercial business owners and operators of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Komani (Queenstown) as well as the broader Eastern Cape Province are invited to attend the session on Monday, 19 August 2024.
“At the occasion, Commissioner Maruping will among other things, engage with employers about the importance of compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Act and discuss how new developments within the UIF will impact on employers and employees,” the department said in a statement.
Subject matter experts from the UIF will be in attendance to assist employers on the spot with any challenges they may be facing in relation to the fund.
Building up to the breakfast session a full basket of Department of Employment and Labour services will be offered to communities, including assistance with UIF claims, Compensation Fund claims, enquiries resolution, registration of work seekers on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) database as well as provision of information on the National Minimum Wage and other basic conditions of employment.
Build up activities will be offered this week, beginning on Wednesday at the Municipality Hall (Convent) in Cala, from 9 am until 3 pm. On Thursday, these activities will take place at Cofimvaba Town Hall in Cofimvaba, and they will conclude on Friday at Cacadu Town Hall in Cacadu. – SAnews.gov.za
DikelediM
Wed, 08/14/2024 - 11:24
154 views
Eastern Cape police lauded for tracing CIT suspects
Eastern Cape police lauded for tracing CIT suspects
The provincial head of the police in the Eastern Cape, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, has welcomed efforts by the Interim Cash-In-Transit (CIT) task team of the Hawks and the provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT) in locating cash-in-transit (CIT) suspects on Monday.
The suspects were located within hours after the incident occurred.
It is alleged that on Monday around 06:00, an SBV armoured vehicle (AV) from East London, enroute to Stutterheim, was ambushed on the N6 near Macleantown by a number of suspects in a fleet of vehicles.
“It is further alleged that during the incident, three guards were injured as the AV landed on its side during the attack. An SBV escort vehicle was also allegedly shot at and a backup to the scene was called,” the police said in a statement.
The suspects allegedly fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money and abandoned three vehicles from their fleet, which were later circulated and discovered to have been reported stolen in other provinces. Explosives were also recovered on the scene.
“A few hours later, information was received which led the team to Kom location in a homestead of Keiskammahoek.
“The team was received with a hail of bullets from the assailants in the suspicious homestead and the police were forced to retaliate with the same force which ended with five of the assailants fatally wounded,” the police said.
Cash in original money bags,3xAK 47 riffles, 1x R1 riffle, 4 x R5 riffles,17 magazines with a large number of live rounds of ammunition were recovered and seized in the household.
A 58 year old suspect who happened to be the owner of the homestead was arrested and will appear in King William’s Town Magistrate’s court soon.
A follow up investigation ensued which led to the arrest of three suspects driving in a suspicious Porsche vehicle with GP registration between Queenstown and Cradock.
A quick roadblock was set up by Gqeberha Serious Organised Crime Investigation of the Hawks jointly with Cradock SAPS K9 (Dog Unit), Cradock Visible Police (Vispol), Cradock Public Order Police (POP) and Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) members outside Tarkastad where the suspicious vehicle failed to stop.
The chase ensued and conventional methods were used to bring it to a halt.
Three suspects aged between 44 and 48 were arrested. Cash in stacks of R100 and R200 notes in original cash bags, four burner cellphones and a Porsche Cayenne vehicle were seized during the arrest. On circulation the Porsche was found to be reported stolen in Gauteng.
The three suspects will make their first court appearance before Cradock Magistrate’s court on Thursday. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Tue, 07/30/2024 - 14:45
268 views
Musicians in “Little Jazz Town” want Gayton McKenzie to fix their broken arts centre
Komani jazz legend Mlungisi Gegana blames the Eastern Cape arts department for the collapse of the centre
Hundreds of security guards sent home without wages after Eastern Cape health department fails to pay contractors
Department promises to make payments from April, the start of the new financial year
Komani’s unusable R20-million “sport facility”
“What we got was nothing compared to what we were promised,” says resident