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In your Weekend Post today, Saturday, August 18

DON’T miss these and other top stories in your Weekend Post today:

* Cheeky lashes out at Kings deal

* Mandla Mandela facing jail term?

* Principal and pupil’s affair has town in a froth

* Quintile school system: the haves and have-nots 

* Mvovo: the pride of Queenstown

* New hope for Apple Express

In your Weekend Post today, Saturday, August 11

DON’T miss these and other top stories in your Weekend Post today:

* Plett fishing tragedy

* Unfair learner’s test outrage

* Jobs getting tougher to find

* Political parties on the right track?

* Bolt was a jolt for Selborne boy

Deadline looms for Matric of the Year

By Lynne Gadd– Claxton

Pearson High School hopefuls Charissa Potgieter (left),18, Bernard van der Merwe,17, and Kate Burton, 17, with some of the Rafis Appliances and Matresses prizes that the Matric of the Year winner will walk away with.

MATRICS and school representatives have until noon on August 4 to submit entries for the prestigious Weekend Post Matric of the Year competition.
Since the competition’s inception in 1993, Matric of the Year has been run in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, which is once again contributing the lion’s share of prizes this year.
With the emphasis not only on academics,  judges are looking for pupils who are well-rounded in all aspects of their school life.
The two biggest prizes – a full three or four year bursary for a first degree or diploma – are awarded to the overall and the Scholarship Award winner.
The Scholarship Award will go to a Grade 12 pupil from a previously disadvantaged background who has excelled despite obstacles.
Twenty finalists will be selected from entries at the first round of judging on Wednesday August 8, and 17 pupils  will then contend for the overall position. The remaining three pupils will vie for the Scholarship Award.
There are four excellence award category winners for academics, sport, cultural and community involvement. The excellence award winner for sport will receive a R10 000 bursary from NMMU. The other category winners will each receive a Proline Mirage tablet, valued at R5 000.
Other prizes include a Proline notebook valued at R6 500, a graduation banquet from Villa Tuscana and Fat Cats Catering, Profile Fitness annual membership, Xclusiv Hair and Beauty makeover, a Vodacom handset, Jenni Collections jewellery and a Russell Hobbs microwave from Rafis Appliances and Mattresses.
The judging panel will be made up of chief education specialist for curriculum at the Port Elizabeth district education department, Myron Leonard, NMMU director of marketing and corporate relations Pieter Swart and  Weekend Post assistant editor Louise Liebenberg.
Pearson High School, which has had Matric of the Year finalists in the running for the coveted title for 10 consecutive years, will have eight to 10 entries this year.
The school’s principal, André van Staden, said he believed Pearson pupils were balanced and mature. “Our pupils are involved in a variety of projects, culturally, academically, sports and within the community, and at Pearson we offer leadership programmes and encourage all pupils to partake in these,” Van Staden said.
“As a result we have strong individuals who are able to adjust well after school and we are proud of the Pearson product.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday August 4 2012. 

In your Weekend Post today, Saturday, August 4

DON’T miss these and other top stories in your Weekend Post today:

* Panic stations as PE runs dry

 * Learner’s licence corruption rife in EC

 * The farmer vs The brickmaker

 * ‘Eastern Cape’s’ golden Olympians

 * Government department under fire for perlemoen permits

Bhisho turned into bleak town

By Barbara Hollands

AS A light breeze swirls garbage around the austere buildings of central Bhisho, meandering goats rifle through uncollected rubbish piled up in the square surrounded by the imposing Tyamzashe Building that houses the provincial treasury, housing, public works and other state departments responsible for running the province.
In an untended flower bed outside the treasury offices and just metres from the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) building, a tap runs endlessly. Amateur plumbing attempts involving a rock and rope have failed to stem the flow of precious water. A nearby fruit hawker says the tap has been leaking for more than a month.
Grey, built-up, soulless and suffering from serious neglect, the bleak town, founded in the 1970s as the capital of the former Ciskei homeland, can hardly be compared to South Africa’s other provincial capitals.
When Weekend Post visited Bhisho this week, angry locals – some of whom are employed by the province – voiced their disgust about the state of the administrative capital.
“This is said to be the capital, but there is not even a shopping complex here because Pick n Pay and OK closed down years ago and the buildings are now rented by government departments. Business-wise there is nothing here,” said a health department clerk who asked not to be named.
He accused BCM of not cutting grass in front of his house and of failing to warn residents of frequent power outages in the residential areas around the town.
Health department general assistant Thami Mpolongwana said Bhisho was “doomed”.
“It used to look like a capital during the times of Lennox Sebe and Oupa Gqozo. It was marvellous, superb. People had jobs so there were no people loitering and it was clean. There were nice trees and flowers, but now it is doomed,”  Mpolongwana said.
“Only one in five streetlights works, there is nowhere to park, the pavements are crumbling and there is nowhere to shop, so we have to go to King William’s Town.”
Bhisho-born Xolisani Ncamiso, 26, complained of a lack of job opportunities in the town.
“There are no jobs for young people here, so I am unemployed.”
Dimbaza resident Eric Nkwali, who like scores of others was in Bhisho this week to queue at the SARS caravan, described Bhisho as “a dirty capital”.
“You can see the rubbish everywhere. It is not right.”

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Judge blows whistle on referee spat

By Shaun Gillham

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Equality Court has had to blow full time  on a bitter spat between two Port Elizabeth rugby referees  by red-carding a former provincial and international referee for apparently  attempting to sideline his opposition.
Last week the court warned Frans Muller, who has served as an official at the Rugby World Cup, about allegedly harassing fellow referee Trevor Ryan by spreading malicious slander both  “verbally and in written formats” to various individuals, schools, institutions and clubs in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“You have also influenced some institutions outside of your jurisdiction not to appoint the complainant to officiate in sports events,” the presiding judge said.
Muller, who represents the Eastern Province Rugby Referees’ Society (EPRRS) and refereed three test matches and officiated at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, was also warned to refrain from such activities – the non-compliance of which would lead to the issue being forwarded to a magistrate of a formal enquiry.   
Ryan, a lower league referee  and contract lecturer at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan University, has been embroiled in the long-running dispute with both Muller and other members of the EPRRS since 2008 and has brought the spat into the public domain through letters published in the media, including the Weekend Post.
At the core of the acrimony are allegations of dishonesty, nepotism and a form of favouritism which Ryan leveled at EPRRS during 2008.
His refereeing abilities were also subsequently called into question in various media by both rugby pundits and parents. 
When contacted this week, Muller told Weekend Post he wanted nothing to do with Ryan and preferred not to comment on the issue, especially since he did not want to address the problem in the public domain.
However, Muller, who pointed out that Ryan was not a member of EPRRS, made it clear that the breach of peace judgment was not the end of the issue as it was being dealt with by lawyers representing the Eastern Province Rugby Union.
But Ryan  insisted that he had been victimised.
In an earlier  letter to the Weekend Post, Ryan said: “Just to let everybody know that Frans Muller, chairman of the EP Rugby Union Referees’ Society, has been served with a breach of peace court order from the magistrate of the equality court, ordering him to withdraw all his malicious, slanderous and injurious statements that he made about me to each and every rugby-playing school and club in the Eastern Cape, where he instructed/intimidated them to not appoint me to officiate in lower league events which are not even part of his jurisdiction, and to refrain from such actions in future.”
Ryan went on to point out that Muller had not signed acceptance of the court interdict but that it was still legally binding.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Passengers steamed about service

By Lynne Gadd-Claxton

NELSON Mandela Bay residents who commute between Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth by train every day say the Metrorail service has reached an all-time low and they are being treated “like animals”, with little being done to upgrade rusted carriages or ensure their safety.
The commuters’ concerns about service delivery, safety and general maintenance have come in the wake of an announcement by the  Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) – the state-owned operator of Metrorail – earlier this year that the R124-billion existing fleet would be supplemented with more than 7 000 new coaches in the next 20 years.
But Uitenhage resident Tandiray van Breda, who has been taking  the train for 12 years,  said she had seen no evidence that Metrorail was doing anything to remedy the current situation in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The carriages are rusty and as soon as it rains they become wet with only a few spots left where I do not get rained on. Doors between the carriages do not close properly. Lighting is poor. Onsome days commuters travel in total darkness,” Van Breda said.
Another commuter, who asked not to be named, claimed the morning rush for the train had left her with an injured arm  after a Prasa employee pushed her and she fell.
She subsequently lodged a complaint against Prasa.
The commuter said she was frustrated by the way Metrorail security treated passengers.
“I will not stand for the way they treat me and everyone else who takes the train. It is unacceptable. How can you treat people like animals?”
Metrorail Eastern Cape spokeswoman Mimi Katsio said the company wanted customers to feel free to voice their concerns. “We view this complaint seriously, as we respect our commuters,” Katsio said.
Prasa required staff to wear name tags making them identifiable, she said.
“The region has introduced a customer care department dedicated to dealing with customer complaints … Furthermore, we have a structure called United Commuter Voices which engages with commuters.”
Prasa chief executive Lucky Montana said R14.5-billion would be spent on the construction of depots for maintenance of new coaches and the upgrading infrastructure. An additional R25.9-billion would be allocated to  improving and servicing the highest-density stations.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

Shock metro housing plan

By Patrick Cull

A TASK team led by Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile  is  considering buying or even expropriating the popular Walmer Country Club to expand the city’s congested Walmer township – scene of several recent violent service delivery protests.
The task team  has also set its sights on a multimillion-rand property in the industrial area in Airport Valley near the airport owned by Irish property mogul Ken Denton, as well as environmentally-sensitive land in  Madiba Bay which encompasses the Driftsands and Cape Recife-Sardinia  Bay  coast.
However the shock Walmer Service Delivery Intervention Plan – a copy of which was leaked to Weekend Post – drawn up after a meeting with the community last month, points out that there has been “no interaction between the municipality and the property owner” [Walmer Country Club], a fact  confirmed by club president Mark Anschutz yesterday.
However, should negotiations occur and subsequently fail, the municipality could look into the possibility of land expropriation, the plan states. It also notes that no provision has been made in the budget for the acquisition of the land, and that a “preliminary minimum estimate” of four to six years is likely before any development can start.
The proposal outlines a number of short and longer term interventions geared at addressing challenges within the Walmer township community that exploded into violent protests in the past few months.
Councillors who met with residents reported that the community had vehemently rejected a densified layout in the township, with the  human settlements committee saying  it was “left with no option but to consider various portions of private land in Walmer”.
Although Walmer ANC councillor  Nomajama Benya  was not aware of what was contained in the document, she confirmed that the residents of  the formal and informal sections of the township had requested the municipality to relocate them.
“There are six informal areas in Walmer township. Even though not all Walmer township residents will be relocated, about 6 000 will have to be relocated,” she said.
“There is the possibility that property rates in nearby areas can drop. However it is very, very necessary for the residents to be relocated. With the heavy rains the residents in the informal settlements always struggle.”
In respect of the Walmer Country Club, the plan moots  “a continuous corridor” of high density residential development along the western side of Victoria Drive, “stretching from  Walmer Links to Glendore Road”.
The valuation of the golf club is R34.9-million but it was “likely that a valuation of this property will be in the region of R50- to R100-million”, the document says.
However, it  goes on to say that   “should the negotiation route not be favoured, an expropriation can be considered”.
The document also warns that the development of the property “may attract opposition” which could result in delays in both the rezoning and sub-division, as well as the EIA processes and any appeals that may result.
In the interim, the municipality is moving ahead with accessing funds for the rectification of properties in Walmer township and has outlined a detailed plan of interventions aimed at addressing the issues raised by the community, although there are obstacles such as the refusal of the airport authorities to allow the erection of high mast lights.
Mayor Wayile could not be reached for comment.
Additional reporting by Shaanaaz de Jager

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 28 2012. 

In your Weekend Post today, Saturday, July 28

DON’T miss these and other top stories in your Weekend Post today:

 * Walmer Township extension shock

 *  Government marquee tent scandal 

 *  How PE church was fleeced by secretary

 *  Olympics gets off to clanger

 *  ‘Contractors deliberately building poor homes’