By Lutho Magwa

Gqeberha police have released the name of the second person who died in the car crash with Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga on Saturday night.

Sandile Ronald Sicolo, 39, was travelling with Nonzwakazi Maho, 44, when the accident occurred around 11.30pm on Saturday. Bhanga was rushed to Netcare Greenacres hospital, while Sicolo and Maho died on the scene.

Bhanga is in a stable condition and recovering after undergoing surgery on Sunday to stop internal bleeding.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the investigation into what transpired on Saturday night, and why all involved were out past curfew, continues.

A case of culpable homicide is under investigation and the police have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective Warrant Officer Errol Kleinhans on 082 302 6419, or their nearest police station.

By Phumlani Saul

Former Nelson Mandela Bay ANC ward 45 councillor Monde Vaaltyn, who died from Covid-19 complications at the weekend, has been described as a brilliant person who worked tirelessly for his community.

Vaaltyn, 48, did not make it back to council after the 2016 local government elections.

In his time in council, he served in the human settlements and budget and treasury portfolio committees.

He succumbed to the virus on Saturday after being admitted to the Cuyler Clinic in Kariega, where he was placed on a ventilator

His death comes as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the Bay, with 2,380 active cases as of Sunday night.

 Former ANC councillor Loyiso Stemele described Vaaltyn as a hard worker.

“Comrade Vaaltyn was one of the best members of the ANC, especially when it  came to issues of governance.

He was very diligent and was very passionate about issues of his community.

“Wherever he was deployed, he made sure he excelled. He was a brilliant chap.”

Stemele said a FalteinVaaltyn was involved in upskilling residents through his small business after the 2016 polls.

“He’s done a lot for his community.

“This is such a great loss to the movement because we were still looking to benefit from his contribution.

“We are deeply saddened by this loss as the KwaNobuhle community,” he said.

ANC regional co-ordinator Luyolo Nqakula said: “As the ANC, we wish to extend our condolences to the family of comrade Vaaltyn.

Comrade Monde has left an indelible mark in the ANC through his active participation in the transformation agenda of the ANC.

“He was a resource of and for the ANC, especially on matters of budget and treasury. Hamba kahle, Mkhonto.”

The date of his funeral is not yet known. 

By Phumlani Saul

The first collection of shows on the 2021 National Arts Festival Experience programme has been announced. The hybrid festival sees the National Arts Festival return to live stages in Makhanda from 8-18 July, and for the first time in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and Durban ahead of the Eastern Cape event with a series of shows called Standard Bank Presents, in theatres from 17 June-4 July. The National Arts Festival Online programme will also unfold through the month of July on the Festival’s website. The Festival Experience features new elements such as Standard Bank Presents, as well as audience favourites such as the Standard Bank Jazz Festival and the Fringe.
 
Working within the COVID-19 regulations and responding to what audiences and artists need, the Festival has spread its programme across three platforms to create enabling spaces that best accommodate and interpret the work being made in South Africa right now. As such, it is a study of work migrating, shifting and returning across mediums, platforms, time and space as the arts strives to re-establish and express itself after a long period of forced hibernation. 

Says National Arts Festival’s Artistic Director, Rucera Seethal, “The Festival has, this year, emerged as a time capsule of the artmaking coming from the past year and our current predicament. Opportunities to create and present have notably reduced, however artists have still made work, in new formats and using new methods. In 2021, the Festival has taken on the challenge of considering how to curate live experiences for audiences in Makhanda and various cities. There is a sense of works in transformation, works crossing disciplinary boundaries, works insisting on new relationships with space, distance and audience. As much as, thematically, artists are reflecting on this current disorientating moment, curatorially the Festival has sought to present works which offer solace to audiences – from stillness to humour to healing

By Mkhululi Ndamase

Several buses were set alight at the Algoa Bus Company depot in Motherwell on Wednesday night.

This was confirmed by police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu at 9.55pm.

However, Naidu said she did not have much information.

“A preliminary report is that buses are burning at the bus depot. [But there is] no other info available at this stage. [I] cannot confirm the number of buses on fire,” she said

Algoa Bus CEO Sicelo Duze said: “I am sorry I won’t be able to talk to you, thank you, bye-bye.”

It is not clear whether the setting alight of the buses is linked to the ongoing taxi strike over Covid-19 money.

Taxi drivers have caused havoc in Nelson Mandela Bay with the strike, resulting in businesses closing shop while also setting alight a truck and intimidating motorists.

By Phumlani Saul and Luvuyo Miller

A large contingent of police officers flanked striking taxi drivers on the R75 on Wednesday morning, pushing them off the road.

About 30 taxis drove down the R75 from the direction of KwaDwesi, heading towards the Chatty Dip.

However, they were cornered by the police at the intersection that connects Chelsea and Uitenhage roads, near Nelson Mandela University’s Missionvale Campus.

The drivers then got out of their vehicles and stood in the middle of the road, with the police seen talking to them.The police and drivers reached an agreement and they started to disperse, with the road then opened. 

 bitter dispute over Covid-19 funding has left Nelson Mandela Bay’s taxi industry in turmoil, with a behind-the-scenes war between vehicle owners and drivers raging on for weeks.

Road closures continued in and around Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday morning as protests, related to an ongoing taxi strike, flared up again.

On Tuesday, it spilt over onto the streets as stones were thrown and tyres burnt, a truck and e-hailing vehicle torched, and rubber bullets fired.

Various routes about Motherwell, New Brighton and KwaDwesi were blocked by protesters, while access routes to Gqeberha’s northern areas and routes to and from Kariega were also disrupted.

This is a developing story.

By Luvuyo Miller

At least three vehicles, including two mini-buses and an e-hailing taxi, have been torched in protests rocking various parts of Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday.

Police say they’re maintaining a strong presence in several areas, where taxi operators are primarily involved in Tuesday’s actions, even though taxi association, Santaco, says it’s not behind the strike.

A source from the South African National Taxi Council in Nelson Mandela Bay told Algoa FM that the leadership was caught off guard after hearing a voice note threatening strike action which began circulating, late on Monday.

He says attempts to find out where the voice note emanates from proved futile.

Police spokesperson, Captain Andre’ Beetge, says protests began early on Tuesday morning where burning tyres and rubbish had been strewn across roads in Motherwell, New Brighton and Booysens Park.

He says a truck was hijacked on N2 and looted by a large group.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says it’s deeply concerned about the adverse effects of the going violent protests on the local economy.

Acting CEO, Prins Matonsi, says the cessation of work means that business cannot operate at its full capacity, which can be damaging to the economy.

By Phumlani Saul

A teenage boy was shot dead in Nelson Mandela Bay on Thursday evening — for his cellphone.

Police spokesperson Capt Andre Beetge appealed for any possible eyewitnesses to come forward.

He said at about 7.40pm on Thursday Khanya Mwezeni, 15, and his friends had been standing in Xundu Street, in the Govan Mbeki area, when three suspects armed with knives and a firearm approached them.

Beetge said the suspects demanded that the friends hand over their cellphones.

One cellphone was handed over and then Khanya attempted to flee, Beetge said.

“One of the suspects then shot and killed him, after which they fled the scene with the stolen cellphone.

“The other two teenagers, aged 13 and 14, were not injured.”

Beetge appealed to anyone with any information to contact the KwaDwesi detectives on 082-442-0964.

By Nomathamsaqa Kula

Residents in KwaNobuhle went on the rampage on Wednesday, causing damage worth about R1m when they burnt two cars and set alight a councillor’s office.

The mayhem started in the morning as protesters took their demands for service delivery to the streets.

The demonstrators also stoned passing cars.

This was the latest in a flurry of violent protests in the metro — residents set alight trucks and buses in Motherwell and Perseverance in April.

Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga condemned Wednesday’s violence, saying though residents had a right to protest, destruction of property and vandalism would not be condoned.

There was a heavy police presence in Area 11 in KwaNobuhle, Kariega, on Wednesday morning.

Police said they were investigating multiple cases of malicious damage to property

Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said officers started patrolling the area from 2am after receiving information of possible protest action on the outskirts of KwaNobuhle and on the R334 near Rocklands.

“The first incidents were reported at 3.30am,” Swart said.

Members of the Public Order Policing Unit in armoured vehicles were deployed to patrol the area and monitor the protests.

The ward councillor’s office in Bantom Road was set alight in the early hours of the morning.

Nearby, also in Bantom Road, a Ford Ranger, used by municipal workers in the area, was pushed out of the premises where it was parked and set on fire.

“Uitenhage SAPS detectives are also investigating several malicious damage to property cases after vehicles were pelted with stones and one [private] vehicle was also set alight.

No arrests were made as yet and investigations are continuing,” Swart said.

Traffic was disrupted for most of the morning and pupils on their way to the nearby Rocklands Primary School were delayed and eventually told to turn back because their safety on the R334 could not be guaranteed.

Police said the situation would be monitored in case any more protests flared up.

Speaking at a mayoral committee meeting, Bhanga said the protests leading to the ward councillor’s office being set on fire were concerning.

He called on the police to arrest those behind the arson.

He implored the police to take swift action and said ward 45 councillor Siphiwo Plaatjies and his family should be placed in hiding.

“It’s not right in a democratic SA that being in public office means you should live in fear,” Bhanga said.

“Those people burning things in Area 11 must know we are not invited by offices and clinics being set on fire.

“I promise you I won’t go there.

“If they want us to visit them, they can contact me directly.” 

By Phumlani Saul

One hundred water tanks will be deployed across 50 locations in KwaNobuhle by the end of June, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality said on Wednesday

City bosses said that unless the city receives heavy rainfall between now and July 1, day zero would not be avoided.

This is because the Kouga Dam, which supplies KwaNobuhle, is at a critical level.

The metro’s combined levels were sitting at 12.91% as of April 28.

Mayor Nqaba Bhanga said if residents continued using 300ML instead of 250ML of water a day, other parts of the city would be without water.

“The time has come for people to come on board and report those seen to be abusing water.

“St Albans will also be affected. Our officials went to the prison to explain the situation.

Next up are hospitals and the hospitality industry,” he said.

Bhanga claimed the city had reduced water leaks from 49% to 29% from June 2020.

For years,  the snail’s pace in fixing water leaks has led to clean water going down the drain.

By Anda Nqoji

Dr Zweli Mkhize is making yet another round to the Eastern Cape following a sudden hike of COVID-19 infections nationwide.

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize is expected to visit Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape on Thursday to assess the state of healthcare. This comes in light of a hike in the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide and the province.

The Minister will engage with the MEC of Health, Nomakhosazana Meth, and other senior officials and stakeholders of the provincial health department.

The visit will also see the official handover of the refurbished maternity ward at Dora Nginza Hospital.Overnight, South Africa recorded 1 599 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number to 1 561 559. The country has also recorded 75 new COVID-19 related fatalities, pushing the total number of deaths to 53 498.The Eastern Cape posted 14 deaths in the last reporting cycle.

SA’s latest COVID-19 stats: