FOR the first time, Centrestage presents a two-night run of one of its shows, Divas Are Forever, at the Barkly Street Theatre in Uitenhage on Thursday and Friday – before the show moves to Uptown Theatres in Port Elizabeth for performances from June 15 to 20.

Divas are Forever showcases some of the most scintillating live performances and song arrangements sung by female performers whose popularity has endured over time. The show features Donna Africa as show host Shirley Bassey.

She is joined by the big voiced Robynn King, who pays tribute to Aretha Franklin Barbra Streisand, Etta James and Whitney Houston, while Lynn Cosme is introduced as the newest addition to the Centrestage fold as Liza Minelli, Bette Midler and Shania Twain.

Joining the ladies on duets through-out is another Centrestage newcomer Thuba Mayeki, who become known to Eastern Cape fans through his Top 14 appearance on this years Idols singing competition.

Aside from Bassey‘s Diamonds Are Forever, Never Never , This is My Life and her rendition of Hey Jude, Africa also performs other big numbers such as the Jennifer Holiday classic And I‘m Telling You I‘m Not Going and Gladys Knight‘s emotional interpretation of Free Again/I Will Survive. She also strides out as Tina Turner.

Mayeki joins Africa on You Can‘t Take That Away from Me, and performs the Elton John role in the Shania Twain/Elton John duet versions of You‘re Still the One and Something About the Way You Look Tonight.

Tickets in Uitenhage can be bought from the theatre and in Port Elizabeth through Computicket. They cost R95 and shows start at 7.30pm.

Check-out the Classifieds

source: The Herald, Arts Correspondent

Popularity: 28% [?]

German reports suggest that the Volkswagen Citi Golf — currently produced only in South Africa — will end production in the coming months to make way for Uitenhage to concentrate on the new Polo and Jetta production from 2010.

“After nearly 32 years, Citi is clearly nearing the end of its life cycle,” the report quotes VWSA boss David Powels.

The ’70s Citi is the last of the cult model Golf 1 to be produced, but that production will cease as Uitenhage prepares for production of the latest VW Polo and Jetta from the plant.

“There are a couple more innovations up our sleeve before the legend bows out,” a VWSA spokesperson confirmed to Cars in Action Online. Which will certainly not be in 2009.”

Volkswagen is reported to be investing R3.5-billion in preparing the Uitenhage works in preparation for a new Polo and Jetta export deal and that will require Citi to end production to make way for the new line. The report also confirmed that VWSA will import the Argentinian-built Robust one-tonne bakkie to the South Africa — the third biggest pickup truck market in the world.

The report goes on to confirm that one in four new cars sold in SA is a Citi and that a record number of 28000 Citis was sold as recently as 2005. Citi is almost structurally identical to the original Golf 1 built in Germany from 1978 to 1983 and was introduced to the SA market as a low budget option in 1984. It remains on the market today, the report concluded.

Most interesting are the comments from internet surfers who are either amazed with VW’s audacity in selling so old a car or saluting the life of a legend…The report however fails to name a successor to Citi, an aspect we have already pondered.

source: iafrica Motoring

Popularity: 100% [?]

POLITICAL activists and ANC supporters are expected to turn out in large numbers for the funeral of liberation struggle veteran and former Uitenhage councillor Nosipho Dastile, who will be buried on Saturday.

The funeral will be held at the Roman Catholic Church from 9am, while a memorial service will be held at the Babs Madlakane Hall in KwaNobuhle at 5pm today.

Dastile, 71, became a well-known political figure in the region as a founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the town, the first president of the Uitenhage Women‘s Organisation, and chairman of the ANC Women‘s League in the town after the liberation movements were unbanned in 1990.

Dastile was one of the first councillors in the democratic Uitenhage Transitional Local Council from 1994 to 1999 with figures like current deputy Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Bicks Ndoni and the late Sanco leader Fikile Kobese.

Dastile‘s community involvement took shape while she was a teacher at the Little Flower Primary School and as a volunteer teacher at the Roman Catholic Mission School in Uitenhage.

At the time of her death after a long illness, she had retired from active politics and was a volunteer at the Ruth Dano Creche.

source: Weekend Post

Popularity: 27% [?]

DETAILS have been revealed of how Nelson Mandela Bay PSL soccer club Bay United – now likely to be sold and moving out of the Eastern Cape – spent R40-million. Meanwhile, finger-pointing between Umlilo and the municipality continues with club owner Sipho Pityana expressing disappointment “in the lack of support from the local municipality and the provincial government over the past year”.

After playing one season in top-flight football, the club has revealed there are four prospective buyers for the First Division franchise, should management decide to sell. Both the coach, Khabo Zondo, and the players, whose contracts expire at the end of this month, nervously await a final announcement on the future of the club on May 27.

The club revealed that of the four prospective buyers Uitenhage businessman Butityi Konki was the only bidder who had indicated he would be willing to keep the club in the province. The other three bidders are from Gauteng and the Western Cape. At a board meeting at the weekend, Pityana revealed that R40-million had been invested over the past two years in the club, which has failed to remain in the Premier League.

Pityana expressed the club‘s disappointment at the lack of support from the local municipality and the provincial government over the past year.

“This is not the time to point fingers at anybody, but … we feel we were seriously let down by those entrusted with the responsibility of managing recreational public facilities like stadiums,” he said.

“There‘s no way of sustaining a professional football franchise in the Nelson Mandela metro without some serious infrastructural support and involvement by the local and provincial spheres of government.”

According to club spokesman Vuyo Mvoko, United paid up to R108000 to the EP Rugby Union to host each of the two Premiership home games it played a month. The club was also required to erect a temporary fence around the stadium as well as hire a huge security personnel contingent, at an additional cost of about R150000.

Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron came to the defence of the metro. “The municipality did extremely well in supporting the club. Bay United never paid a cent for the usage of the stadium.

“The municipality paid all the money that was owed – R1,5-million – and assisted with the security fencing – about R70000 per game. We have proof of these payments and invite anyone wanting to see the evidence to come to us.

“We take the development of soccer very seriously, and jumped at the opportunity when Bay got promotion, with the hope that they would perform.

“We are still committed to the development of soccer in the region. We will go out once again to canvas to bring back top-flight football to the metro,” he said.

Safa NMB president Johnson Kula called for the intervention of the sports ministry in the possible departure of Umlilo from the region.

“Such a move would have disastrous consequences for soccer, not only in Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch, but in the entire Eastern Cape Province.

“Bay United was well on its way to becoming a legacy builder for the entire province, not only providing opportunities for our budding young talent but also administrators and technical officials.

“ Safa will be contacting the Minister of Sport, Makhenkesi Stofile, the MEC of sport, as well as the Nelson Mandela metropolitan municipality.

“We would like to have urgent meetings with them to see what can be done to salvage the situation. Bay United can bounce back and return to the Premier League,” Kula said.

Losing the team could spell bad news for the new stadium, but Baron gave his assurance it would continue to see top football in the future. “That will not change. Obviously it won‘t be on as frequent a basis as in the past year.

“But we will continue hosting big matches like some of the PSL games, Bafana Bafana and the Vodacom Challenge which we will be hosting in June,” Baron said.

source: Weekend Post

Popularity: 44% [?]

The contractor, appointed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to build a R3,1 million clinic in KwaNobuhle (Uitenhage), will start with the clearing of the site on Monday, indicating the beginning of better Primary Healthcare Services to the community of Gunuluza. Construction is expected to start a week later.

The building of a new 460 square meter clinic, to be situated on erf 21957, 75 Bantom Street, was necessitated since the Mabandla Clinic with three consulting rooms became too small to accommodate the more than 10 900 clients that visit the clinic monthly. As a result nurses shared consulting room space and the inadequate pharmacy room space and small waiting areas did not add value to a visit to this facility as well.

This is now a thing of the past as the new clinic will have six (6) consulting rooms, two waiting areas, a treatment room, a pharmacy, office space and more to enable dignified services to a community with a high prevalence of TB, HIV and High Blood Pressure.

Addressing an appreciative crowd at the sod turning this week, Public Health Standing Committee Chairperson, Cllr Nancy Sihlwayi, encouraged the community to immediately take ownership of the project and to act if they see anything untoward happening on the building site. She said the community is responsible for protecting the new building since it will impact their lives directly in a positive way.

“I appreciate the fact that we can give hope to this community today,” she added.

Sihlwayi also reminded residents that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is the only municipality in the Eastern Cape that deliberately budget and build clinics since the erection of Primary Healthcare Facilities is the constitutional responsibility of Provincial Government.

Dr Ebrahim Hoosain, Acting Executive Director of Public Health, said it is an honour to deliver the clinic and that efficient health services will be provided to so many people.

source: Posted by MyPE on Monday, May 11 @ 12:04:26 SAST

Popularity: 23% [?]

Volkswagen South Africa marked the production of its 400 000th Polo at its factory at Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape last month, with demand for the car being boosted by an earlier export order destined for Europe. Launched in South Africa in 1996, the second-generation Polo is top of the Ao hatch segment for the year to date, with a 19.8% market share.

“In addition, over the past two years, the Polo brand has claimed the title of South Africa’s most popular passenger car with sales far outnumbering its nearest rivals,” VW South Africa said in a statement last week.

Approximately 70 000 Polo hatchbacks have been exported to countries in the Asia Pacific region since 2002, while the company also secured an order for an addition 6 000 units for export to Germany.

“The new generation of this successful Volkswagen marquee will arrive in South African showrooms in 2010, having just been launched into the European market,” VWSA said.

Export markets

Volkswagen South Africa said earlier this year that 40% of its total planned production volume in 2009 would be exported. Its initial export of vehicles occurred in the early 1990s with the clinching of an export deal for 12 500 left-hand drive Jettas destined for China. It then proceeded to win orders for third-generation Golf GTIs to the United Kingdom, a significant order for fourth-generation Golfs to Europe and, in 2004, started exporting Polos and new Golfs to the Asia Pacific region.

Following on its Jetta export heritage, the company secured the order to export the latest Jetta model in May last year to countries including Australia, Japan and Great Britain.

source: SAinfo reporter, South African Information website.

Popularity: 25% [?]

By Roy Cokayne

Despite the troubles in the automotive industry, global tyre company Goodyear Tire and Rubber Holdings has decided to invest R70 million in its Uitenhage plant.

The investment will equip the factory to produce three new and apparently technologically superior tyre products, including one specifically aimed at the minibus taxi market.

Jean-Jacques Wiroth, the managing director of Goodyear, said last week that this investment, in difficult economic times, reinforced Goodyear’s commitment to South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, which was regarded as an important and independent hub in the Goodyear world.

Wiroth said it was investing not only in its Uitenhage plant to produce the new products with new machinery, new moulds and various continuous improvement projects, but also in people and distribution channels, through continuous training and development.

He said the factory made products of world-class quality. It was proud that 90 percent of its production was sold locally, through a wide footprint of well-established distribution channels across sub-Saharan Africa.

Wiroth said new products were the lifeblood that ensured the consistent improvement of any business. New product drove Goodyear’s business and consequently it would increasingly produce new products.

Myles Dent, Goodyear’s marketing and communications manager, said the new products covered three different areas of application, with each representing a specific innovation.

Through the launch of the new products in South Africa, he said, Goodyear was comprehensively extending its range.

Goodyear said its new Duramax G22 could take on the most demanding road and traffic conditions and had been “engineered specifically for South Africa’s bright, brash and breezy minibus taxis, which are particularly hard on their tyres”.

Its new DuraGrip had been developed to cope with all the stop-start pressures of constant city driving in all weather conditions. The third new product, the Wrangler AT/SA, provided exceptional on- and off-road performance in wet and muddy conditions, while high-tensile steel belts improved the tyre’s strength and resistance to punctures.

Published on the web by Business Report on April 27, 2009.

Popularity: 21% [?]

USE of the debilitating drug tik has exploded in Nelson Mandela Bay, with experts saying it has become the drug of choice among youth due to its availability and affordability.

While there are no official statistics on the severity of the problem, Shepherd‘s Field Rehabilitation Centre outside Port Elizabeth reports that tik addicts now account for 57 per cent of its patients.

And the SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) in Port Elizabeth said its number of addicts on tik had more than doubled in the last six months.

As the second cheapest drug on the streets after dagga, tik has saturated the city‘s poorest communities.

The drug can get a buyer a “high” for just R20, but experts warn it causes parts of the brain to “dissolve” after prolonged use.

Tik is made up primarily of crystal methamphetamine, but can also include a number of household products such as anti-freeze, slimming drugs, rat poison and household cleaning products.

Sanca information, training and education co-ordinator Zarina Ghulam said the drug had infiltrated the northern areas of Port Elizabeth specifically and that the number of users was growing rapidly.

“From July to December last year, we‘ve seen a huge jump of tik users coming to us for treatment.

“It went from 3,1% to 7,2% in those six months. Although we do not have the latest figures available for the last couple of months, I can definitely say the numbers are growing rapidly.

“The majority of the people who come to us for tik abuse are from the northern areas and it‘s moving to Uitenhage.”

Tik was first identified as a potential problem in the Bay two years ago when gangsters were being paid for poached perlemoen with tik by Cape Town crime barons.

Shepherd‘s Field chief executive Gerrie Cronje said the number of tik users at their centre accounted for 57% of people admitted for substance abuse.

Although a number of these addicts came from Cape Town, the majority were from the Nelson Mandela Bay area.

Reinhardt Coetsee, director of Rei‘s Place House of Recovery at Greenbushes in Port Elizabeth, said it was evident that tik was a fast growing problem in the city.

“Although it hasn‘t hit PE as bad as Cape Town, it is definitely a major concern and the problem is escalating.”

Humewood Community Police Forum chairman John Preller said the number of tik users attending his group meetings was increasing.

“We‘re definitely seeing an upward trend. Numbers are increasing drastically and the alarming thing is that it is younger people between the ages of 18 and 25.

“Tik has found its way to PE from Cape Town and we can no longer say it‘s coming, because it‘s here, and it‘s growing.

“The scary thing is that people only seek help when their lives become unmanageable, when the problem is at its worst.”

Aaron Liddell, a recovering tik addict at Shepherd‘s Field, said he was able to buy tik on nearly every street corner as it was so freely available.

“I can get it from the guy down the street or go to any of the coloured areas and buy it. It‘s everywhere. It‘s even in schools and prisons.”

Ghulam said it had devastating long-term effects on the body, although tik users were often swindled by the initial feelings of euphoria, increased energy and self-confidence.

“One client who came in for treatment ended up in hospital. They discovered he had holes in his brain because of the tik and he had to have two brain surgeries. They couldn‘t do anything to repair his brain, so he died.”

She said tik users were prone to HIV/Aids because the drug heightened arousal, which could lead to high-risk sexual behaviour.

Preller said it caused extreme aggression, which often led to uncontrollable violence. “Just recently, I heard from a parent who said her son beat her because of his tik aggression,” he added.

Preller said some of the permanent effects of the toxic drug were that it dissolved the teeth and areas of the brain.

Substance abuse in the northern areas was one of the main reasons for the disintegration of families and gangsterism there, he said.

Tik addiction also had a drastic effect on the economy, and on families, said Preller, with addicts ultimately losing jobs and homes torn apart.

“With tik, they lose their ability to think straight and they end up getting fired.

“Shortly after that they‘ll start breaking into houses or hijacking cars to get money to buy more drugs and most of the time end up in jail.

“You end up losing a strong productive person in the economy, and if you multiply that by the thousands of tik users we see, it results in the loss of thousands of productive people in the economy.”

Source : The Weekend Post

Popularity: 51% [?]

by Sipho Masondo HERALD REPORTER masondos@avusa.co.za

MORE land reform farms in the Eastern Cape have failed due to infighting and lack of capital and skills. Two weeks ago The Herald reported that several farms in the Addo area had failed and were auctioned off, and a new investigation has highlighted problems in the Gamtoos valley area.

The aim of land reform is to transfer 30 per cent of agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged over the next 15 years. This is done by grouping people together and giving then grants to purchase farms.

In the Cacadu region alone 90000ha of land has been distributed to more than 12000 beneficiaries at a cost of more than R370-million.

The latest farms to run into problems include:

In the Uitenhage area last year 22 beneficiaries auctioned their 674ha farm for about R1,1-million because they couldn‘t continue farming any more. The group owed the Land Bank about R400000, which with interest had escalated to about R600000.

Another set of 12 beneficiaries, the Hlanganani Trust from Motherwell, sold off its farm of 70ha for about R650000 in 2007 to a white farmer.

In Hankey the Peter Family Trust, with 10 beneficiaries, were last month rescued by the South African Fruit Exporters after the Land Bank threatened to auction the farm to recoup money it had loaned them in 2000. This was the second time the Land Bank had threatened to auction the farm.

The 36ha farm has no electricity or farming implements, and citrus trees are dying.

The 42 Dankbaar Farm beneficiaries in Hankey are having similar problems. Workers haven‘t been paid since January. There is no electricity on the 256ha farm, meaning citrus trees cannot be watered. Beneficiaries have accused each other of misappropriating funds. White farmers in the area are said to have expressed interest in buying the farm.

In Patensie a group of 200 beneficiaries have leased out 35ha of their 300ha farm to a white farmer to prevent the farm from going under. In 2006 Patensie Citrus rescued the group when the land bank threatened to auction the farm because of a R1,2-million loan it couldn‘t service.

David Uithaler, leader of 22 beneficiaries from Uitenhage of a farm which was auctioned, said: “I stayed at the farm for four years but I couldn‘t cope. We didn‘t have money to take the farm forward. We are very anxious to get farms, but you must have money to run them. My purpose was to produce food to feed the country, but if you don‘t have money you can‘t live up to the idea.”

Hazel Peter of the Peter Family Trust said they had decided to go into a joint venture with the South African Fruit Exporters which has promised to revive the farm and bring it to production.

But this will be at the expense of dividends in the next two years.

“We just want our farm to be saved,” she said, adding that the were also conflicts between the beneficiaries.

A land affairs department official said he would have liked to see more success with land reform. “It‘s not doing well. We need more support for these projects. We distribute land but we also try to help with technical skills and this is not our responsibility, but that of the department of agriculture.”

Department of agriculture spokesman Fikile Black said emerging farmers should approach the district offices and request assistance, which was subject to the availability of funds.

“We also have extension officers who assist farmers with skills.”

source: Weekend Post

Popularity: 21% [?]

by Sipho Masondo HERALD REPORTER masondos@avusa.co.za

THERE is a sweet smell of success about a project in Uitenhage that was started to help alleviate the misery of a group of impoverished people – it is now helping to add flavour to German cuisine

While many farms have failed under the government‘s land reform programme, the Uitenhage-KwaNobuhle Farm community project is providing shelter, food and a steady income for its 55 beneficiaries.

Administrative manager Mlamleli Maseti said failure was not an option for the group.

Besides supplying Port Elizabeth export company Dynamic Commodities with sweet baby peppers, the beneficiaries pride themselves on having developed the 38ha farm into a productive operation.

They supply retailers like the Fruit and Veg and Spar groups, BC Brothers and the Uitenhage and Motherwell markets, as well as hawkers, with fresh vegetables like cabbage, spinach, carrots, green beans and beetroot.

Maseti said the secret to making the farm work was listening to the people. “You can‘t make it without the people. When we started in early 2003 the land was bare. There will always be ups and downs where many people are involved because they bring different minds and backgrounds. But we constantly remind them about the purpose of coming together. It‘s about teamwork and having a good support system.”

Maseti said Dynamic Commodities supplied the farm with sweet baby pepper seedlings, which are planted on 10ha. “The produce that we export is huge and the profit is very good. We get about R4 for 1kg, and we are looking at more than 15 tons a hectare. The sweet baby peppers are ripe and we started harvesting last week. This is agriculture and we do experience ups and downs, but generally we are doing well.”

However, he said the crop had not done quite as well last year, when it was piloted for the first time on 5ha after they had entered into an agreement with Dynamic Commodities.

“It was trial and error last year. In the end we managed to break even – we made a little profit. We made mistakes but we have learned.”

Maseti said the farm employed about 50 permanent staff, which escalated to more than 200 people during harvesting season.

He said the farm‘s success was due to the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, which leases the land to the group, and to other role players like the Uitenhage-Dispatch Development Initiative, VWSA and the Eastern Cape agriculture department, which assisted in various ways.

VWSA donated about R3- million, which the farm accesses in stages. The agriculture department assisted with farming implements, including a tractor, fencing and irrigation infrastructure, while UDDI provided project management expertise.

UDDI project manager Sandile Adam said the farm was divided into two phases. The 20ha first phase is for conventional farming of vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, sweet baby peppers, spinach and beetroot, under drip irrigation.

Phase2 involves organic and greenhouse farming. “We will have high-value crops like tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses on about 18ha. We are already putting up fencing and irrigation systems.”

Popularity: 36% [?]