Port Elizabeth police are evacuating foreign shop owners in the Booysens Park

Port Elizabeth police are evacuating foreign shop owners in the Booysens Park area, in the city’s Northern Suburbs, whose businesses were looted this morning, reports Algoa FM.

The station also said, police units had been deployed for maximum manpower in the area to meet demand for greater police visibility in the area, turned ugly.

Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Marinda Mills, says after residents marched to the Bethelsdorp police station some of the protestors began targeting foreign owned spaza shops.

She says early reports indicated that some shops had been set alight.

The drama unfolded early on Tuesday morning when a large group of people began burning tyres and stoning cars in Booysens Park.

Mills says they marched to the Bethelsdorp police station where they were addressed by the station commissioner.

Meanwhile, the situation in Sterkspruit was tense on Tuesday after protests flared up again.

Police Spokesperson, Colonel Sibongile Soci, says schools and businesses are closed today and police are monitoring the situation.

Community members have been protesting since last year over various issues.

Taxi drivers say the protests affect its business negatively.

Seven people were arrested on Monday on charges of public violence and will appear in court soon.

HSBC Sevens World Series coming to Port Elizabeth for 3rd Time

Port Elizabeth in South Africa will host round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series on December 7 and 8, after the International Rugby Board (IRB) confirmed the dates for the 2013/14 last Friday.

The World Series season is set to kick off on Australia’s Gold Coast and climax in London, England.

The city of Port Elizabeth will host the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens for a third time at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with 16 teams to compete for the sought-after tournament trophy and the valuable Series points on offer.

Dates for the 2013/14 World Sevens Series

·         Round 1 Australia (Gold Coast) 12-13 October 2013

·         Round 2 Dubai 29-30 November 2013

·         Round 3 South Africa (Port Elizabeth) 7-8 December 2013

·         Round 4 USA (Las Vegas) 24-26 January 2014

·         Round 5 New Zealand (Wellington) 7-8 February 2014

·         Round 6 Japan (Tokyo) 22-23 March 2014

·         Round 7 Hong Kong 28-30 March 2014

·         Round 8 Scotland (Glasgow) 3-4 May 2014

·         Round 9 England (London) 10-11 May 2014

Nelson Mandela Bay to launch an Investment Council to boost Trade and Investment

The Nelson Mandela Bay continues with its efforts to set itself as an economically active and globally competitive City. Tomorrow, 21 May, the City will host a media briefing to launch an Investment Council and announce its members to the media.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Investment Council, as it will be known will provide the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality with strategic analysis and advice on Economic Development and Trade and Investment related issues.

The Council will comprises of business leaders and representatives of influential entities in business, trade, investment and economic development. It will also comprise of senior representatives from government parastatuls, car manufacturing sector, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Economic Development, Coega Industrial Development Zone and a representative from the National Parliament.

May 2013 Oh!41 Creative Hub and Oh!41 Local Market

Due to bad weather, the May 2013 Oh!41 Creative Hub and Oh!41 Local Market took place at no.6 Whitlock Street in Central, Port Elizabeth – just around the corner from its usual venue in the historical Havelock Square.

From 10am to 3pm, locals had an opportunity to browse through and sample some of the Nelson Mandela Bay’s finest products and foods.

Held once every month, the Oh!41 Creative Hub and Oh!41 Local Market is a new and innovative event held in Central, Port Elizabeth. It aims to revive and re-invent the public market scene in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

The Oh!41 Local Market celebrates creative, hand-made and organic goods by creating a space for artists, local designers, gourmet merchants and local farmers to showcase and sell their speciality goods.

For more information on the Oh!41 Creative Hub and Oh!41 Local Market visit their Facebook page.  

Please also view a 50 second short documentary project I made about the Oh!41 Creative Hub and Oh!41 Local Market recently here.

Picasso Pizza Bar Port Elizabeth: The art of good pizza!

I have always wanted to write this review about Picasso Pizza Bar in Port Elizabeth and have finally managed to steal a few minutes to.

My story with Picasso Pizza Bar began in early 2012. After shelling out a substantial amount treating my visiting fiancé in Port Elizabeth I was now looking to give the wallet a break and go for some good old pizza.

We were actually looking for a Debonair’s Pizza outlet, when we found ourselves facing the small Picasso Pizza Bar at 86 Westbourne Road in Mount Croix, Port Elizabeth.

Location wise, they are right in the heart of the bay just off busy Albany Road. After some deliberation, we decided to try something new and went in.

Inside I found the place, small, intimate, cleaner and more inviting with pictures of pizza’s etc on the walls.

Was greeted by a friendly guy who was manning the till (his name escapes my mind). Picasso Pizza Bar definitely has people with the kind of attitude to go with their delectable selection of pizza’s. Meanwhile, I could see it was busy at the ovens their staff trying to getting the job done efficiently and in time.

Picasso Pizza Bar menu

The Picasso Pizza Bar menu consisted of a wide variety of pizza’s some of which I knew and many which I needed to try out. We were taken by their Specials section which features Standard and Large pizza combinations – two of which cost only R115 or R125 with a 2ltr cold drink.

After placing our order for two Large pizzas and a Coke, we waited 10 minutes for the pizza’s to be prepared - Picasso Pizza Bar always strives to serve their pizza’s hot, I have found.

Later at home, we found the Picasso Pizza’s really as good as if they were made by their famous namesake himself - the pizza delivered. They had surely the biggest single slices of pizza you'll ever get.  

Just two slices filled me up (I usually can eat 3-4 normal slices) and my fiancé (a pizza lover) couldn't finish them too.  Taste was spot on. Not too greasy. Just the right amount of toppings.  When you are hungry in Port Elizabeth, Picasso Pizza Bar should be your spot.

I also learnt that they deliver FREE in around Port Elizabeth central. Since then, I have moved flats and I always call Picasso Pizza Bar on 041 373 6909 and order my pizza’s which always arrive whilst still hot.  

Their staff are always friendly and warm.

About Picasso Pizza Bar

Picasso's was established in 2004 by two brothers.  After extensive market research and training they finally created "the art of good pizza", the pizza everyone has come to love and enjoy! After running Picasso's for 8 years the brothers decided to immigrate with their families, leaving Picasso's in the hands of a new management and ownership team on the 1st of June 2012. 

Now it is father and son's turn to take the reins.

"Our aim for Picasso's is to take it to the next level… keeping our ingredients and pizza fresh and of the best standards.  We pride ourselves in having the best cashiers, best kitchen staff, best atmosphere and best service in Port Elizabeth".

Open: Monday - Sunday 11:30 - 21:00

You can also find them on Facebook!

FREE DELIVERY AREAS:

·         ​Central

·         Mount Croix

·         Essexvale

·         Glendinningval

·         Kemsley Park

·         Millard Grange

·         Richmond Hill

·         Park Drive

·         Mill Park

R 6.50 DELIVERY FEE

·         Linkside

·         Parsons Hill

·         Conyngham to 1st

·         Perridgevale

·         Adcockvale

·         Greenacres

R 12.50 DELIVERY FEE

·         Newton Park ( to 7th)

·         Kensington

·         Walmer (up to 9th)

·         Glen hurd

North End (Industrial)

Executive Mayor Benson Fihla to unveil R3 million upgrade for Nangoza Jebe Hall

The Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Benson Fihla is expected to unveil the new look of Nangoza Jebe Hall in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, on Wednesday (8 April 2013) following renovations that were done through the municipality’s Extended Public Works Programme.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality executive Mayor, Benson Fihla (left).

As part of the Nelson Mandela Bay job creation initiatives through maintenance of facilities, the municipality’s EPWP office set aside an amount of R3 million for the repair and maintenance of the facility.

The facility is a property of the Municipality. It is used by the Municipality to hold meetings and workshops with the community. It is also used by Municipal Staff to hold meetings and events related to Municipal programmes.

Nangoza Jebe can also be hired by individuals, organizations and organized community formations to host events. The hall accommodates more than 2000 seated people with separate facilities within the facility for conferencing and a community gym.

The renovations project created employment and training for 30 community members. They were trained at East Cape Training Centre on a number of skills related to building maintenance. During the project intensive renovation work was done.

Painting, installation of theatre sound, lighting and curtains was done. Tiling of the foyer and passages has also been done. The renovations have also saw the hall installed with new feature ceiling with star lights. The whole facility has been repainted with a new colour. The renovations will bring more efficiency, quality and professionalism from the facility. 

Bus Strike Port Elizabeth: No end in sight as Satawu digs in

The nationwide bus strike is set to intensify as the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) threatened to bring in more of its partners as the industrial action enters its second week.

Tens of thousands of commuters in and around the Nelson Mandela Bay – Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage, have been left stranded as everyone else in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The strike paralysed the services of the affordable Algoa Bus Company. Not certain if the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Libhongolethu Bus Routes had been affected as well.

Commuters have turned to minibus taxis, causing congestion at Port Elizabeth’s major taxi ranks in the townships and in the city centre during peak hours.

This week, employees of the Greyhound and Citi liner suspended their strike after their union, the Transport and Omnibus Workers Union (Towu) accepted a 9% wage increase. Towu general secretary Tony Franks said the union hoped other parties would accept the offer in order to end the strike.

Other inter-city buses – Intercape and Roadlink were never affected by the current bus strike and have been ferrying passengers without interruptions.

Still, Vincent Masoga, spokesman for Satawu, said the union was rejecting the 9% increase offered by employers. Talks between bus companies and Satawu have been deadlocked since February. 

"At some point we were willing to settle for a 13% increase but the employers aggravated a bad situation and now we are adamant that we want our initial ask of 18%," he said.