Competition and Workshop for Entrepreneurs in Port Elizabeth – Call for Entries

Free Entrepreneurial Training: Register NOW for this opportunity

Is your small business or business idea brilliant? Do you know how to pitch your business or idea effectively? Would expert business advice and guidance help YOU take your business to the next level? Do you need help pitching your business to potential investors or bank managers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the solution for you. Register or enter now for the workshop and competition where we will share with you the tools to grow your business.

Engen Petroleum Ltd has partnered with business incubator, Raizcorp, and media partner SAfm, as well as local stakeholders, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and local media partners, Your Money and Kingfisher FM, to bring you the fifth annual free Pitch & Polish workshop which promises to be bigger and better than ever before!

Over the years Port Elizabeth has shown us their incredible entrepreneurial talent: in 2012, Bhongolwethu Sonti (photograph attached) made it all the way to the final and dazzled the audience with his community farming idea. In 2013, Samantha Conway pitched her way to the semi-final with her healthy and nutritious treats business. Also in 2013, Roland Jordaan, was the SAfm Wild Card winner who went straight through to the semi-final with his coffee growing idea.

The ENGEN Pitch & Polish free workshop and competition will be held in Port Elizabeth on Saturday 28 June 2014. Round 1 winners go through to Round 2, those winners along with the winner from the SAfm Wild Card go to the semi-final, and the winners from the semi-final compete at the glitzy final event in Johannesburg, September 2014.

Steps to be part of the free ENGEN Pitch & Polish programme:

·         Decide whether you would like to register as a delegate or contestant (delegates and contestants participate in the workshop throughout the day but only contestants compete by pitching their business to the delegates who are encouraged to role-play as investors and bank managers)

·         Choose the city closest to you where an event will be held alternatively; follow the SAfm Wild Card round in August to pitch on-air

·         Register online at www.pitchandpolish.com or sms PITCH and your NAME and CITY to 48421 (charged at R1.50 an sms) or email pitch@raizcorp.com or call on 011-566-2000

·         Arrive at Feather Market Convention Centre, Cnr. Baakens and Military Road, Port Elizabeth on Saturday 28 June at 8 am to sign in and enjoy a full, fun day of learning

·         Refreshments will be provided

This unique experience-based form of training makes ENGEN Pitch & Polish a one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial programme which aims to empower and motivate budding entrepreneurs.

Giving you the tools to be a successful entrepreneur!

Advance registration is essential as seats are limited. Register now for ENGEN Pitch & Polish. Registration is easy, go online to www.pitchandpolish.com or SMS “pitch” and your name and city to 48421 or call on 011 566 2000 or e-mail pitch@raizcorp.com

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says work to improve water supply to Uitenhage suburbs progressing well

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says work to improve water supply to Uitenhage suburbs progressing well.

“Residents are, however, requested to use water sparingly over the next two weeks while important work to improve the water supply to some Uitenhage suburbs is progressing well at this stage,” said the municipality’s Communications Office.

“The water supply concerns to Rosedale, Kamesh, Tiryville, Mountain View, Thomas Gamble, Allanridge West, Blikkiesdorp, Joe Slovo, McNaughton, Mandelaville, Greenfields and the Kabah / Langa areas necessitated an emergency replacement of the pump supplying the three reservoirs which are fed through the Rosedale pump station.”

This work started on Monday.

“In the meantime, the area is being supplied from the Fairbridge Heights reservoir via the Verwoerd Drive booster pump station but the current demand is exceeding the capacity of this supply, causing the higher lying areas to be without water during certain periods. Residents are therefore requested to use water sparingly,” the municipality said.

“Water tankers have already been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.
Please call the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s 24 hour call centre at 0800 20 50 50 for all municipal-related enquiries.”

Filling the Depths of the SANCCOB Rehab Pool, Eastern Cape

It’s done.  There is no more need for the staff members of SANCCOB Eastern Cape to put on a wetsuit in the pursuit of getting birds out of the swimming pool in the rehabilitation area.  The original pool was over 3 metres deep, dug by an eager Xolani Lawo, one of the seabird rehabilitators at SANCCOB Eastern Cape, back in 2006. 

With the construction of the home pen pool for the birds residing permanently at SANCCOB, it became evident that the rehab pool also needs to be filled up to a manageable depth, ideal for swimming the birds three times a day as part of the rehabilitation process.  With a depth of only 1.2 metres, it is now easy to clean the pool by merely draining the water on a regular interval, without the use of chlorine and other chemicals. 

With some maintenance done on cellular network towers behind the SANCCOB centre, 500 – 600 sandbags, used for anchorage, were donated by Coastal Construction, run by Kallie Etsebeth, a kind warm-hearted man who quickly became friends with the penguins.

The rehab pool was filled up with these sandbags, and with the help of Francois Foster from Shell Irrigation, an old friend of the St Francis penguins, a dream became reality.  The pool was painted a grey colour and the steps were covered with sand to give the new rehab pool a natural feel.

With much excitement, SANCCOB started using the new rehab pool last week, with African penguins, a Cape Gannet and a Cape Cormorant enjoying the new pool by washing and grooming themselves whilst the overly joyed SANCCOB staff tested the water level.  Knee-deep the SANCCOB staff in Cape St Francis, continue SANCCOB’s world renowned rehabilitation work. 

On behalf of the SANCCOB staff, a big thank you to all their sponsors, like Kallie and Francois.  If you would like to support SANCCOB in Cape St Francis, contact Louanne Mostert at +27(0)42 298 0160 or louanne@sanccob.co.za, or have a look at their wish list on the SANCCOB website, www.sanccob.co.za

Where to view President Jacob Zuma inaugration in the Eastern Cape tomorrow

South Africa is poised to inaugurate its fifth democratically elected President following the holding of successful General Elections in 2014. The Inauguration of the fifth democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa will take place on 24 May 2014 at the Union Buildings, City of Tshwane; the national seat of government.

The Presidential Inauguration is a national activity that is of major significance to all South Africans with historical importance and as such the GCIS Eastern Cape office, in partnership with Municipalities, has organised public viewing events across the province, this is in keeping with government’s commitment to mobilise South Africans to actively participate in government programmes.

Details of the live viewing events are as follows:

DATE	TIME	DISTRICT/METRO	LOCAL MUNICIPALITY/AREA	VENUE	CONTACT
24 May 2014	09:00	Nelson Mandela Bay	Uitenhage	Allanridge Hall,	Portia Mlisa 071 154 5620
24 May 2014	09:00	Cacadu	Blue Crane	Madiba Community Hall, Cookhouse	Puleng Kekana 072 508 5808
24 May 2014	09:00	Buffalo City Metro	East London	Gompo Hall, Duncan Village	Mzimasi Dyomfana 073 092 9589
24 May 2014	09:00	Amathole	Mnquma	JJ Njeza SSS, Qhina Village, Centane	Tabita Ngqunge 072 344 7712
24 May 2014	09:00	Chris Hani	Inkwanca	Molteno Town Hall, Molteno	Vuyani Sibene 073 576 3381
24 May 2014	09:00	Joe Gqabi	Senqu	Bhunga Hall, Sterkspruit	Sabelo Kakaza 076 501 7872
24 May 2014	09:00	Alfred Nzo	Ntabankulu	Lundzwane JSS, Lundzwane Village	Ndyebo Kopo 083 464 9529

SACP EC congratulates Phumulo Masualle on his appointment as Eastern Cape Premier

"The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape congratulates and wishes well Cde Phumulo Masualle, ANC Provincial Chairperson and SACP Central Committee Member on his appointment as the Premier Elect of the Eastern Cape by the African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC)," said Siyabonga Mdodi, SACP ECape Provincial Spokesperson.

"We are of the firm view that Cde Phumulo Masualle brings in undisputed impeccable experience and capability to provide political leadership in the Eastern Cape Government. Cde Phumulo Masualle has done a very good work in various departments in the Eastern Cape where he has been deployed as the MEC; those departments include the Department of Public Works, Department of Health and the Department of Planning and Treasury.

"We trust that Cde Phumulo Masualle will ensure that the cabinet and the entire Eastern Provincial Government functions effectively to ensure accelerated service delivery to the people of our Province. We are confident he will ensure the improvement in the overall performance of the Eastern Cape Government in line with the ANC agenda of building the people`s assembly.

"Cde Masualle and his leadership collective has led a united and coherent African National Congress since the watershed River Park conference of 2009. It is in this context that we believe he is capable of leading a unified governance that will ensure that it defeats corruption and increase the velocity in delivering to the people of the Eastern Cape.

"We would like to wish Cde Phumulo Masualle all the best in his new responsibility and commit ourselves as the SACP to provide him with the necessary support."

'Boko Haram Bring Back Our Girls': march planned for Port Elizabeth

Local activists will march from North End to City Hall on 26 May in solidarity with the BringBackOurGirls campaign. A prayer session will also be observed.

Bring Back Our Girls is now an international movement protesting the kidnapping of 284 Nigerian girls from their school in Chibok, Nigeria, by the terrorist group, Boko Haram in April.

In a recently released video, Boko Haram announced that they would be selling the girls into slavery. Some of the girls were reportedly sold as brides to Islamist fighters for £7.50 (about R130) each.

Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram militants abducted eight more girls from a village in north eastern Borno State, according to BBC Africa.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the girls would only be freed if the Nigerian government was willing to exchange them for jailed Boko Haram militants.

Walmer Township Protests: Political Intervention Brings Calm

Swift interventions and interactions by the political leadership of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality with the people of Walmer Gqeberha Township have brought calm to the area following the unrest that happened yesterday, the NMB municipality has just announced.

The unrest was primarily caused by the disconnection of illegal electricity connections by municipal electricity and energy officials in the shack dwelling areas of Walmer Gqeberha Township. The secondary issue the residents claimed was the poor communication from the Municipality in not informing the affected residents about the planned disconnections. 

Led by the Portfolio Chairman for Electricity and Energy, Councillor Mfunda, the Municipality today at 8am called an urgent meeting with the community leaders and the senior Electricity and Energy Directorate officials to find solutions to the impasse. 

At the meeting it was agreed by both parties that the issue of communication by both parties, the community and the Municipality, had led to the unrest and had to be improved. Based on the discussions at the meeting, a common understanding between the Municipality and the community leaders was reached that illegal connections were wrong and needed to be dealt with.

The meeting also agreed that awareness campaigns about the dangers and unlawfulness of illegal connections needed to be intensified so that illegal connections would be prevented, eliminating the need for disconnections.

Following the meeting, Councillor Mfunda convened an urgent media briefing to update the members of the media about the latest developments. During the press briefing, Councillor Mfunda condemned the illegal electricity connections.

He said:  "As government we condemn the illegal connections as they pose a danger to people, especially children. They are also inconveniencing the law abiding citizens who pay for their own electricity. But having said that, we need to have creative ways of dealing with issues of this nature. We cannot as government just go and cut communities off, leaving them in the dark. There are issues of crime and basic human rights that we need to consider here".

He called on communities across the city to work with the Municipality in dealing with illegal connections, as they cost the Municipality a lot of money.

"This is costing us millions of Rands that could have been channelled towards service delivery. This financial year alone this has cost us more than R90 million. This is one issue that needs to be agreed on with our communities: that it needs to be stopped. It is equally our responsibility to speed up service delivery so that our people can stay in houses with legal electricity connections, because the majority of them wish to connect legally, but the conditions do not allow them to do so," said Councillor Mfunda.

He also called on the media to assist government in disseminating information about government programmes.

"More cooperation and assistance from the media can assist us in dealing with issues like this and other service delivery related unrest".

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro calls for a media briefing following Walmer Township protests

Port Elizabeth - The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has called for a media briefing by Infrastructure and Engineering Portfolio Chairman, Andile Mfunda.

The media briefing follows the unrest that were seen in Walmer yesterday, May 15, related to illegal electricity disconnections that were done by the municipality on the same day.

Today at 8am a formal meetings was held between Councillors Mfunda, senior Electricity and Energy officials and the leadership of Walmer Township where were issues that led to the unrest were discussed and resolutions were taken. 

It is for this reason that the municipality sees it fit to call our important stakeholders, the media to update them about the developments.

  

Time: 12:15

Venue: City Hall, Jenny's Room

Date: May 16, 2014

Mandela Funeral Funds Scandal: ANC Eeastern Cape responds to latest reports

Issued by the Office of the ANC Provincial Spokesperson, Mlibo Qoboshiyane

Recent media reports about how government spent the money allocated for activities related to the memorial and funeral services appear to be a barrage of attack against our leaders particularly the provincial Chairperson, Comrade Phumulo Masualle.

As the ANC we don’t support any form of fraud, corruption, misuse of public funds for functions they were not meant for. And we call on anyone with proper information about any incident around the usage of funds allocated for the funeral of our former President to report it to the law enforcement agencies.

We note these reports with concern. We are confident that our provincial Chairperson did no wrong with regards to the matter at issue.

Our confidence is anchored on the fact that any transaction that was done to his personal account, which was later withdrawn and re-directed to a government account.

Only an amount of R1,088.00 (One thousand and eighty eighty rands only), which has been accounted for was used for official business.

Auditors who will be auditing the usage of these funds will attest to this.

We reject the constant insinuation by some newspapers that the ANC led government blatantly disregarded existing financial management and procurement laws when procuring services around the funeral service of our former President.

The propensity of the sources used by the newspapers and their attempt to caricature our provincial Chairperson the way they did is clear opportunism of desperate proportions.

Because government has existing processes and institutions of accountability, we rely on those processes and institutions to deal with such matters and not on some unknown ghosts speaking as sources in the media with no audacity to reveal their identity for the purpose of verifying and concretizing their allegations.

The state is investigating allegations that have been raised around the funeral at issue.

We are of the view that personal interest pregnant leaky individuals masquerading as whistle blowers and media sources must not undermine this investigation with their ongoing leaky drops of documentation to the media and not to law enforcement agencies.

We decry the uninformed media frenzy against our provincial Chairperson and we deem these reports as proclivities of an unjust media trial adjudicated by uninformed Editors armed with bias and manipulated information, prosecuted by individuals inebriated by undefined personal interests.

This is an attempt to prejudice our provincial Chairperson. We will not be shocked if the peddlers of manipulated and wrong information will release another batch of manipulated information, paraded as factual information to unsuspecting Editors gullible to anything appearing to be a scoop.

It is prudent for Editors and their newspapers to regard any information they receive with caution, verify its nature and context prior to publishing such information as facts.

We appeal to the Editors to be vigilant of people who leak information to them and to act responsibly by verifying anything given to them Nicodemusly.

Ends…

Award-winning East Cape film, Of Good Report, continues its winning streak

Award-winning Eastern Cape film, Of Good Report, has been nominated for thirteen awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards to be held in Bayelsa State, Nigeria later this month.

The nominations are for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Young or Promising Actor, and Achievements in Editing, Screenplay, Sound, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Soundtrack, and Production design. 

This comes only a few weeks after the film scooped seven awards at the South African Film and Television Awards last month, which brought the tally of accolades to 28 since its release last year.

The film is produced by New Brighton Pictures founded by Somerset East-born entrepreneur and film producer Luzuko Dilima and directed by the award-winning film director Jahmil XT Qhubeka from East London.

“We are honoured to receive the nomination to the AMAA awards as this is the biggest recognition a film can receive in the continent. This bodes very well for not just New Brighton Pictures,” the director and crew but the film industry in South Africa.

 Now based in Port Elizabeth, Dilima, says the company has struck a deal with Musica recently to distribute the film nationally. In terms of the contract, New Brighton Pictures is already accredited as a vendor to Musica.

The film is expected to hit the shelves shortly after the AMAA’s as the awards will need to be added into the list featured in the DVD sleeve.

In another positive development, New Brighton Pictures has received a film distribution license and is expected to be the first black-owned distribution company to acquire the license in the Eastern Cape.

“The distribution license will see us restore the love of film especially in non-traditional markets. The current film distribution model excludes millions of people who cannot afford the fees charged in cinemas; they rely mainly on free-to-air television and movie hiring stores. Though non-conventional distribution methods, we will bring quality films back to the people, says Dilima.

Dilima is currently busy at a script development phase for a historical epic reflecting life in the Eastern Cape from the late 1700’s into the 1800’s as well as a couple of documentaries likely to be released later this year. 

Mec Helen Saul’s-August calls on ECape residents to vote

MEC for Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison Helen Saul’s-August calls upon all Eastern Cape Citizens  to go out in numbers and exercise their democratic right and vote during upcoming elections next week. The elections will start with special votes on the 5-6th and General Elections on the 7th of May.

She urges everyone not to be intimidated from casting their vote during the elections. “I am confident that SAPS in the Province is ready to safeguard all those wanting to participate in the democratic process as enshrined in the constitution,” she said.

The entire Eastern Cape Community is asked to pray for all law enforcement and disaster agencies who will be on duty during the elections. 

“Let us all pray for peaceful elections free of crime and intimidation of other people.”

She encourages people who had voted in previous General Elections, but didn’t register during this election registration period to come out in numbers and vote as they would still appear in the voters roll.

Only people who had never voted before and didn’t register will not be eligible to vote, she said.