Police and traditional and government leaders have slammed large gatherings of amakrwala in towns and villages, urging residents to avoid these meetings as they often result infights. The leaders said the illegal gatherings called ukudodisana (questioning each other’s legitimacy on the rite of ulwaluko), where amakrwala (young men who graduated from initiation schools) scrutinise one another’s genuine manhood and share alcohol, was not only a disgrace to manhood, but bred criminality and gang.
Child-headed families in the Eastern Cape are battling to make ends meet, with older siblings having to step in to play the role of parents to younger ones, while the children’s performance at school also often suffers.
The rural Mnquma municipality this week started with construction of posh new offices which will cost about R200m. After years of renting private property or using a community hall, the municipality is hoping that in two years’ time it will they will finally have a state-of-the-art office park.
Butterworth-based Mnquma Local Municipality has made history by becoming the first-ever local municipality, under Amathole District Municipality, to receive a clean audit opinion from the Auditor General South Africa.