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HERALDHERALDNumber 197 • Friday 27th July 2007
Tel. 033-330 6000 • Fax: 033-330 6950 • P.O. Box 1500, Howick, 3290e-Mail: [email protected] • Proprietor and editor: Russell Barnes
The MidlandsThe Midlands
7 500 papers FREEFREEEst. May 1996
Sunfield foils scam
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AUGUST
SPECIAL
Whilst several scams have been reported in the media recently,invoking the names of senior political officials, in particular theoffice of the premier, S’bu Ndebele, Howick was subject to its owndrama two weeks ago.
Numerous taxi owners were convinced to part with tens of thou-sands of rands each to provide services on contracts that failed tomaterialise by a man impersonating an official of the premier’s of-fice.
The timely intervention of Sunfield Home’s general manager,Leanne Viljoen, and the ward 5 councillor, Tim Lindsay-White,resulted in the arrest of a man and his being charged with severalcounts of fraud.
The area concerned stretches from Durban to Estcourt, and po
Above: Two weeks ago residents of the town placed placards on a number of trees around the CBD protesting against the recent felling of trees, as seen in thispicture. But The Herald understands that these jacarandas next to the municipal buildings in Dicks Street are the next to go. A fax seeking clarification from themunicipal manager sent on Tuesday received no reply.
Continued on page 2
Official enquiry into
uMngeni’s affairsAn official investigation has begun into the affairs of uMngeni
Municipality.The minister of Local Government, Housing and Traditional Af-
fairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu, has authorised an enquiry in terms ofSection 106 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, no.32 of 2000, which states that if an MEC has reason to believe that amunicipality in the province cannot and does not fulfil a statutoryobligation binding on that municipality, or that maladministration,fraud, corruption or any other serious malpractice has occurred oris occurring, the MEC must if he considers it necessary designate a
Continued on page 2
The uMngeni Property Market
The common concern of property investors
in uMngeni at present is how several significant
factors seem to have ganged up against us on
top of an already slowing market.
Mismanagement of our property rates for the
2007/2008 year, as of 1 July, caused consider-
able anguish and could have resulted in lasting
damage to our property market and local
economy if left unchecked. In any event, it has
resulted in uMngeni being used as an unenvi-
able model by other municipalities on how not
to apply the new Municipal Property Rates Act.
Prospective purchasers had the choice to buy
in Pietermaritzburg at a third of the rates in
uMngeni, inevitably creating an adverse distor-
tion in our market, equivalent to abruptly yank-
ing the handbrake on our local market in the
middle of the N3.
The new National Credit Act, although likely
to remove inefficiency from the bond market by
preventing artificial demand and possible default,
has pulled up our market’s handbrake further by
limiting bonds to disposal income and not sim-
ply a percentage of gross income.
Most recently we have seen the prime bond
rate rise half a percent to 13%, with the pros-
pect of another possible rise to 13,5% at the next
policy meeting in August.
In case that wasn’t enough, the civil servants
strike brought the Deeds Registry to a standstill!
And yet still property has remained one of
the soundest investments!
Expect Great Things
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PROPERTY PROFILE— Tim Lindsay-White —
Leaf alone
The Midlands HeraldPage 2 — 27th July 2007
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The unfortunate autocratic manage-ment style of the uMngeni administra-tion has divided uMngeni. It has al-ienated the ratepayer, both urban andrural.
As a result, the municipality’s man-agement does not have the confidenceof those who are expected to pay their
Council CommentThe struggle
continues!uMngeni di-
vided!
From the Chamber — Council Matters
Clr Tim Lindsay-White
salaries, and they will not have their respect until meaningful public con-sultation, transparency and accountability are honoured.
As long as mere lip-service is paid to the mission statement of commu-nity participation the divide between the administration and its ratepayerswill grow.
We are repeatedly told that letters to the municipality go unanswered,and that Ward Committee needs are not replied to — let alone addressed— a year into the current term of office, whilst not even in council is therereciprocal healthy debate.
Were the views of residents respectfully considered before erection ofmetro-billboards at critical intersections in Howick and Hilton destroyingthe ambience of our villages whilst promoting conglomerate business atthe expense of the local economy?
Were interested and affected members of the public given the opportu-nity to voice their disquiet before establishment of a waste industry along-side businesses at the gorge edge, disregarding legislation and due proc-ess?
Were residents of Howick consulted or even informed before eviscera-tion of our leafy tree-lined Main Street?
Was due consideration given to the impact on our community and localeconomy when attempts were made to bully the ratepayer into submissionover exorbitant rates increases?
Is the community ever asked how they would rate general managementin respect of performance bonuses?
Has management ever been transparent with the public about how muchthey are being paid?
What has happened to the reportback concerning the plight of the mayorhaving been forced to leave his home, under body guard paid for by theratepayer?
Where were the mayor and municipal manager when the communityneeded them during the terrifying fires of 25 June that devastated much ofthe municipality, and the bleak aftermath?
Are we to believe that a political party’s strategy policy conference inGauteng was more important?
Is the municipality living on borrowed money?Is 35% loss of water and electricity acceptable?
Is almost R100 million outstanding debt, much of it over five monthsdue, reasonable?
Who’s listening to the frustrations of our Hilton residents when theyhave to cart their refuse halfway across the municipality?
Are residents up the Currys Post Road going to be heard when theyprotest against the establishment of a crematorium on the hill alongsidethe dump above them?
You can contact Tim on 083 379 8051.
person or persons to investigate the matter.In a letter, the minister advised that his
concerns related to allegations and support-ing documentation as to possiblemaladministration, fraud and corrupt prac-tices occurring within the uMngeni Munici-pality.He stated that he as minister and his depart-ment would continue to make every effortto ensure that the municipality implementseffective, efficient, transparent and account-able management and internal control sys-tems in the interest of transparency and ac-countability in government.
Vilakazi wants enquiry into enquiry
However, municipal manager DumisaniVilakazi has called for an enquiry into theminister’s forensic investigation.
Speaking during an item tabled concern-ing the matter at the July meeting of Coun-cil on Wednesday, he said that he wanted tosee the information that had been suppliedto the minister and threatened his own ac-tion toward those responsible for calling hisadministration into question.
According to a report in Wednesday’sWitness, Lennox Mabaso, spokesman for MrMabuyakhulu, confirmed that a forensic in-vestigation was under way at the municipal-ity but refused to divulge details of its termsof reference.
On Tuesday Gauteng-registered vehiclesarrived at the municipal offices, from aGauteng-based firm of auditors, UbuntuForensics.
“Sources in the town hall say that therewas a lot of unhappiness at the sudden ar-rival of the investigators,” the page 1 articlesaid. “Some felt they should have been in-formed by the Local Government Departmentthat the probe was to take place.”
uMngeni councillors were informed aboutthe investigation at their full council meet-ing yesterday afternoon.
Sources present said some ANC council-
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Editor Russell Barnes
uMngeni Municipality finds it-self between a rock and a hardplace.
Unfortunately (for itself) it ispart of a three-tier structurewhereby it finds itself answerableto provincial government, based in Pietermaritzburg, which in turnis answerable to our national government.
And unfortunately (for itself) our national government subscribesto policies that recognise the rule of law, freedom of the press, com-munity participation, etc.
Not great news for a self-constituted autocracy.As the general gist of this week’s edition clearly shows, the mu-
nicipal management and its ANC councillor allies are trusting thatthey can continue to get along with their masters in Pretoria —mayor Edward Dladla and municipal manager Dumisani Vilakazieven attended the recent ANC strategic conference there — whilesnubbing their noses at their laws.
Our page 1 report tells that their provincial overlords, havingcarefully looked into, for their credibility, concerns by the publicabout possible corruption, have this week instituted a forensic auditinto some of their activities.
In return, Mr Vilakazi seems intent on a witch-hunt to intimidatepossible whistle blowers, and this is not surprising.
He is used to doing just as he pleases.The DA have over the past two years made nearly a dozen appeals
to Province regarding items of information that the municipalityrefuses to disclose.
Despite support for their applications from the Freedom of Ac-cess to Information Act, Province has yet to look into any of thematters.
This of course tells Vilakazi that he can get away with hobnob-bing with Pretoria, or with anyone, but without listening to whatthey say.
On another tack, it is interesting how quickly some people forgettheir recent past.
Remember the old days of the struggle against an autocratic re-gime? Some people have already forgotten that they are only where
they are because of democracy.Earlier this month The Her-
ald for the first time put post-ers up around the town adver-tising its stories in the most re-cent edition.
Over the next few weeks,four of them were torn downand destroyed; not surprisinglythese were all the ones that ad-vertised our “millionaire mu-nicipal manager” article.
That story itself has had awidespread effect. Picked upand run by the Witness it foundits way into The Sunday Trib-
une, The Mercury — and evento Sky News!
However, the national gov-ernment subscribes in principle to democracy, a free press and theparticipation of the community.
And so the cabal in Howick finds itself between a rock and a hard
Above: One of The Midlands Herald’s“millionaire” posters this monthattached to the bars of a Howick shop.
Official
enquiry into
uMngeni’s affairs
Continued from page 1
Members of the public are warned thatthere have been several instances of cons con-cerning prospective tenders and are advisedto seek official confirmation directly fromthe departments concerned before enteringinto any agreements.
Gratitude also goes to the various inves-tigating departments.
There have been two other instances ofsimilar scams reported in the media in thepast few days.
Sunfield
foils scam
Continued from page 1
lors blamed theircounterparts in theDemocratic Alliancefor the investigation,accusing them ofsending informationto the MEC’s officein an attempt to dis-credit their adminis-tration of the mu-nicipality.
place. The strugglecontinues.
Page 3 — 27th July 2007The Midlands
Herald
Thousands of people are entitled to shares in Sanlam. They simply
haven’t claimed them yet. If you had a Sanlam policy between 31 March and
15 October 1998, you might qualify for free Sanlam shares. Take your green
ID book to the Sanlam kiosk inside Shoprite, 25 Bell Street, Howick, between
30 July – 8 August to find out how much your portion is worth. Or,
call 0860 687 878. Sanlam. We’re thinking ahead. Are you?
Average Sanlam share price for January to March 2007 based on daily closing price: R19.29
We have millions of unclaimed shares.At the current share price, that’s a lotof money that could be yours.
Sanl
am C
I010
4AM
0709
SDE
Local delegates enjoy stayover atlocal hotel — at ratepayers’ expense
The big sleepover
Delegates to a youth summit at the Fern Hill Hotel in June wholive in Howick or its immediate surrounds stayed overnight at thehotel — at ratepayers’ expense.
The event took place on the weekend of 14th and 15th June.The weekend is said to have been put together by general man-
ager: operations, Mbali Myeni, and her PA, Cindy Manyoni.According to information received, uMngeni Municipality booked
out the entire hotel of 27 rooms for municipal officials as well as144 places at Midmar Dam for the youth.
At the evening “cocktail braai” liquor was in plentiful supply.Those local residents said to have stayed over at the hotel include
the mayor Edward Dladla, Cindy Manyoni, two committee clerks,and youth from Mphophomeni.
Those that stayed at Midmar include municipal manager DumisaniVilikazi, his deputy Mbali Myeni, a ward councillor from Lidgettonby name of Shabalala, the youth desk officer Biyela Sibiya and hous-ing officer, Peter Zondi.
A rough estimation of cost to the ratepayer would be in the re-gion of about R250 000 to R300 000 — for an event that was neverbrought before Council for its approval.
The planned event was advertised twice in The Witness and inThe Mercury at an estimated cost of about R2 400 per advertise-ment, although written at the bottom of each was “by invitationonly”.
It had been announced at a Council meeting that ward councillorshad been told to invite 10 youth from each of the 11 wards in totaland submit the names to the municipality.
Councillors were invited to attend the summit but not all wereinformed of the planned sleep-over.
Two weeks ago the MEC for Local Government and Housingchastised another kwaZulu-Natal municipality for organising a simi-lar event without council approval yet at ratepayers’ expense.
Side by sideBelow: Two Mercedes Benz’s — the mayoral vehicle at left for use of uMngeni mayor Edward Dladla, and the personal vehicle of municipalmanager Dumisani Vilakazi (NR 7405), in their parking bays at the municipal offices this week.
uMngeni Municipality councillor, Surya Pillay, owns a low-costhouse in Howick, despite earning a salary from the municipality —11 times more than the qualifying amount.
Houses in low-cost schemes are intended for those in need, andat present the maximum household income that qualifies for a low-cost house is R3 500 a month. In order to qualify for the maximumsubsidy of R26 937, which the Speaker and her husband Moonsamyhave received, the household monthly income may not be more thanR1 500.
Her sales agreement for the house was signed on 30th January2005, when her salary alone as an ordinary councillor was R5 250per month. On 17th April 2007, Mrs Pillay and her husband tooktransfer of house 2312 in the Howick Extension 33 low cost housingproject under title deed T16612/2007. When they took transfer, hersalary as Speaker was R16 600 a month.
Contacted by The Herald, she denied owning a low-cost house,and said she was sick of the DA and their criticisms. She did notrespond when asked whether her husband owned the house, but saidthat she lives with her pensioner mother.
The Herald reporter must tell his sources that she said they must“go fly a kite”.
Speaker earns R16 600,
owns low-cost house
Above: the low-cost house at Howick Extension 33 low-cost housing project inHowick West owned by Moonsamy and Surya — who earns R16 600 p.m. — Pillay.
Left: Surya Pillay
Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to the Editor • Letters to
Dear Sir,
The Quarterly report for June 2007 justreceived reveals the following:- Salary andWages Vote Overspent (R2 970 219), Sav-ings Remuneration of CouncillorsR1 165 162, Interest external loansR1 759 991, Income under-recovered forProperty Rates R17 027 916, user chargesfor services R2 358 456 and Income over-recoveries for Grants and subsidies R1 155599.
There are numerous other under- and over-recoveries but insufficient to meet the defi-cit.
The rates problem is attributed to farm-ers.
The Debtor’s analysis reveals the totaloutstanding as at 30 June 2007 asR98 611 711.08 of which R80 993 603.29 is150 days or more. Rates debtors are reflectedas R48 375 816.74 and water debtors asR25 483 696.52.
Perhaps the M.E.C. Finance could com-ment hereon together with the PortfolioCommittee on Finance.
The now-infamous uMngeni budget
Nalini Naidoo’s article on 20 July, headed“uMngeni Budget under fire”, is pertinent.
Notwithstanding that “complex” ratepay-
the above is not in the spirit of the legisla-tion.With the substantial adverse criticism car-ried in the article, M.E.C. Zweli Mkize willbe hard pressed to explain his Department’sfailure to prevent the present situation de-veloping as the Minister of finance has del-egated this function to him.Claude Edwards, Concerned Ratepayers/
Residents Group, Howick
ers and the Concerned Ratepayers Groupmade available substantial documentation toMPPs Scott and Tarr reflecting the poor per-formance of uMngeni Municipality theMPPs were quoted in subsequent articlesstating that the municipality’s record wasabove reproach.
Now it would seem that the “unholy Al-liance” of Mayor and Manager need to berecalled to explain subsequent developments.
It is incongruous that the performancebonus percentage is reflected as consider-ably higher than that previously awarded toDr. Michael Sutcliffe (75%) by eThekwini.
Any percentage above that is beyond thepale. Only misdirected political supportcould reflect the uMngeni figure.
Scott states that there is legislation in thepipeline from National Government to limitthe capacity of municipalities to determinerates randage.
In fact this legislation already exists.Section 20 of the PRA provides that the
Minister (DPLG) may proclaim a percent-age limitation on rate randage increases.
This year of course the rate randage de-creased because of the revaluation and suchpower was of course ineffective.
More seriously, DPLG have stated incorrespondence that it is not obligatory forthe Minister to issue a Proclamation.
Can ratepayers therefore expect anotherunbridled increase in 2008/2009 ?
A senior Parliamentarian has stated that
Sir,
In response to the letter by uMngeniMunicipal Manager F D Vilakazi in respectof the Recycle Center blunder “The Facts “published in Village Talk, 4 July 2007.
Mr Vilakazi insinuates in his letter thatproper authority was obtained. He is calledupon to prove his statements.
Evidence to the contrary suggests thatneither the Planning Department nor thePlanning Committee were consulted, norplans approved by the Building Inspectorateat that time.
As a consequence, due process of the ad-ministration itself was not followed. Nowcourt action is in progress one senses theMunicipal Manager is simply attempting tolegitimize these actions after the fact with-out transparency or accountability and hencewithout due regard to our country’s laws,our municipality’s by-laws, and the public.
Opportunities to resolve this matter ami-cably prior to the High Court enforcing suchaction were ignored to the ratepayers andinterested and affected parties’ detriment.
The Title Deed itself shows that the recy-cle centre has been built in contravention ofits zoning and use for parking and toilets, acondition that could only be approved by the“State”. To date the Title Deed remains un-amended.
The facts: It is a fact that the Centre hadbeen built in defiance of proper zoning.
It is a fact that neither interested and af-fected parties, nor the community at large,were consulted prior to its establishment.
It is a fact that the building encroachesacross a street surveyed as long ago as 1850!
It is a fact that no road closure was publi-cized. It is a fact that the public was neverconsulted.
It is a fact that we, the public, are over-whelmingly in support of recycling, but notof administrative disregard for procedure andpublic opinion, resulting in ratepayer’smoney being used to pay a legal team to de-fend arrogant disregard of our legislationagainst its law-abiding residents.
The relevant provincial authority is calledupon to protect the interests of its peopleand investigate the manner in which this in-sult to the law-abiding public has been in-stigated.
Officials who act in a wasteful or negli-gent fashion, in disregard of due process,should be held accountable in their personalcapacities.R D MacKellar
Recycle centre disregardof procedure and public
Quarterly Report of theChief Financial Officer,uMngeni Municipality
Ethics and business —
The real purpose of businessDr Martin Prozesky was the uMngeni
Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s guestspeaker at its AGM at the Fern Hill Hotelon 20th June.
Dr Prozesky is director of the Departmentof Ethics of the Unilever Centre at the Uni-versity of KwaZulu-Natal inPietermaritzburg, which was set up ten yearsago and still today is generously funded byUnilever.
Dr Prozesky, who works in the area ofapplied ethics, asked his audience: “What isethics?”
In reply, hesaid, “It is notabout what youshouldn’t do, butabout success.”
People alwaysseek success anda sense of well-being — “last-ing wellbeing,especially thatwhich cannot betaken away from
you.”Wellbeing can be viewed in terms of
health, security, friendship, respect and afeeling of happiness.
He pointed out that every single culturein the world has the same basic core, andthen outlined three points concerning thevital tie between ethics and business.
Firstly, ethics needs successful business.The real purpose of business is not to
make money but to remain in business.Indeed, ethics needs business that is prof-
itable and lastingly so.What are we hearing — in terms of ethics
— from people in successful business?Secondly, why is it that business needs
ethics?“Ethics” is the key to success in busi-
ness, its magic word since customers, cli-
ents and other businesses all conduct trans-actions with those they trust.
Are buyers happy with the service? Whatis the truth of customer interest (i.e. whatdoes market research reveal)?
To get the product to be the best it can be,one needs the best possible people in thebusiness, and, for example, in the workplaceitself, a heavy-handed leader will get com-pliance but not commitment.
Thirdly, what are the steps one can taketo implement in business?a) Leadership: The leader is very visible andif he or she is not deeply trustworthy, thatperson will not obtain the best standard ofwork from staff;b) Need for education: Ethics is partly aboutenhancing the goodness in us and althougheducation works slowly, there are lastinghorizons. (One can make an impression in20 minutes in teaching ethics, but much moretime is needed);c) Resources: It needs active, visible sup-port from the higher echelon and includesmoney.
In conclusion he said that the triple bot-tom-line concept of ethics in business con-sists of the financial aspect, one’s environ-ment and the need for a social responsibil-ity.
This last point is the real one — a socialresponsibility of respect, justice, fairness,and putting a brake on selfishness and un-fairness.
During question time he produced thethought-provoking saying: “Laws produce asociety that complies fearfully; ethics pro-duces the commitment, love, respect etc thatsociety needs.”
At best, mere laws or legality is a mini-mum ethic, and in terms of behaviour theword, “decent”, is far more important thanthe word “lawful”.
Asked what can business do, he suggestedthat the Chamber lobby for effective polic-ing of issues in the community.
Above: Dr MartinProzesky.
Following a spate of criminal activity inthe Howick area two weeks ago, repre-sentatives from the Midlands Crisis andTrauma Centre and ward councillor TimLindsay-White met last week and had a pro-ductive and positive discussion with the sta-tion commander of Howick SAPS, Senior
Superintendent Robert Gwala and his CIDhead, Captain Naidoo.
It is understood that arrests were madefollowing the incidents, the situation is be-ing followed up, preventive measures beingput in place, and that a full joint press re-lease is to be issued shortly.
Police to comment following
spate of crime in Howick area
staff that are based in Dicks Street, butuMngeni naturally controls the operations.
When he requested details of uMngeni’sdisaster management planning, Mr Vilakazisaid that this was in the process of beingformed and nothing was in place yet.
He then referred him to theuMgungundlovu District Council, whichdoes have a disaster management plan.
When Mr Hoole asked him if he couldsend his own report of the meeting to coun-cillors so that they can consider it and havefirsthand knowledge of his concerns duringand after the fire, Mr Vilakazi said he wouldsubmit his own report.
Mr Hoole then reminded him that at thebeginning of the meeting Mr Vilakazi hadsaid that the three components of local gov-ernment — viz. councillors, the administra-tion (municipality) and the community —functioning together meant success.
“Now that I have requested my report tobe sent through based on our discussion yourefuse to send it through,” Mr Hoole pointed
The chairman of the Howick & DistrictLandowners Association, Bobby Hoole, hasexpressed farmers’ unhappiness with themunicipality’s attitude towards their role inthe recent fire disaster.
After the fire Mr Hoole wrote to munici-pal manager Dumisani Vilakazi to attemptto understand their responsibility regardingfighting fires and their implementing a dis-aster management plan, if there was one.
He was subsequently invited to addressthe Manco meeting on 19th July, and attendedwith Jakes Oosthuizen, a seasoned fire cam-paigner who had been instrumental in thecommittee that drafted the Veld and ForestFire Act 101 (1998).
In the meeting Mr Oosthuizen highlightedhis concern that the municipality is still nota member of the Lions River Fire Protec-tion Association, despite the fact that the Actrequires that it join.
Mr Vilakazi replied, he said, that the func-tion of fire-fighting was not the municipali-ty’s responsibility as there are four tiers ofgovernment, including the district munici-pality too.
Mr Hoole told him he was passing thebuck as uMngeni may fund the vehicles and
Farmers unhappy with MM’s
approach to fire disaster
Continued on page 8
Page 4 — 27th July 2007 The Midlands Herald
Page 5 — 27th July 2007The Midlands
Herald
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Habit To impressive at
CD launch
Above: Habit Toconsists of MichelleStent (vocals, guitarand piano), brotherAndrew (vocals andbass) and boyfriendDale Wardell ondrums.
Right:Habit To’s first CD,
Secrets to aTriangle
An up-and-com-ing Durban band,Habit to, launchedits first CD Secrets
to a Triangle at afunction at theDockyard SupperTheatre in MusgraveCentre recently.
Habit To consistsof Michelle Stent(vocals, guitar andpiano), brotherAndrew (vocals andbass) and boyfriendDale Wardell ondrums.
Not withstandingan unusual line-upof female vocalistplaying lead guitar,the band has anadded strength inMichelle’s powerfulvoice and her acute
“Cast in Stone”, their first, was aired onRadio 2000 around Easter.
And Habit To will be playing inPietermaritzburg!
You can see them on Wednesday 8th Au-gust at a Women’s Day concert at the WinstonChurchill Theatre, starting at 8 pm, featuredwith bands Harris Tweed and RedHouse.
They will also be performing at 2 pm atthe Uprising Festival in Durban tomorrow,Saturday 28th July, at the WaveHouse in Gate-way, Umhlanga, which is featuring twostages, 17 acts, all ages, free skating andflowboarding, giveaways and competitions.
In September they will play unplugged atthe White Mountain Festival in the Central‘Berg.
Reviewers have written in praise of theband.
Alex Sudheim wrote in the Mail & Guard-
ian: “For something new from Durban thatisn’t a Creed-clone or a bunch of puerilepower-rock anthemeers don’t miss this breathof fresh air”, while The Highway Mail hassaid: “When listening to the sounds of Habitto . . . it is hard to imagine such a powerfulvoice coming from such a quiet, petite girl.”
Read more about Habit To at
www.myspace.com/habittoband
understanding of music.She is currently in her third year of a
B. Mus. degree at the University ofKwaZulu-Natal in Durban where she isin the top 15% and hence a member ofthe Golden Key Society — internationalrecognition for excellence in academicachievement.
Habit To combines in sophisticatedhard rock with strong jazz and classicalbackgrounds and a university musical edu-cation to produce what their website calls“an eclectic mix of styles, brought togetherwith integrated melodies and often-awkwardtime signatures”.
“You could call it a mixture of EllaFitzgerald and A Perfect Circle,” Andrewtold The Herald.
Yet at the same time the music is stillundeniably accessible.
The band complements their ideals andmusic further by projecting video and im-ages during their live performances.
Sales of the CD at gigs are going verywell, while a distribution deal with a com-pany is pending, Andrew explained, sayingthat Michelle and Dale have been in the U.K.for the past two months.
She returned yesterday, and a stand-indrummer will play with them until Dale re-turns to South Africa early next year.
The band is currently receiving radioairplay on East Coast and Radio 2000 fortheir second single off Secrets, “Before YouGo”, which was released in June.
Surya Pillay, speaker of uMngeniCouncil, threatened to have Herald editorRussell Barnes thrown out the next time hemade an appearance at a council meeting.
Mrs Pillay made the threat after the closeof an Extra Special Council meeting on 11th
July where the municipal manager and hisfive managers were granted their controver-sial “performance bonuses” by an ANCmajority vote.
Questioned by Witness journalist NaliniNaidoo, she was reported in a front-pagearticle on 16th July, “Howick Boss’ big bo-nus”, as saying that her only comment was
that she is fed up with DA councillors dis-crediting ANC councillors.
Her remarks followed the publicationof The Herald on 4th July.
According to standing rules and ordersfor Council and its committees, all Coun-cil and Exco meetings are open to both thepublic and the press.Mr Barnes attended the meeting without ahitch.* At the same time Nalini Naidoo sent ane-mail asking questions about the salarypackages to Dumisani Vilakazi and chieffinancial officer but received no reply.
Speaker threatens Herald
Read all
about it
The Midlands
HERALD
The MPage 6 — 27th July 2007
Howick Falls Garage
Pulling together
as one community!
23 Main Street, Howick • 330 2121
We like to keep you moving
Sales & service of gas appliancesGas, coal and wood fireplaces
Telephone Peter —082-454 0824 • 033-330 2717
Congratulations onyour sterling work!
35 Ogilvie Road, Merrivale Industrial Park
COMRIE ESTATES
Thanks to all theorganisations for their
efforts at disaster relief.
WE ARE THE PROPERTY PEOPLE
TEL. 033-330 6278
EVERDONESTATE
Home of OrganicAvocados
We congratulatethe Midlands
Disaster ReliefCommittee on its
efforts in support ofour community
Tel: 033-330 2071Congratulations to all ofthe Midlands DisasterRelief Committee onyour wonderful effort
after such anunexpected tragedy
HARDWAREBUILDING SUPPLIERS
For all your Building RequirementsContact Greg • We Deliver Promptly
Congratulations on allyour efforts at healing
people’s lives.
033-330 2298 • 18 Harvard Street, Howick
G
&
S
1 Main Centre • 3302102/3 • a/h 082-800 5256
Congratulations to allworking on restoring to
normality again.
HOWICKPHARMACY
AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALISTS
98 Zeederberg Rd, Merrivale • 033-330 5408
Supporting you all inyour wonderful efforts
in restoring people’slives as soon as possible
in the Midlands.We congratulateand thank you.
ENGINEERING
MIDLANDS DISASTER RELIEF COMMITTEE REPORT
Much has been said about the firestorm that dev-astated a significant part of the Midlands 25/26June. Little, thanks to their modesty, has been saidby those who freely and voluntary co-ordinatedthe relief work that followed.
In the absence of a municipal Disaster Man-agement Plan, at the initiative of Anita and DerekTurvey (Deko Timber Projects) and Bobby Hoole(Chairman Howick District Landowners Associa-tion / Farm Fire 24) the Midlands Disaster ReliefCommittee was formed. An organised structurewas put into place to immediately assist the com-munity. Nottingham Road Land Owners Associa-tion (admirably managed by Hazel Glover), be-came the official control centre through which allinformation, appeals and claims were co-ordinated.The South African Red Cross (under the direc-tion of Barbara Craig) became the designated col-lection, assessment and distribution centre. Linkedin between were the Midlands Crisis and TraumaCentre, Drakensberg Emergency Rescue Services(Martin Millar), SAPPI Forests (Janine Smith and
Sue Kirkman), the SPCA (Heather Sommerville),The Department of Welfare (Xoli Dlamini, LindiZondi and Yandiswa Mlandu), the South AfricanSocial Security Affairs (Thami Hadebe), RotaryInternational and the Department of Education(Hennie de Bruin and Di Holderness), the HowickLions (Ron Bachelor), Telkom (Dave), Eskom andthe uMngeni Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try.
An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to thosewho so selflessly gave of their time and skills andto those hundreds of concerned well-wishers fromfar and wide who donated so generously to allevi-ate the plight of our community. Assistance wasgiven to all in need, irrespective of boundaries.
Recommendations were made to ensure effec-tive disaster management and an immediate re-sponse time in future. Public comments are wel-come.
The Control Centre can still be contacted on033 266 6032 whilst the final rehabilitation pro-gramme is in operation.
Chairperson Clr Tim Lindsay-White
Above: Volunteers of the Red Cross and a membout delivering clothes and food to the fire victimwould like to thank the many donors of clothing,fowere so generously given, as well as the many voluassist the organisation and fire victims.
SAPPI Forests
Extreme weather conditions made it very dif-ficult to combat and then extinguish the fires. Thiswas eventually achieved late on the 26th of June.
Commenting on the damage caused, Hendrikde Jongh, Managing Director of Sappi Forestsstated that “the area affected by the fire, some5,500ha, represents approximately 2% of our for-ests.”
As regards the financial cost involved he said:“I•it’s early days and the numbers are still beingfinalised, but we expect the net impact to be aroundUS$5m after tax. It is not yet clear how much ofthe wood we would be able to use, which wouldof course also influence the financial impact.”
The aftermath of the severe runaway veld firesexperienced in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands near
Howick on Monday 25June 2007, has resultedin many people in thearea being left destituteand homeless.
“Sappi Forests hasbeen hard hit by thisdisaster, but we havealso been moved by theplight of the people inour neighbouring com-munities – some whomhave lost everythingand are now strugglingto survive in theseharsh conditions”, saidHendrik De Jongh,managing director ofSappi Forests.
Apart from trying tolimit damage to com-
mercial plantations and other property, Sappi’sresponse to the fires focused on ensuring the safetyof the people in the area.
To this end Sappi provided assistance with gen-eral alert procedures and eventual evacuation ef-forts.
In particular on Monday night, 25 June, Sappiensured that its contractor labour force was quicklyevacuated when the Sappi Oaklands Village on theShafton plantation came under threat.
The village eventually suffered severe fire dam-age. Temporary accommodation and first-needitems including mattresses and bedding and food
stuffs were provided bythe next morning.
On Tuesday Sappialso began distributingmuch-needed blankets,food, clothing and tentsto the communities oftwo hard-hit villagesadjacent to the SappiPinewood plantationalong the Boston-Bulwer road. Sappiemployees were quickto respond and addedto the company’s con-tribution through pri-vate donations ofmoney and items whichsaw the affected work-ers and communitiessupported with cloth-ing, foodstuffs, toilet-ries, blankets.
SPCA uMngeni
Our local SPCA respfor assistance from the fires. Their firsfires was to locate brender whatever ashumanely destroy anbeyond help. Sinceidentifying those anical treatment as weharmed but in despeto the loss of grazingefforts were spread vast stretch of couMafakathini, MgwCurry’s Post, Karklapproximately 800 cgency feed, 470 Gohorses and 1 donkeyfrom Bulwer which would like to record to Epol for 25.5 tonstons cattle feed, Ukbales horse food an200kg horse food, ELynette Webber of Mhay, Charlotte Pasmuse of her farm sheand the 4x4 Club wSmith and Nephew fand numerous privaother donations largtions of hay or feed cCampbell Road, Howdonations can be mNo. 5253 0043 17
Midlands Herald Page 7 — 27th
Above: A group of volun-teers assists the treas-urer of the Red Cross,Barbara.Craig, to put to-gether the parcels ofclothing for the victims ofthe fire. Many donationswere received from thecommunity of Howick andfrom private companieswith which the Red Crosswas able to clothe morethan 1 000 people.
The Control Centre of Nottingham Road LandOwners Association, under the direction of HazelGlover, and the Red Cross under the direction ofBarbara Craig, established a close partnership.
Individuals and collection centres (Deko Tim-ber Projects, Lions Howick, RotaryPietermaritzburg, Andy’s Mart, churches, SappiCascades, and the uMngeni Chamber of Com-merce and Industry) raised tons of donations, rang-ing from pocket money, food and clothing, tokitchen ware and furniture for distribution by theRed Cross.
One lady, who has preferred to remain anony-mous, donated the entire contents of the flat ofher late father.
Boxers Pietermaritzburg supplied grocerieswith which food parcels were assembled to feedfamilies in need. Rainbow donated no less than 15truck loads of blankets, clothing, and provisionsvia Shafton, as well as liaised with Epol whosupplied 25 tons of animal feed to the SPCA inHowick.
Individual farmers, Fairfield Dairies, CedarvilleFarmers Association and Beaumont Eston Farm-ers Association made hay available. In addition,livestock feed was made available to affected farm-ers at just above cost.
Red Cross have assisted about 80 families, com-prising about 400 people, in the area encompassed
by Impendle, Hilton, Greytown and NottinghamRoad. Together with uMngeni Community Pro-tection Services, over 94 families were providedwith food parcels and two blankets each.
In the Karkloof-Curry’s Post area over threetruckloads of clothes were delivered; large groupsof families included 54 people at Daybreak Mush-rooms. 30 people were attended to in Yarrow andNtabeni where 13 homes were burnt down.
30 people were assisted in Greytown. InImpendle 15 families totalling 62 people wereaided. In the uMgungundlovu district the peoplewere besides themselves with appreciation whenthe red Cross and Global Fund arrived to assistthem, emotions running high.
In the Imbabazane and Ntabamhlope areas nearEstcourt 10 families of 33 people were assisted.On Preston farm 52 people were seen to. Ourtrucks went as far afield as Mooi River, Tweedie,Mshwati, Haza, Mafakathini, Crammond, Rietvlei,Mackenzies Hill, Elandskop and Mpophomeniover a three week period; a total of 120 families(some 410) people being looked after in all.
The South African Red Cross wishes to thankour very generous community for all donationsreceived, and would like to reassure you all thatwe have endeavoured to ensure that your dona-tions have been distributed fairly and diligently tothose families and persons that have truly neededassistance.
South African Red Cross, Nottingham Road Land-owners Association and Collection Centres
ber of the Red Cross committees in Impendle. The Red Cross
ood and household utensils thatunteers who gave of their time to
ponded immediately to the callRadio Control on the night ofst priority in the days after theburnt and injured animals andsistance was possible and tonimals that were suffering ande then the focus has shifted toimals requiring ongoing medi-ell as those which were un-erate need of hay and feed dueg or stored winter feed. Relieffar and wide, encompassing auntry including Maswazini,
wagwa, Haza, Mpophomeni,loof and Yarrow. There arecattle needing ongoing emer-oats and Sheep, 125 pigs, 15y as well as another 10 goatsare at the SPCA. The SPCAits sincere and grateful thankss cattle feed, Meadow Feeds 6kulinga Reasearch farm 50-60d bedding, Allisons Saddlery
Equifeed 20 x 40kg horse feed,Mount Edgecombe 750 bales
mer of Danning Farm for theed for storage, ER24 Durban
who assisted with distribution,for bandages and medicationste individuals and farmers forge and small. Further dona-an be made to uMngeni SPCA,wick Tel: 033 330 4557. Cash
made by direct deposit to a/c75, FNB, Howick, 220725.
Please give your name asa reference and the word“fire” so that the SPCAcan acknowledge yourcontribution and use itspecifically to buy what-ever is needed for the ani-mals so badly affected bythe disaster. TheuMngeni SPCA wouldlike to extend its gratefulthanks to everyone whohas contributed in what-ever way to the relief ef-fort for the animals sobadly affected by thefires. Their survival willbe due to your care andcompassion.
Above: The district 9270 Rotary Club consisting of KwaZulu-Natal and Transkei identified those hit by the fire and are going to provide them with ciron roofs from R40 000 funds available. This house caught fire and are rethe Elandskop area.
Rotary International
Rotary Clubs in the Pietermaritzburg area coordinated the efforts otary movement in general. Those devastated communities that fellthe cracks, so to speak, of the initial efforts of the emergency servithe help of Indunas from the Elandskop area, identified familiMafakathini, Mswazini and Mgwagwa traditional areas that had homes. Food, blankets, clothes and household utensils acquireddonations were delivered with the assistance of Feedback and thement of Education, distribution being carefully monitored. Rotary hasan appeal for financial support aimed at assisting with the rebuildihomes that were destroyed. Clubs throughout the province have alrnated a significant sum earmarked for the purchase of roofing maaffected families.
KwaZulu Natal Agricultural Union
An official Disaster Fund was quickly established to assist in the aof the disaster until resources could be made available from govDonations may still be made to the fund at First National BankNumber….. The amount and proposed use of the fund will be releamedia shortly. Chairperson Robin Barnsley immediately advised Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and kept the channel of comtion open to ensure speedy assessment and relief of the area, resuspeedy and positive response to the dilemma with the recommendaffected farmland be declared a disaster area.
Howick District Landowners Association
Chairperson Bobby Hoole magnificently took control of initial firmeasures, alerted all responsible organisations and helped set upmittee to take over relief work. Together with Kwanalu, HDLOA enclaims could be made, collected by Afgri (Sean & Cheryl) for conin national rehabilitation efforts. Loss assessment forms have all beoff by the Chairperson who advised that the collective damage caufire has been devastating. Overall statistics will be released by thment of Agriculture in due course once properly analysed. Once altion has been collated a detailed report will be compiled for considthe MEC. The MEC will then meet with the Premier (KZN) for finment and contact with the President. The public will be kept indevelopments as they occur.
Department of Welfare, and South African Social Security Af
Have assisted 88 families, and liaised with the committee to urgenthose who had ID books, birth certificates, social grant cards, pensand so on destroyed in the fires. Efforts were made to ensure gpensions were rightfully paid out as normal whilst a mobile facorganised.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has identified five schwere damaged by the fire and/or wind. In preparation for the stathird school term, it has facilitated the municipalities’ erection of tents and alternative classroom facilities for those schools that htained extensive damage. Principals and educators have been encobe sympathetic and supportive of learners who lost school unifobooks etc. Donations and support are given where needed. Thenutrition and social support services of the Department have assithe identification of communities that were not immediately benefithe emergency support and services that were being rendered. Iwith Rotary, Red Cross, Pietermaritzburg branches of First Nationthe East Coast Radio Winter Warmth and Feedback (an NPO that unfood redistribution in the Pietermaritzburg area), the Department fand assisted with the delivery of food, clothes, blankets and basic hutensils to the families in the Elandskop area that had lost homes.
Howick Lions
Over 200 blankets, together with bales of clothingwere donated, together with a sizeable donationto WESSA for disaster aid for wildlife affected bythe fire in the uMngeni Valley. A disaster granthas been applied for on behalf of Lions Clubs In-ternational Foundation in Chicago USA, in prepa-ration of any further needs of the affected com-munities and other incidents requiring aid.
uMngeni Community Protection Services
Through their experience of the disaster, and as-sistance in the distribution of aid (via the RedCross) to over 96 recorded families, they have
motivated for the drawing up of a Disaster RiskAssessment to aid in future relief exercises. Nu-merous families are reported to still be comingforward for assistance.
Eskom & Telkom
Eskom are thanked for the marvellous way theyensured repairs to damaged infrastructure and res-toration of electrical supply. Telkom report thatthe lines in most areas have been repaired; andadvise that 21 km of optic fibre need to be manu-factured for the area from Howick along theKarkloof Road, via Shafton offices, and back toHowick on the Currys Post Road.
In the photographs to the leftare representatives of theorganisations that cametogether to form the MidlandsDisaster Relief Committee,following the firestorm of 2007on 25th and 26th June. Thecommunity thanks them fortheir unstinting service.
The Midlands HeraldPage 8 — 27th July 2007
Important notice of meeting toall members of the uMngeni
Chamber of Commerce & Industry
eMthunzini Restaurant at The Shed inHowick must be one of the better on theMeander today.
Our party of four — which includedwellknown Midlands restaurateurs Jan andLouise van Niekerk formerly of Aladdin’s-de-Light in Nottingham Road — was im-pressed by chef Austean Phiri’s wonderfuland extensive menu. Expect unexpected com-binations of food, with lots of subtle Afri-can flavours but still exotic !
I could tell that Jan’s considered his starterof oven-baked marrowbones with mampoer,sweet potato and grape conserve a winner.
Hannelie enjoyed her Maungu soup (aMalawian pumpkin and small sugar beanssoup dish) while I relished my Mozambicanseafood platter, served with the traditionalhomemade bread, “pao”.
Louise, who for 12 years at Aladdin’sserved up some pretty exciting dishes, joinedus on the main dishes for whole baby chickenand minted couscous.
The rest of us found contentment inspringbok loin wrapped with spinach andbacon, par-fried and roasted in the oven, served with savoury samp and jungle beans;Chef Austean’s special curry of juicy chickenbreast cooked in mild curry and coconutmilk, together with prawns and basmati riceand grilled banana; and baked Cape salmonwith spinach and feta cheese in phyllo pas-try topped with Cape de Paris butter, andlemon basmati rice and vegetables.
The desserts, too, were glorious.The restaurant has been revamped impres-
sively for a distinct African feel, with out-side undercover bar and catering area, andbamboo partition and ceiling cut by Austeanhimself.
Want to take guests or family and friendsout for a treat, and all at reasonable prices?
In our four-fold opinion you can’t gowrong here at all.Telephone 033-330 6257.Russell Barnes
Everything just perfect ateMthunzini Restaurant
Left: eMthunziniRestaurant at TheShed can be foundnear the forthcom-ing Riversidedevelopment onthe other side ofthe Umgeni River,between Howickand the N3. Herechef Austean Phiriis cooking up puregastronomicdelights.Picture: SandyDixon
Notice is hereby given that a Special Gen-eral Meeting of all Members of the Cham-ber has been called by the undersigned atthe Howick Sports Club, Market Street,Howick on Monday, 20 August 2007 at
17;30 to transact the following urgent busi-ness:1) To waive items 8,12 and 9,1 of the Con-
stitution for the purposes of this meet-ing;
2) To inform Members of the current fi-nancial situation of the Chamber;
3) To decide on the future continuance ofthe Chamber, and
4) To elect a new Executive Committee ofthe Chamber.
Note:- In terms of the Constitution of theChamber, the Executive Committee shallconsist of a minimum of six members and amaximum of 12 members. Any member mayvolunteer or nominate a candidate for elec-tion to the Executive Committee. Nomina-tions shall be in writing, signed by the per-son making the nomination, signed by amember who wishes to second the nomina-tion and signed by the nominee, and it mustinclude the company names of all the partiessigning the nomination.Postal ballots may be submitted to the Sec-retary before commencement of the meeting
Nick McConnell, Hubers cc.; Tim Lindsay-White, Sotheby’s International; Bob Staf-ford-Mayer, Howick Metal Products; DonNott, Midlands Community College; RedHaines, RC. Haines and Assoc. ; RussellBarnes, The Midlands Herald; EllenMitchell, AA Gas; Shawn Naicker, AcaciaPrinters; Ken Pascoe, Ama Bloka Bloka; PaulRencken, Andy’s Mart; Kingsley Krog,Countri-Tech; Mike Goldstone, CountryKitchens; Kevin Vally, First National Bank;Martin & Giovanni, Giovision; LeiselJacobs, Global Learning Services; YvonneReece, Graemor Accounting; John Wright,Howick Insurance Brokers; Paul Hodkin,Howick Pharmacy; Charles Kelmanson,Kelmanson cc.; Dick Comins, MerrivaleMotors; Lawrence Taylor, TKT. Manufac-turing and John Tungay, Worldwide DigitalBroadcasting.
on the Member’s official letterhead, signedby the Member and witnessed by two inde-pendent persons.Please confirm your attendance (or apolo-gies) to the Secretary before 15 August 2007at the following contact numbers:- Telephone033 330 5626, Fax 033 330 5637 or [email protected] on 16 July, 2007 by the followingMembers:-
Farmers still unhappy
with MM’s approach
to recent, future fire disaster
Continued from page 4
Theatre:Paul Slabolepszy’s “Not The Big Easy”
on at the Catalina Theatre until 5 August.Buy one get one free, every Sunday.
“Not The Big Easy” is the story of agolfing “everyman” — 50 year old ErnieEvans, the “other” Ernie . . .
There are those of us who spend ourlives in the rough trying to get onto thefairway. Ernie is one of those. He hasreached a “crossroads” in his life.
We discover him scouring the “rough”on the 16th hole of a golf course some-where in Gauteng looking for the fifth ballhe has used today.
The show had its world premiere atthe Playhouse in East London, and hasplayed at the Hexagon inPietermaritzburg, Liberty Theatre on theSquare in Johannesburg, the Mardi GrasTheatre in Carnival City and a season inGrahamstown at the National Arts Festi-
KZN Theatre,
Arts & Events Diaryval.
This is Paul’s 30th play. Highlightsamong them being “Saturday Night at thePalace”, “The Return of Elvis du Pisane”,“Pale Natives”, “Mooi Street Moves”,“Under the Oaks”, “Over the Hill”, “HeelAgainst the Head” and “Running Riot”.
For more information or to book callThandeka on 031-305 6889.Shows areTuesday until Saturday at 8 pm and Sun-day at 6 pm.Tickets are now availableonline at www.strictlytickets.com or onour website at www.catalinatheatre.co.zaor at www.goingplacessa.co.za.
R65 for adults, R55 students and pen-sioners. Parental Guidance: 13.Both Bobby and Paul would like to dedi-cate this Durban season to the memoryof their great friend and colleague, BillFlynn.
Gospel:US Gospel star, Kirk Franklin, for Dur-ban One World Festival Concert, at theICC, Saturday 28th July.
US contemporary gospel music star,Kirk Franklin, comes to Durban with his18 piece band to headline the 2007 “OneWorld Music Festival”, which also fea-tures the awesome “Joyous Celebra-tions” choir to take place at the ICC on28 July.
Franklin — who is famed for marryinggospel to a hip-hop R&B genre — is amulti-Grammy Award-winning platinum-selling artist whose debut album KirkFranklin and the Family spent 100 weekson the gospel charts and became the firstgospel album to go platinum.
Despite his fame as a performer,Franklin remains a humble, devout Chris-tian.
Franklin will share the bill with SouthAfrica’s “Joyous Celebration” in two con-certs of awesome, inspiring contempo-rary gospel music. “Joyous Celebration”has grown from being a hit gospel showin 1996, to a formidable 34-member
choir, accompanied by an 8-piece band,6-piece dance troupe and some of theyoungest and finest vocal talent in SouthAfrica.
Joyous Celebration impresario, co-founder, musical director and conductor,Lindelani Mkhize is playing a meaning-ful role in staging this watershed musicevent.
The “One World Concerts” are an in-tegral part of this year’s annual “OneWorld Festival” which builds bridges andcreates relationships between New Or-leans and sister city Durban.
The concert serves to create aware-ness about this ambitious and far-reach-ing initiate which aims to generate tour-ism jobs in the long-term, create culturalconnections and be the impetus for eco-nomic engines between the two dynamiccities.
For more information, visit the websitewww.dowfestival.com andwww.southafricaninvestmentgroup.com.
Booking for the concert is throughComputicket nationwide.
out.“In other words, then the process is not
succeeding, because you are not allowingcommunity participation.”
Mr Vilakazi then accused him of being apolitician, to which Mr Hoole replied thathe was a businessman representing the com-munity and looking for relief and assistanceat this time.
When he criticised certain comments
made by municipal officials that
sometimes are unhelpful — for example,
speaker Surya Pillay was said to have
stated two days after the fire that farmers
need to train their farmworkers to fight
fires better — Mr Vilakazi asked for
clarification on this source and said that
the reports were false and no-one from the
media had tried to contact him.
“Then why didn’t you try to contact meif you saw me being quoted in the media?”Mr Hoole asked.
“I don’t have to,” Mr Vilakazi is said tohave replied.
Mr Hoole told The Herald that to hisknowledge the only assistance thus far thatuMngeni Municipality has given the reliefeffort has been in lending municipal vehi-cles to the Department of Welfare to distrib-ute food parcels to the 88 families that wereaffected.
Page 9 — 27th June 2007The Midlands Herald
Super meat, super service
Tel. 033-330 2807
Congratulationsto you and we wish you
well in business!
Congratulations,Amy’s and AJs,and all the bestfor the future!
Tel. 033-330 5153 • 072-785 0666
Howick Stationers11 Main Street, Howick
Phone/fax: 033-330 7696
From your proud
suppliers who also love
your fine food!
Also stockists of cellphones,pre-paid cards and accessories
WHOLESALE & FRESH
PRODUCE DISTRIBUTORS
We are proud to supplyyour establishments.
Congratulations on yourventures in business.
9 Overdene Rd, Howick West, 3290Telephone: 033-330 6786
YOU ORDERWE DELIVER
Congratulations, Alanand Amy, on your
two business ventures!
Tel 033-330 8323 • e-mail [email protected]
DRENCH YOUR THIRST!
Wonderpak PackagingWholesalersTelephone 033-342 4207
386G Church Street, Pietermaritzburg
Congratulations with yourtwo successful businesses,
and wishing you all thebest for the future
Congratulations to AJ’sand wishing you all of
the very best !
Telephone033-330 2285
Nite Out/HowickWest LiquorsTelephone 033-330 3803
Shops 1&2, Rainbow Mall,86 Midmar Road, Howick West
Now approved wholesalersof all ABI products.
Pleased to be a supplierto you. Congratulations
and all the bestwishes for the future.
CENTRE
HARDWARESuppliers of General Hardware & Building MaterialsAlso Stockists of Gas, Gas Accessories & Paraffin
TEL: 033-330 4588Shop 5/6, Howick Centre, Harvard Street, Howick
Our very best wishes to all atAmy's Restaurant & Pizzeria
HOWICK SPICES
& PRAYER GOODSSHOP 4, SPAR CENTRE, HOWICK. TEL.: 033-330 6399/082-730 4953
Stockists of: Mixed Masalas, Indian Curry Spices, Exotic Spicesand Herbs, Pickles, Ginger/Garlic, Baking Goods, Wide Range of
Incense Sticks, Complete Range of Prayer Goods for all Occasions.
It’s always a pleasure to deal with youat AJs. Congratulations on your
successful business ventures in Howick!
The face of Howick, over the past months,has changed. Trees have been felled, fireshave taken their toll and parking is hard tofind.
One of the few things that has not changedis Amy’s Restaurant and AJ’s Take-away —still producing excellent food and service,and consistently so.
Having said that, a new joint effortbetween the two food outlets, a new deliveryservice has been started to provide Good HotFood to your door.
Both shops welcome Clive to the team.You will see him about town on his newscooter; give him a hoot!
Purveyors of fine food
In order to support the delivery service,the trading hours of both shops have beenchanged to provide a service seven days aweek.
Little has changed
Amy’s will be closed only on a Mondayafter 4 pm and AJ’s is open on Sunday from1 pm to 9 pm.
The free delivery service, for the Howickand Merrivale Areas, will operate between9 am and 4 pm from Monday to Friday.
Amy’s, now entering its 6th year underthe ownership of Amy Bailey, has certainlybecome a special place for the Howick locals.
Her reputationhas spread far andwide, as attested toby the postcards thatare receivedregularly fromforeign visitors!
A range of DailySpecials will soonbe on the menu.
AJ’s, now 18months old, is underthe managership of
Taz who has made sure that the wellknownflame-grilled chicken products and currydishes are as good as ever.
The combination of the two food outletscertainly adds a huge variety of mealssupporting their motto: “Something foreveryone!”
Catch our taste!
Both Amy’s and AJ’s want to say “thank
you” to all their regular customers andsuppliers for their ongoing support.
Let’s hope that Howick changes for thebest!
For orders, telephone 033-330 4227.
at Amy’s and AJ’s
Above: Clive Heath, Amy’s’ and Aj’s’ new “delivery man”,and the spanking new bike with Aj’s manager Taz Pearson.
Below: AJ’s staff — from left, Gugu, Michelle, Zandile, Ninga, Londi, Bony and manager Taz.
Above: Amy’s Restaurant staff — back from left: Lungi, Sylvia, Precious, Patricia, Thobile, Eunice andGelly; front from left: Amy and Martinette.
• C • C • W •
CATERINGSuppliers to the Catering Industry
24 Winston Rd, Pietermaritzburg
Tel: 033-345 4505/345 4536Fax: 033-394 2935
Proud suppliers to AJ’s
Page 10 — 27th July 2007
HARDWAREBUILDING SUPPLI-
ERS
For all your Building RequirementsContact Greg • We Deliver Promptly
G
&
SWe are proud
to support you!
330 2298 • 18 Harvard Street, Howick
Andy's Mart
& Carpet Care
9 Main Street, Howick • Tel. 033-330 2625
Well done in allthat you are doing
EVERDONESTATE
Home of OrganicAvocados
We are pleased tobe able to support you!
Tel: 033-3302071
Telephone 033-342 8386
Conveyancers
We wish you wellwith your contribution
Open 7 days a week — 7 am - 7pmTel 033-330 4092 • Fax 033-330 5816 • 13 Zeederberg Road, Merrivale
We are proud to be associated with your vital contribution.
Merrivale
Induna Mills Road, P.O. Box 29, Howick 3290Telephone 033-239 3311 • Fax 033-239 3388
At our Howick factory we:
We are proudto support your work
at Howick Hospice
• Mix natural and synthetic rubber intocompounds.
From which we produce:
• Belting — for use in mines and heavyindustry for the conveying of ore andcoal.• Industrial Hose — in various sizesfor applications in mines and industry.• Automotive products — such asradiator and fuel hose and seals forautomotive windscreens and doors.
DUNLOP INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS (PTY) LTD
GRAEMORACCOUNTING
SERVICESTel. 033-330 2922 • Fax 033-330 2925
1 Gush Avenue, [email protected] • www.graemor.co.za
We are pleased to supportthis valuable cause!
COMRIE ESTATES
All the best
from all at Comrie
WE ARE THE PROPERTY PEOPLE
TEL. 033-330 6278
Sales & service of gas appliancesGas, coal and wood fireplaces
Telephone Peter —082-454 0824 • 033-330 2717
Congratulations onyour sterling work!
35 Ogilvie Road, Merrivale Industrial Park
Amy’s is pleasedto support your
very caring work!
Tel. 033-330 6748 • 7 Harvard Street, Howick
Amy'sRestaurant & Pizzeria
Howick Falls Garage
Proud to be associated
with our community
assistance and support
23 Main Street, Howick • 330 2121
We like to keep you moving
The Midlands Herald
Howick Hospice celebrates its 20th birth-day this year!
From humble beginnings in 1987 whenthere was one nursing sister and volunteers,the organisation has seen enormous growthand now has a staff of 42.
Sr. Louise Stobart, the present generalmanager and the first hospice sister, wrotein the April newsletter, “I can remember thefirst patient I visited. How nervous and in-adequate I felt! And now, so many years later,I still feel privileged that we are able to meetnew patients and their families and share inthis very sad but precious time of their lives.
“I have learnt so much from these specialpatients.”
Dr. Dave Peiser stood down after ten yearsas chairperson of Hospice and has been re-placed by Dave Goodenough.
Howick Hospice offers a service of domi-ciliary palliative nursing care to terminally-ill people referred by a doctor, clinic or hos-pital.
Two nursing sisters are on the “traditionalhospice” team and are on call 24 hours aday for patient care and telephonic advice.
Their dedication enables patients to diein their own homes, surrounded by theirloved ones and in familiar, comfortable sur-roundings, thus fulfilling the patients’ wishesto stay at home.
Hospice also offers a bereavement serv-ice to the bereaved family for more or lessone year after the death of their loved one.
In 1997 an outreach programme wasstarted to meet the needs of patients livingwith HIV/Aids. This programme offers
home-based care with each patient seeing aregistered nurse at least once every twoweeks, and more regular visits from its 20community workers and volunteers.
Hospice receives limited financial helpfrom the Government and so recently took
Community Support Focus — Howick HospiceSponsored by The Midlands Herald,
Sotheby’s International Realty (Mid-lands) and Browne Brodie & Fourie,Community Support Focus eachmonth highlights a different facet ofour local community in need of sup-port. This month’s focus looks at thework of Sunfield Home and raisesR1 000 for the organisation.
the decision to spend money re-vamping thecharity shop.
“We re-carpeted, painted, extended shop-ping hours and employed a full-time man-ageress, Cathy Steyn,” Sr Stobart explains.“The move has been more successful thanany of us could have imagined, and monthlyincome has tripled !
“Our sincere thanks to all those who regu-larly donate clothing and goods for the shop,and our wonderful volunteers who help eachday to keep it running smoothly.”
Howick Hospice is a non-government org-anisation and has to raise all its own funds,so we ask you, the Howick community,please to consider — or continue — sup-porting its efforts to offer a service of holi-stic, palliative care to the terminally-ill peo-ple of the Lions River district.
Telephone 033-330 5257.
Above: Howick Hos-pice’s charity shopvolunteers, Rosemary,Margaret, Gloria and itsshop co-ordinator Cathy.
Right:Howick Hospice
nursing sistersMargaret Ndlovu,
Ursula Frost, MeshAdamson, Michelle
Moodley and LizBrockett.
Inset from left: SrCharlotte Woudbergand Dr Dave Peiser.
Page 11 — 27th July 2007The Midlands Herald
The Northern ‘BergThe Northern ‘Berg, with its magnificent Amphitheatre, is
looking stunning at the moment, as we found last week . . .
CATHKIN PARK RESERVATIONS
For all your Drakensberg accommodation: “One call does it all”.Tel. 036-468 1091, fax 086-675 3235 or e-mail [email protected]
Your one call to us will give you, all free of charge:1) the rates offered by all the leading hotels, B&B and self-catering establish-ments — including an exclusive B&B ideal for a honeymoon couple — in theCentral and Northern Drakensberg;2) guidance to the type of accommodation best suited to your needs;3) the administration necessary to secure your reservation, including directionsto your destination.
Your reasons for visiting the Drakensberg may include a holiday, honeymoon,overnight stay, planning or attending a wedding, leisure group or conference.Whatever it is, we have a venue for you. Please contact us for winter specials atvarious hotels and self-catering units.
For information and reservations in the Central and Northern Drakensberg, contact Fiona. We offer a professional, friendly and efficient service !
Montusi Moun-tain Lodge is theonly exclusive lodgein the northernDrakensberg Moun-tains (a World Heri-tage Site), and issituated 70km offthe N3 halfway be-tween Johan-nesburg and Durban
picnic site for special occasion lunches.The Lodge is also close to the Amphi-
theatre Golf Course.Treat yourself to a community project re-
laxation massage or basic manicure or pedi-cure.
At the Adventure Centre you can swingon the flying trapeze or enjoy paintball, quadbikes, gorge swing, zip line and the kingswing.
Our superb cuisine, like our homemadebread, chocolate and desserts, is quite ad-dictive!
Personalised service from friendly staffmakes this owner-run lodge a delight.
And don’t forget that midweek specialsare also available.
Telephone Montusi Mountain Lodge at036-438 6243, fax 036-438 6566 or viewwebsite www.montusi.za.net
Those who know me would expect a com-ment on the cuisine, and yes, it’s to say thatLittle Switzerland’s rates among the best inthe ‘Berg.
One of the highlights of a stay at thismountaintop resort on the Oliviershoek Passis the incomparable, buffetstyle meal —whether you’re enjoying an English cookedbreakfast after a refreshing sleep or an exqui-site dinner after a wonderful day — all servedin Little Switzerland’s incomparable style.
When I stayed there last week, this hotelwas looking as magnificent as ever.
The rooms were stunningly renovated notlong ago, and consist of luxurious executivesuites, some with jacuzzi baths, the very com-fortable deluxe rooms and selfcatering chaletswith fireplaces.
Mine was of course a one night businesstrip, but for those needing to rest you’ll findthat the rooms are both spacious and comfort-
able and come complete with abeautifullyfinished bathroom, TV and coffeebar.
And of course the views from them are in-comparable: Perched high at the top of theOliviershoek Pass, this charming hotel looksdown onto a striking vista from the Amphi-theatre on one side to the Malutis on the other.
For outdoor activity, there is tennis, bowls,volleyball, croquet, puttputt, horseriding, lei-surely strolls, rapp jumping, mountainbikingor a refreshing swim, while those who like towork out will find that the health centre in-cludes an aerobics floor (circuit andweighttraining), squash court, heated swim-ming pool, saunas, Jacuzzi, climbing wall andclimbing cave!
Telephone reservations at 036438 6220; fax036438 6222; view website www.lsh.co.za oremail [email protected]. Russell Barnes
It is astonishingto realise that AlpineHeath is already 10years old this year,and to commemo-rate is giving theaward-winning re-sort a R6 millionfacelift !
“The bulk of thedevelopment willcentre around theentertainment areaof the VillageSquare,” generalmanager FrançoiseMuller explains.
air, crystal-clear streams and an abundanceof birdlife. At the thatched Umziki Water-ing Hole, on the banks of one of the resort’strout dams, guests enjoy a picturesque set-ting to enjoy their meals.
For the energetic, it has a fully-equippedgymnasium, squash and all-weather tenniscourts, volleyball and mountainbiking.
100 luxurious chalets offer complete pri-vacy yet still boast telephones, cellular re-ception and satellite TV.
The three-bedroom chalet, featuring mas-ter bedroom ensuite and two with twin beds,can easily accommodate six people.
The resort receives regular comments ofpraise in its visitors’ book. Just one recentone reads: “Excellent service, friendly staff,good food and great fun!”
And you can experience all of the same !Telephone 036-438 6484.
Alpine Heath Resort —entertainment capitalof the Drakensberg
“The brand new bar, ‘The Tavern’, is al-ready complete, while also being constructedis an auditorium to cater for entertainment,big screen rugby and “Chef on the Stage”cooking demonstrations, and a deli whereguests can pack own picnic baskets or thosestaying self-catering can purchase that littlesomething left behind.”
The new development will do much forthe “La Gruyeres” restaurant, which willmove from its present on-square position toa stunning location overlooking both moun-tains and a dam. And then there is the all-new children’s entertainment centre with playstations, table tennis and other games — allentirely free ! — that will be completed bythe end of the year.
The perfect place to unwind, Alpine Heathoffers guests tranquil surrounds, with a tap-estry of towering mountain peaks, crisp fresh
Above: Scenic Alpine Heath Resort is enjoying a R6 million facelift this year.
in KwaZulu-Natal.The lodge is situated in the pristine, quiet
Cavern valley and has superb views of themagnificent Drakensberg Amphitheatre fromeach of its 14 individual garden suites.
Here you can relax in absolute peace andtranquillity.
Each suite stands alone in the garden andhas a bedroom with a king-sized double bed,bathroom with a bath and separate walk-inshower, lounge with a TV, Jetmaster gashotrock fireplace and a tea/coffee makingunit with a small fridge for fresh milk andyour drinks.
Your own private covered parking is rightbeside your suite.
Hike or horse-ride in the mountains, swimin the dams or the natural rock-colouredswimming pool, enjoy birding and fly-fish-ing and discover for yourself our secluded
Right: Montusi’s 14individual garden suites
provide superb views of themagnificent Drakensberg
Amphitheatre.
MagnificentMontusi
Savouring
Left, belowleft and be-low right:What else butthe beauty ofour Drakens-berg? Here wefeature LittleSwitzer land
Hotel near the top of the OliviershoekPass, just past Bergville.
HERALDHERALDThe MidlandsThe Midlands
No. 197 • Friday 27th July 2007
Tel. 033-330 5566 • Fax 033-330 5948A/h cell: 082-443 6026
1 Laurel Crescent, Merrivale Industrial Park
* Panelbeating* Spraypainting * Fibreglass
repairs and fabrication *Bakkie linings
Contact Lyn or Rob3 Geekie Road, Howick (opposite
Merrivale KwikSpar) • Cell 082-578 0659or telephone/fax: 033-330 7054 (a/h).
Rustic ConcreteTiles • Pavers • CobblesCladding • Various sizes
Baggies@ R4000
Left: Dale Morphew looks to pass the ball,playing for the Natal A men’s canoe polo team atthe SA Champs in Durban three weeks ago.
A Howick youngster hopes to travel with theSouth African men’s canoe polo team toCanada in July next year.
Dale Morphew has been playing for Na-tal A team since 2004, having been selectedfor the U21 side in 2001 while a Grade 10pupil at Weston.
Up to about fifteen players gather to prac-tise at the University pool inPietermaritzburg on a Monday night — “butnot as many at the moment when it’s winterand cold!” he quips.
Dale plays a multiple role in the team,and possesses strengths in both attack and
defence.“The game is — when you’re attacking,
all of you are attacking, and when you’redefending, all of you are defending,” heexplains.
So what attracts him to it?“I don’t actually know. When I play polo,
I feel free.“I really love it. I feel that my heart is in
the sport. When I’ve played, I feel like anew person.”
The game of canoe polo
The game of canoe polo is played in anarea of 23 metres by 35 metres on pools,
Excelling at canoe polo, needs
support for World Champs
Right: Dale poses at the dairy farm atTweedie where he works, with his Natal
colours for canoe polo and gold medal forNatal’s winning efforts at the SA Champs.
Tel. 082-413 5003 • 033-266 6535
Sport
quickly and being versatile, the canoes them-selves are under three metres in length andhave bumpers at the front and back, the like-able youngster explains.
“It’s a very intense and physical game,”he says of it. “Players are allowed to ramother canoes. The trick of it is to try andkeep the ball moving while you manoeuvreyour boat.”
Since early 2007 he has been training atthe Midlands Well-ness and Fitness Centrein Howick, where personal trainer JustinStewart has been helping him to build uphis strength and rehabilitate a shoulder in-jury that had him out of action for all of2006.
SA Champs in Durban
Fit again, Dale has just played in the re-cent SA Champs in Durban held three weeksago.
Natal A played magnificently to win thetournament, beating Gauteng 3-2 in the fi-nals, although the team was 0-2 down at half-time.
Having earlier in the day during the roundrobin stage beaten the same side 4-1, theywere not about to give up, and so staged amagnificent recovery to produce three goalsand win.
A need for sponsorship
As to the future, in a few months’ timeNatal A will be travelling to Johannesburgfor a tournament, and will take part in an-other in January before the team to travel toCanada is chosen.
At this stage he needs a new paddle, val-ued at R1 900, canoe at R2 600 and spon-sorship to go overseas (about R25 000 toR30 000).
Let’s help our local achievers in sport!
dams and even — ashe discovered on anoverseas trip in 2005— on canals in Bel-gium!
Dale spent threemonths working ona dairy farm, nearOldenburg, in Ger-many, and alsoplayed the sportthere and on a lakein London. He cur-rently lives andworks on a dairyfarm overlookingMidmar.
According to therules of the game,each half lasts 10minutes, with just atwo minute break inbetween.
There are fiveplayers and threesubstitutes in eachteam.
Needing to turn
Durban Branch: 501 Umgeni RoadEstablished 1993Tel: 031-312 0838Fax: 031-312 6629
GEARBOX & DIFF
EXCHANGE & REPAIRS
Midlands Branch
Tel. 033-330 5568/96; Cell: 072-126 18005 Main Road, Merrivale
Repairs to all Gearboxes & DiffsWide range of reconditioned units available
Clutch overhaulsAuthorised CWA and RMI dealersAll workmanship guaranteedFull workshop facilities
Left: Terence, Peter andAllen in the Midlandsworkshop, with a BMWautomatic gearbox and anIsuzu manual gearbox.Behind them is a diff standwhere they had been workingon a 4x4 Hi-lux diff.
Right: Passing the ball . . .
Pictures: Julia Rees Photography— Cell: 073-141 4844; web:www.juliarees.co.za;e-mail: [email protected]
