Astaggering R124615000 has been set aside for the development of the Covid informal settlement in Mfuleni.
According to the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure, the project will be carried out in phases with the third and final phase in October next year. The first phase is currently un-
for beneficiaries on the wetlands within the area.
Melt Botes, spokesperson for Tertuis Simmers Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, said the project will be delivered in three phases.
“Phase one we are expecting to relocate 400 occupants. The contractor has commenced with the construction of concrete slabs. Thereafter we will commence
to relocate 600 occupants. And in Phase three the expected occupants relocation is 1 000,” said Botes.
He said the first phase is expected to be completed by October this year.
Phase two is expected to be completed by April next. And phase three by October next year.
Melt said the estimated project costs over three financial years is
the trees and levelling the ground. He said the project will be built into phases.
“We are on phase one. The structures will be erected as soon as we are done making slabs in the middle of the month. The first group of people is expected to move to the temporal structures early next month,” said Madikane, adding that they will first build at least 120 structures for
ty, will be provided
He stated that everything was going smoothly and urged the community to protect the projec, adding it has created job opportunities for locals.
“These small projects are the stepping stones for small businesspeople to build their profile. They also give a platform for them to showcase their skills,” said Madikane
To recognise and honour those who are doing exceptional work in Ward 34, the office of the ward councillor held recognition awards at Brown’s Farm Community Hall on Saturday 31 May.
The event, the first of its kind in the area, recognised individuals and groups that have made significant strides in various disciplines. They all received certificates.
The recipients included Lizwi Nyandu for his excellence in the arts. He is the founder Philippi Arts Centre. The centre conducts various activities such as dance, music and painting to take the children away from the streets.
Other certificates went to Dangerous Heros for Best Performing Ladies Team, Col Sydwell Gordons from Brown’s Farm Police Station for his bravery in the Safety-and-Security sector, Portfolio FC for Best Performing Club, Lusanda Mkhosi for Youth Leadership in Development, Rev Mawande Lugongolo for an Appreciation certificate for hard work he has done in the community and Andiswa Mnyaka Best Performing Professional Services or by Individual.
Ward 34 councillor Melikhaya Gadeni described the event as the platform to recognise those dedicated their lives to changing the area. He said they are intending the ceremony to be an annual event.
“We felt it is high time to grant certificates of recognition to those who have played a part in developing the area To those who put our ward on the map by doing great work. We are also encouraging others to follow in their footsteps.” Gadeni said the recipients were nominated by the community, and the intention is to change ward 34 for the better. “We want to change the perception that people have about Philippi. We want people to see there are dedicated and passionate people intent on
developing the area.”
All community stakeholders were there, including school principals, clinic management, the community policing forum and neighbourhood watches Andiswa Mnyaka, who works for the City’s Recreation and Parks Department, is a superintendent
maintaining the City’s facilities.
“I was so surprised when my name was called I didn’t expect it. It’s great to see my job is being recognised.” Working in Ward 34, 35, 36, 80 and 88, she said love and dedication were what made her excel and was grateful for the recognition of people’s good work.
Hundreds of children from various Early Childhood Development centres (ECDs) in Khayelitsha converged at False Bay College near the Look Out Hill, to celebrate World Play Day on Friday 30 May.
The day is celebrated annually on May 28 to commemorate International Toy Library Association and is more of an attitude of connecting generations through play than a day of scheduled or planned events.
The event was organised by Sikhula Sonke organisation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that provides quality early childhood development training and support to the parents, caregivers and preschool teachers in the informal settlements
of Khayelitsha.
At least 34 ECDs attended the event, with the City of Cape Town’s library mascot LiBee engaging and playing with the children. The event organiser Babalwa Ndim- Momoti said the event gives the children an opportunity to socialise and explore different activities. She described it as a free play event. “We have various games for the day which include jumping castle, painting, soccer, fantasy play, racing etc. Children are allowed to move freely under the supervision of their teachers. We have our stakeholders (the police, the City officials, traffic officers from Khayelitsha, officials from Sassa and Home Affairs Department etc) who are going to have a dialogue with the parents,” she said, adding that playing
is part of children’s growth
Ndim-Momoti said Sikhula Sonke runs various programmes in the community.
Stepping Stone Educare principal Nosikhumbuzo Tomsana from Khanya Park described the event as a special day for children.
She said Sikhula Sonke introduced their children to a different space “Most of our children are not used to such an environment because most of the time they are crammed in a small space in our creches Now they can run around playing different games. There are a lot of toys which some of them we don’t have,” said Tomsana, adding that it was the third time she attended the event.
Parent Nandy Ngcebetsha, from F section in Khayelitsha, praised the organisers for
hosting such an event. “The children are so excited. They enjoy playing with each other and different games. The teachers are doing a great job taking the children out,” she said Ngcebetsha urged parents to listen and support their children.
Lingelethu-West Police Station spokesperson Sgt Xoliswa Nyalambisa said their job is to ensure that the children are safe and protected “We are encouraging the parents to look after their children. We are appealing to the parents to stop protecting the perpetrators If the uncle or any family member is suspected of rape or did any wrongdoing to a child it must be reported to the nearest police station. The family must stop discussing it as a family matter,” said Nyalambisa
Following the release of the latest crime statistics the police top brass have announced that three new police stations are being established in Mfuleni, Brown’s Farm and Delft to remedy the situation In terms of the figures for the period between January to March this year Delft is once again the murder capital of the Western Cape, followed by Mfuleni and Nyanga. Brown’s Farm, which accounts for 45% of murder cases in the Nyanga policing precinct, already has a mobile police station supported by the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Department.
Although the latest statistics show a slight decrease in crime, Western Cape police commissioner, Lieut-Gen Thembisile Patekile said more action is required to combat violence effectively.
Between January and March Delft, Mfuleni, Nyanga and Philippi East recorded the highest murder rates in the province Nationally, these precincts ranked among the top five for murder cases, alongside others such as Kraaifontein, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Harare, Samora Machel and
Lwandle
Patekile explained that classifying crime hot spots is challenging due to the variety of crimes occurring in different areas He notes that gang-related activities, extortion, and taxi violence are driving many of the murders
The past weekend was particularly violent on the Cape Flats, with 26 murders and 58 attempted murders linked to gang activity. Additionally, 27 separate shootings were reported, but without any recorded injuries
Areas affected by recent gun violence include Hanover Park, Bonteheuwel, Khayelitsha, Retreat, Delft, Wesbank, Athlone, Kuils River, and Elsies River.
Ian Cameron, chair of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police, called for a decentralised approach to tackling gang violence. He proposed delegating investigative, forensic and intelligence functions to municipal and provincial governments to ease the burden on police and improve conviction rates, ultimately creating safer communities
KAYLYNNEBANTOM
The protection of children starts at home and in the community.” So says Lucinda Evans, founder of Philisa Abafazi Bethu, a non-profit organisation (NPO) working with abused women and vulnerable children in Steenberg.
Evans spoke to City Vision’s sister newspaper People’s Post at the start of Child Protection Week, 29 May-5 June.
The week is commemorated annually to raise awareness on the rights of children, this year’s theme being “Working together in ending violence against children”
Evans said protecting children is everyone’s responsibility. “At home and in the communities is where the abuse occurs and is kept a secret. We don’t deal with the uncle, brother or grandfather who has been molesting the children.”
Evans believes all forms of child abuse and neglect should be reported “A first perpetrator is an angry parent who takes his or her anger out on the child. We must keep the parents responsible that refuse to get any help for a child that's bullying. That child can be helped.”
She lambasted the government for its alleged failure to protect children. “Many cases of child sexual abuse are thrown out by the court because of the DNA backlog, and inadequate investigation. We need to report social workers to the Medical Health communities.”
He said continued budget cuts deprive children of much-needed services
“It affects us and our abilities to sustain our programmes and children accessing services. Over the last couple of months we had to reduce some of our services that we provide. We had to cut down on providing children with meals.”
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) kicked off the week by hosting a 10 km relay in the Breede Valley Municipality.
The department funds 108 designated child-protection organisations across the province that play a crucial role in protecting children’s welfare and providing support services for vulnerable children.
Elarna Siljeur, DSD social-work supervisor, said children have the right to be protected from exploitation and harm
“We marched to highlight this and to call on communities to protect children, and for them to see who they can go to for help.
‘Each one serves one’, so if someone in the community sees something, they know who to go to for assistance.
“We need people to report cases of abuse, either to the police or DSD, so we can assist the child immediately.”
Jaco Londt, provincial Minister of Social Development, said in a press statement: “Children represent the promise of tomorrow; they are the architects of a better
To empower the Early Childhood Development (ECD) and pre-primary school principals Grassroots Educare Trust from Athlone held a special training session Grassroots is a non-profit organisation that works throughout the province to empower ECD practioners
At least 41 ECD practitioners graduated on Thursday 29 May in an event held at the Trust offices in Athlone. The graduates came from various areas which included Lwandle, Gordons Bay, Eersteriver, Zola and Nomzamo.
The facilitator, Thembisa Tshangana, described the 10-week course as part of empowering the principals to formalise their centres.
She said the aim is to assist the ECD practitioners to formulate structures to guide their businesses. “We want to get rid of the old system and put a structure which the school principals can follow. It is like a timetable where teachers will follow a
certain routine We want it to flow so that they can be easy to develop,” she said Tshangana stated that the Grassroots has various programmes which are child-centred to assist them to develop holistically.
“Our organisation is all over the province People who want to be assisted can liaise with our office and we will go and train them.
“We are attending classes twice a week Tuesday and Wednesday for 10 weeks,” she explained, adding that the registration fee varies depending on the area
One of the graduates, Nomaweza Mangqwengqwe, who is the principal of Umnqophiso Pre-primary School from Lwandle, said the training had a positive impact on their centres.
“Most of the things that we were doing were practical, which givesus quality education. We were more focused on the activities that align with the development of a child,” she said, adding that some of the activities assist them to be able to read the body language of a child.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is inviting proposals from dynamic individuals to join the upcoming ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme (NSP) in the roles of Artistic Director and Stage Manager.
The deadline for applications is Friday 13 June at at 16:30.
The ACT seeks these programme personnel to support the NSP. Only South African citizens who are available from August –October are eligible to make application.
The Production Artistic Director will be responsible for facilitating the Performing Arts segment of the programme through the curation of rehearsals from Monday 6 October to Friday 10 October
The selected candidate will work with an assistant choreographer and assistant vocal coach.
Overall, the Artistic Director will be responsible for conceiving, developing, and implementing an artistic vision and focus, according to this year's theme, for the Gala Event on Saturday 11 October
The Stage Manager will be responsible for coordinating the ACT NSP production from rehearsals to performances, working alongside the Artistic Director to ensure the production's success.
The Stage Manager will also be working with the Artistic Director during finals week from Sunday 5 October to Monday 12 October and execute the technical support for the artistic vision and focus for the ACT NSP Gala Event.
In partnership with Nedbank, Sun International, the MTN Foundation SA, and Business and Arts South Africa (Basa) the ACT NSP is an undergraduate scholarship initiative designed to empower qualifying youth with opportunities to pursue tertiary education in visual and performing arts.
Simultaneously, the programme aims to equip practising artists with career-accelerating skills, ensuring sustainable careers in the contemporary job market of the cultural and creative industries.
Jessica Denyschen, CEO of ACT, says they are committed to nurturing the next generation of creative talent.
The selected candidates will engage in a three-month bi-weekly mentorship and training programme, conducted online on Saturdays.
The programme includes online training, mentorship with industry experts with a focus on discipline specific knowledge and information
The 2025 iteration of the programme encompasses a strong focus on the inclusion of immersive technologies in the visual and performing arts.
The culmination of the ACT NSP will see a selection of 15 finalists that will move on to a post-training phase to participate in an intensive week of master classes, and rehearsals, resulting in a final performing arts showcase and exhibition to win one of two scholarships to the value of R300000 rand each.
Participants collaborate with industry professionals, gaining valuable experience and the opportunity to connect with emerging artists from diverse backgrounds
Further details regarding the job specifications of each position and the application process are available in the ACT Nyoloha RFP document which can be found when applying at www act.org.za/nyoloharfp
Are you ready to step up and say no to childhood hunger? Then the annual Blisters for Bread Charity Family Fun Walk is just the thing for you.
Amid the high unemployment rate and alarming poverty in the country, the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) in association with Lucky Star is thrilled to announce the return of Blisters for Bread. PSFA is a 67-year-old registered non-profit organisation (NPO) that addresses hunger among young learners attending primary, secondary and special-needs schools, OVC Safe Parks, ECDs and TVET colleges in the Western Cape.
Now celebrating 57 years of walking with purpose, the Blisters for Bread Charity Family Fun Walk has grown into one of the Mother City's most beloved fundraising events.
It raises vital funds to provide daily nutritious meals to learners in need across the province.
This year’s event will be on Sunday 31 August at the Green Point Common Sports Ground. Online entries are now open, and participation is limited to 8 000 walkers.
Flexible registration options are available for individuals and groups.
Registration closes at midnight on Sunday 17 August.
Every participant will be presented with a commemorative medal as a token of PSFA’s appreciation.
Complimentary refreshments from Peninsula Beverages will be available to all walkers, ensuring everyone stays refreshed and energised throughout the day.
There will also be live music performances from Cape Town’s top local artists, family-friendly entertainment, food stalls and loads of activities for kids and grown-ups alike.
Whether you’re walking with your school, workplace, friends or family, this event is the ultimate combo of purpose and play.
Petrina Pakoe, director of PSFA, says Blisters for Bread is more than just an event; it’s a heartfelt movement.
“Every rand raised and every kilometre walked helps us ensure no child has to learn on an empty stomach. We invite everyone – young and old – to walk with purpose and be part of this extraordinary cause.”
Plans for the construction of a new state-ofthe-art Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) in the Waterfront’s Granger Bay precinct got a much-needed impetus on Thursday 29 May during the annual One Blue Heart event at the One&Only in Cape Town
A first of this scale in Africa, the new stand-alone TCC will include a turtle rehabilitation hospital, education facilities, ample space for exhibition displays, a restaurant, and a shop. Construction on the TCC is set to start around the middle of next year.
The current facility at the Two Oceans Aquarium rescues, rehabilitates and releases various species of turtles found along South Africa’s coastline This is critical work given that all seven species of turtles are either endangered or critically endangered.
During Thursday’s event, now in its third year, the spotlight shone on the Two Oceans Aquarium’s Foundation Turtle Conservation Centre team as they shared their personal turtle stories and experiences of “turtle-geddon” as last year’s hatchling stranding season, which experienced an unprecendented turtle hatchling stranding season with over 600 hatchlings washing ashore and needing care.
Each team member captivated the audience with their deep care and passion for the ancient ocean travellers, inspiring hope for the future of our ocean.
As he addressed the guests Siyolise Bezo, Sea Turtle Aquarist at the Turtle Conservation Centre, shared his experience. “Mangaliso, a hawksbill turtle who had a long recovery journey at the Centre, taught me about dedication, passion, love, but most importantly, Mangaliso taught me that miracles do exist,” he said. “The turtle team is also a source of inspiration. I don’t look at my team as volunteers, interns, seniors and coworkers, I look at them as my family.”
Ann Lamont, Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Executive Chair, and the turtle team then hinted at some exciting developments on the new TCC which was announced by David Green, CEO of the Waterfront, at last year’s event.
“We are excited to be on the next stage of the new TCC as we have been working with customer experience experts to create
the conceptual visitor journey. This work is as important as the medical and rehabilitation facilities of the Centre, as creating a space which is accessible to the public is essential to the turtle conservation work that we do. We believe that as people know more about the threats facing our marine environment, the more we can come together to make a difference to the health of our ocean and the animals that live in it,” said Lamont.
Over the last 20 years, the Two Ocean’s Aquarium has released over 1000 turtles back into the Ocean. To ensure successful rehabilitation and eventual release, expensive rehabilitation techniques are needed including life support, expert medical care and around the clock monitoring. Ranging in size from 20g to 80kg, each turtle’s rehabilitation journey is unique and can take from a couple of months to many years, depending on individual needs,” said Talitha Noble-Trull, Turtle Conservation Centre Manager
“We are incredible excited about the opportunities which the new TCC will provide us. While extraordinary, last year’s turtle-geddon showed us that we need to be prepared for an influx of stranded turtles, and the new Centre will allow us to provide the best care possible for our turtle patients,” said Noble-Trull
Through storytelling, art and music this year’s One Blue Heart reignited the collective responsibility to safeguard marine life for future generations. “Each layer of One Blue Heart this year was carefully considered to match the integrity of the Foundation’s work from the musicians’ meaningful offerings to guests’ names written on mussel shells that the Aquarium animals ate last week, to the calm, relaxed environment. The glam was unplugged in favour of simplicity and meaning, with each detail inviting deeper connection and care for each other and for the one blue ocean,” said Rachel Smith, One Blue Heart event curator “We wanted to return to the heart of what One Blue Heart stands for - a movement rooted in deep connection with the ocean and ourselves,” said Lamont. “We are grateful to everyone who supports our turtle conservation work and who has joined the movement to to protect the ocean for future generations.”
Mangaliso a Hawksbill turtle, getting back to strength and ready for release at the end of their recovery and rehabilitation at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre
The R100 entry fee will enable PSFA to provide both breakfast and lunch to 20 hungry schoolchildren for a day
Official event T-shirts are available at R150.
Starting in Stephan Way, the event of-
