Home | South Africa has received a brand new house worth R650 000 for Mandela Day This after years of struggling to find suitable land to build a house Poto Dyantyisi and his two sons have lived in an informal settlement for ten years As part of Mandela Day celebrations in the Sarah Baartman District Dyantyisi has officially been moved from a shack to a fully furnished house with a title deed Dyantyisi was evicted from a farm he lived on in 2014 He relocated to a village in Patensie where he stayed in a shack with his family “I am very grateful for what my son has done and all his efforts in ensuring that I finally get a house at least I’ll have something to leave behind for my children,” he says The Dyantyisi family has endured great suffering over the years Sipho Dyantyisi says his father’s deteriorating health has worsened their situation “We are very happy and excited that we are finally getting this house because things have been tough it would get muddy and sometimes we would have to carry the old man on our backs to get him to the toilet outside and we are thankful for the breakthrough,” he adds Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements Siphokazi Lusithi says they are working on other similar projects in the community two elderly people we are awaiting the municipality to provide land for the development of those houses there is an area we have in our business plan this year to upgrade this area The problem is the availability of land.” Unconfirmed reports have been doing the rounds of a possible meteorite or satellite that hit close to the Patensie area in the Eastern Cape causing people to think there might have been an earthquake According to Weather Guru a former employee of the South African Weather Service although it’s unclear exactly what happened Residents in the Mossel Bay area said they had heard two loud bang noises this morning Weather Guru said: “My rainfall group in the Langkloof started reporting what sounded like an earthquake Later reports came through of what seems to look like a meteor or satellite He said a video had been doing rounds on many groups and was sent to Weather Guru by Tsitsikamaboertjie from Assagaaibosch Read original story on www.mosselbayadvertiser.com This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers Emotional scenes unfolded at the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday where a 25-year-old woman convicted of defrauding her employer Nuwelande Agri PTY (LTD) out of R6.6 million was sentenced to eight years direct imprisonment who was employed in an administrative capacity at the Patensie-based citrus farm was sentenced on 71 counts of fraud which occurred over three years from 2016 to January 2019 The timid Stumke appeared defeated as Magistrate Lionel Lindoor handed down a nearly one-hour-long judgement Lindoor said he considered several factors in deciding what an appropriate sentence might be including the seriousness of the crimes committed her personal circumstances and the interest of justice "A fine balance must however be kept and I have made sure to not over or under emphasise each factor." In handing down his sentence he however said she was employed in a position of trust and held a fairly senior position at the company but the theft continued over an extended period "You had ample opportunity to stop but you were top-gear on a high-way until the brakes had to be applied - not by you "You literally bit the hand that fed you." Stumke was supported in court by her husband and family who could be heard crying throughout the judgment Magistrate Lindoor further told the court that although pleading guilty does not demonstrate remorse he believed Stumke showed remorse for her actions the court heard that the accused and her husband Darius had approached a close family member who offered to pay the balance of what is still owed to Stumke's former employer said "R1.4 million will be made available to pay off the accused's debt within the next six days amounting to R1.4 million will then be paid in May." Earlier this month the court heard how most of the stolen money was spent on luxury items and gifts for her friends and family including rifles for her husband and purchasing a car for herself At least R3 million has since been recovered Griebenouw also asked the court to consider a wholly suspended sentence coupled with correctional supervision as this would allow Stumke to continue working to pay back the loan Clint Jacobs said that it would send out the wrong message to the community and society at large if she were sentenced to the above conditions Stumke was allowed to hug her husband and parents before being led to the police van outside court.She will serve her sentence at the North End Prison Magistrate Lindoor also ruled that Stumke is not unfit to possess a firearm as she is not seen as a danger in this regard The defence did not apply for leave to appeal the sentence an exclusive podcast on the life of Vicki Terblanche Dive into the expansive world of motoring with Naresh Maharaj Join Mark Marshall as he shares his extraordinary encounters with everything from bees to reptiles i Accompanied by senior management from the provincial administration Minister Kiviet received an update on progress toward establishing a fully-fledged agricultural school for the benefit of farming communities in Patensie in the agricultural stronghold of the Gamtoots Valley in the Kouga Local Municipality Minister Kiviet�s visit to the Patensie Agricultural School yesterday marked the second leg of her Outreach programme to schools in the area beginning at the nearby Hankey Secondary School the day before the day�s programme similarly ensured that community members benefited from the Services on Wheels integrated service delivery channel which involved the participation of the departments of labour health and the South African Police Service The two schools share similar demographic profiles and face almost the same challenges much of the update Minister Kiviet received from the Patensie School Management Team (SMT) focused on the school�s readiness to become a fully-fledged agricultural school for the region A report presented by the SMT painted a litany of obstacles to Patensie�s goal of becoming a school which offers an appropriate agriculture-oriented curriculum and for which it was established in 2018 According to the acting principal who spoke on behalf of the SMT the biggest obstacle is that the school is still squatting on the same piece of land that its sister primary school had kindly offered some five years ago in addition to the irony of an agricultural school without land for practical use in line with its educational mandate the school suffers from a dire shortage of classroom space which affects the quality of existing learning outcomes which makes it possible for the school to squeeze the current 601 learners into 14 classrooms The disruptiveness of the rotational system (which means learners take turns in attending school) and the challenges of transporting learners from far-flung farm communities significantly contribute to high levels of dropouts from the school which is one of the issues that Minister Kiviet raised as a concern that requires urgent attention the Minister reminded the SMT and all the Patensie Agricultural School stakeholders that the post-1994 constitutional dispensation has promised to �heal the divisions of the past� that particularly run deep in the country�s agricultural regions She called upon all stakeholders to double up efforts and use their influence to ensure that the divisions of the past are healed by making sure that Patensie Agricultural�succeeds the ward counsellor reported progress in securing the school�s land with a local farmer�s help Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks In the Eastern Cape's Gamtoos Valley all's well when the Kouga Dam is well: the past seven years of drought had forced farmers into difficult decisions "We've come to accept that at least three years out of every decade we'll not have enough water," says Fredri Kok we ought to be set for the next 3 years or so."Vegetable production will probably never again be what it was in the Gamtoos Valley; when water is scarce growers who for some years were allowed only a fifth of their normal water supply have had to decide which orchards to cut off from its lifeline the Darwinian process has had the benefit of excising those navel orchards prone to creasing (as happened so disastrously in 2017) and as a result the incidence of creased skin has drastically diminished in this area.By next week all three of the pack lines at the Patensie Citrus packhouse will be running day and night shifts on the lemons Leanri and navels coming in from the surrounding orchards.When they look at the numbers that they have already packed (starting with Satsumas from weeks 12 to 18) they are slightly ahead of last year's volume The availability of inspectors from the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development for the pre-inspection of orchards for Europe has improved since the start of the season.A single instance of confirmed citrus black spot would mean an entire orchard is disqualified from the European market for the season our producers have had very good control over citrus black spot over the past five years because Europe remains where most of our product goes depending on fruit size distribution."Patensie Citrus growers have not had a single CBS interception in five years they wait until the first week of June before commencing their European campaign He expects that market to be a difficult one for lemons this year because of high European supply still in the market but fresh fruit will be in demand as quality deteriorates on the old stock.Gamtoos Novas have excellent internal quality and a beautiful colour and the category has delivered a bit of a surprise with increased demand from Europe The hardy cultivar becomes an easy peeler after a month on the water while its robustness has long made it a stalwart for trade with the Far East and the Middle East FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com Journey to Justice, an exclusive podcast on the life of Vicki Terblanche, a slain Gqeberha mother. Dive into the expansive world of motoring with Naresh Maharaj. This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers. Sentencing proceedings in the case of a 24-year-old woman convicted of fraud amounting to over R6.6 million got underway at the Port Elizabeth Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday. An-Nei Stumke, a former administrator at the Nuwelande Agri PTY (LTD) in Patensie previously pleaded guilty to 71 counts of fraud committed over three years between 2016 and January 2019. The citrus farm's Director, Solomon Ferreira and his wife Vera took to the stand in aggravation of sentence. They told the court how they considered Stumke a part of their "business" family, adding that Solomon was even asked to make a speech at her husband's birthday party and how his father was asked to say a prayer at the wedding of the Stumke couple. The court also heard how the business suffered tremendous financial stress which stunted its growth as a result of the theft. Solomon also told the court how he suffered psychologically with trusting people especially with new employees coming in. Stumke who was supported at court by her husband was responsible for making payments to creditors and employees of the company, but instead populated the company's system with her FNB bank account. The case was postponed until Thursday when her defence attorney, Alwyn Griebenouw will decide on whether or not he will call witnesses in mitigation of sentence. Don’t miss the NG Kerk Gamtoosvallei-Oos Plaasbasaar, in Patensie, this Saturday, 7 October! Grab the whole family for a morning of fun inside the Endulini Packhouse, just 3.5km west of Patensie. The Plaasbasaar is the perfect occasion to enjoy a REAL farm breakfast, tea garden, tasty treats, FUN for the kids and so much MORE…. plus it’s all undercover! Entrance is free with safe parking and card facilities. There is no need to slay a dragon to get to the fruit named after the fiery beast who has also created several dragon fruit varieties of her own said pitaya (dragon fruit) farming was wonderful and people were becoming more aware of the health benefits of the super fruit.. A subscription gives you full digital access to all our content Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@heraldlive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00 Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now Please read our Comment Policy before commenting. a demand for him to hop on an aeroplane out of the country and threats to burn down a cold room was granted a protection order and interdict against a group of disgruntled former labourers demanding a payout.. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting The area didn’t experience the same unrest as the nearby Sundays River Valley which lies to its east The Cockscomb Mountain towers behind citrus orchards in the Gamtoos Valley (photos supplied by Agri Gamtoos)There is a legal strike at one citrus producer in the area but it’s running along the formalized channels and there was a community protest about school conditions in Patensie last week member of Agri Gamtoos Farmers Association’s management committee.“Politically one could say our area is more moderate,” he adds especially at the larger farming enterprises We consider it as very important to always keep the communication channels open with our local community and to maintain good relations.”The Gamtoos Valley has a much smaller community and approximately a third of the Sundays River Valley’s surface area Citrus trucked to KZN for Eastern shippingThe citrus season is slightly later than normal Gamtoos growers also have to truck citrus to Durban to be loaded for the Middle East and Far East as vessels running those services are still omitting the much closer Eastern Cape ports of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Ngqura (Coega).  Their road access to Port Elizabeth is not impeded by Sundays River Valley unrest although road conditions are starting to impact on citrus transport especially as volumes increase.Remarkable crop despite water shortage“If you enter the Gamtoos Valley now by looking at the area you wouldn’t say we’re in a serious drought," Grewar remarks have become a common feature to reduce wind damage and water loss "We did have more rainfall this season than the previous season most producers now have their plans for alternative water sources in place.”The citrus crop definitely looks better than last year despite citrus producers receiving only 15% of their water allocation from the Kouga Dam (still below 13%) over the past water year (running until end-June).Over the past few years of drought some citrus orchards nearing the end of their lifetime were removed but there hasn’t been a largescale removal or cutting-back of trees as an extreme water measure.In fact what citrus growers have managed to do under severe water shortages is quite remarkable.“As producers we must commend the management of the Gamtoos Irrigation Board for their outstanding management of this scarce resource." The Kouga Dam from where farmers received only 15% of their  allocation over the past water year that the average Gamtoos farmer is a very efficient water manager So we’re very fortunate – you wouldn’t think that the crop now hanging on the trees was produced with so little of our water allocation Vegetable farming in the GamtoosThe region’s vegetable farming has decreased both as a result of the expanding citrus industry and rising input costs particularly when growing for the wholesale market and so the Gamtoos farmers who are still growing vegetables do so predominantly for packhouses supplying supermarket programmes Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news! You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site. If you keep getting this message, please enable cookies in your browser. You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker). As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks! Citrus orchards against the Hanekam (Cockscomb) peak in the Groot-Winterhoek Mountains, Eastern Cape Image: C m handler The Kouga municipality in the Eastern Cape is investigating rumours that a meteorite struck near the Patensie area on Sunday night A News24 user and several others described seeing flashes across the sky "We have heard the same rumour and our emergency services are going out this morning to go and check it out," municipal spokesperson Laura-Leigh Randall told News24 on Monday morning "The fire department did not get any calls on it." a Democratic Alliance councillor in the Despatch area "I studied in Potchefstroom where the army did bombing practice which had a distinct thumping sound I was watching a movie with the kids and the wife when I heard what sounded like a bomb going off "It immediately reminded me of that thumping sound," he said Greyling said he "though nothing of it" until he saw people talking on social media about a possible meteorite strike in the area A News24 user said on Sunday night: "Massive explosion.. a series of  'several lightning flashes' were observed in Paradise Beach [Jeffreys Bay] in a westerly direction at 21:00 on 8th Nov followed by about approximately 3 minutes later the sound of a massive explosion as though a bomb had gone off." @NASA is it true a meteorite landed in Patensie — JBay News (@JBayNews1) November 9, 2015Patensie News just in. The loud explosion sound we heard #Jbay was in fact a meteorite impact There has been meteorite strike in Patensie area.   Source: News24