High alert for oiled birds following chokka boat wreckage

Photo (from Sanccob) of Sikelela chokka boat breaking up at the entrance of the St Francis Bay private harbour this week.  The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob ) Eastern Cape team remains on high alert for any oiled seabirds following the wreckage of the chokka boat, Sikelela, which ran aground on…

Bad weather, rough seas, gale force winds on EC coastline….

Gale force south-westerly winds of 62km/h is expected between Cape St. Francis and Kosi Bay according to the Mossel Bay Weather Observation. Its weather report also mentions high seas with waves heights from 6-7 m that are expected between Lamberts Bay and East London spreading to Kosi Bay by the afternoon. Waves are expected to subside…

Illegal diamond traders turn themselves in

Eight men turned themselves in today in connection with a recent illicit diamond syndicate bust. This was announced today, 25 August, by directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (“The Hawks”) spokesperson, Captain Paul Ramaloko. Ramaloko said 19 men were arrested last Friday in Gauteng, the Northern Cape, Free State and North West for trading in illegal diamonds…

Kouga Imbizo 2014 to open with a bang

All Kouga communities are invited to connect with government this week at two big imbizos.  The imbizos, set to take place at Hankey and Humansdorp, will open with a must-see accident-scene demonstration by fire and emergency services operating in the Kouga region. The programme will further include mobile services, presentations, exhibitions and an opportunity for…

Kromme River committee wants feedback from public

The Kromme River Joint River Committee has launched a public  opinion poll to assess the views of all affected parties regarding the Kromme River. In a statement this afternoon, 19 August, the committee says  the Kromme River is  faced with multiple inter-related problems. The main one is that the Kromme is silting up and one of…

Theft of monkey signs

The four signs that were recently erected in St Francis Bay and which asked people not to feed the monkeys have been removed.  This is according to the SFB Residents Association (SFBRA) which says the perpetrators are unknown to the organisation. The SFBRA has reported this theft to the SAP. “The whole purpose for erecting…

St Francis Chronicle August 2014 edition is now online

St Francis Chronicle August 2014 edition is now online.   The  print edition is now out in select stores in Port Elizabeth, Humansdorp, Jeffreys Bay and in most shops in the St Francis Bay area.  Drop off points in St Francis are replenished every Friday  and there are enough copies printed for each edition to last a…

Areva wins contract to replace 6 Koeberg Steam Generators

 Eskom’s Board of directors announced today, 16 August 2014,  that the contract to replace Koeberg Steam Generators has been awarded to AREVA NP Proprietary.  Based on the lead times for the manufacture of six new steam generators, Eskom is planning for installation in 2018, the Board said. The Board revealed that the 2018 installation plan…

No electricity in Kouga this Sunday 17 August

There will be no electricity in Kouga Municipal area on Sunday, 17 August from 5 am- 10 pm. Kouga Municipality says the interruption is necessary for Eskom to install overhead supply lines for wind-farm developments in the area. The whole of Kouga will be affected, except for Thornhill, which receives electricity from Nelson Mandela Metro….

Fisherman evacuated by NSRI St Francis Bay

NSRI St Francis Bay today, 10 August 2014, evacuated a fisherman from a chokka fishing boat 4 nautical miles off-shore of Port St Francis. The fisherman was suffering from suspected a dehydration and a possible medical kidney ailment. Marc May, NSRI St Francis Bay station commander, said at 11.35 am NSRI St Francis Bay launched…