2013 – controversy, joy and tragedy
It was a year during which crime remained rampant, where abuse, despite numerous campaigns, against women and children and also animals continued.
2013 shall probably be known as the year in which Nelson Mandela died and it will be known for the controversial E-toll system.
Mandela will be missed, but it seems E-tolls that went live on December 3 is here to stay despite the efforts of Outa and the protests from residents.
It was certainly not all gloom and doom – the Advertiser reported on numerous achievements by local residents, while throughout the year charity work kept beating the drum to help NGOs, NPOs, and other needy caused.
The Advertiser also had some fun, hosting a cake cook-off, while being part of the Reynolds Travel Centre Amazing Race. Femme Fatal was also held during August as part of Womens Month.
And so, 2013 has come to an end. 2014 is the year of the national elections and who knows what other mysteries, secrets and surprises – good or bad – awaits us.
Here are some of the highlights of the year:
January
* Shreya Somera from Sunward Park High obtains 10 distinctions in the 2012 matric exams and is placed among the top five highest aggregates in the Gauteng Province. She was also the best performing learner in Ekurhuleni.
* Reiger Park SAPS obtains four-star rating for outstanding performance during the third quarter of 2011/12 at the SAPS Outstanding Performance Awards.
* Chaos erupts in Ekurhuleni as the metro, according to the DA, failed to appoint a new meter reading tender to begin at the beginning of the year. The metro would only appoint a new service provided during February.
* The SAPs holds its two-day strategic planning meeting at the Birchwood, with the performance of police officers high on the agenda.
* The local SPCA raises somewhat R55 000 through its Animal Cheer Fund.
* Champion of the community and former ward councillor, Mike Mason, dies on January 25.
February
* Beyers Park belly dancer Tiffany Wiese is crowned as the word amateur champion for the second successive time.
* Reiger Park that has been plagued over the years by gangterism and violence was on lockdown when the Gauteng police deployed dozens of police in the area. At the end of January, two people were shot, including a 16-year-old boy.
* Sharon Bornman wins a Valentines lunch with singer Juan Boucher. The competition was organised by the Advertiser to add some romance to the beginning of the year.
*Cansas Eastern Gauteng regions Jail n Bail fundraising project at the East Rand Mall proves to be a huge success. Cansa set up a mock jail, with a few celebrities, including artist Izak Davel, being arrested. R41 376 was raised.
* Local Rotary Clubs join in the celebrations as Rotary as an international organisation turns 108-years-old.
March
* The mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli Gungubele, delivers his State of the City Address, focusing on issues such as unemployment, job creation and human settlement. It was also announced that R1-m will be allocated to every ward, with the funds by the end of the year still to be utilised.
* The Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis Business Consultative Conference is held towards the end of the month, which focused on the metro and the Gauteng Province benefiting from the aerotropolis model.
* The Cansa Shavathon is held on March 2, with residents allowing their hair to be shaved, sprayed or cut in support of the fight against cancer. Also in March, Cansa holds its Relay for Life at the Boksburg Stadium, during which R1.7-m is raised.
* Bogus traditional healers are arrested for allegedly obtaining money from people under false pretences.
* Four workers injured while working at the Anderbolt sub-station, which exploded. They were at the time working on restoring power supply when a suspected circuit breaker faulted.
* The new outdoor park next to Emperors Palace gets into full swing with a summer music festival, featuring artist like Nicholis Louw.
April
* The boathouse at the Boksburg Lake is revamped at R3.5-m. The upgrade, however, is controversial, as the lake is still polluted (the status quo remains by the end of 2013) while other facilities, like the toilets, need urgent upgrades and repair.
* The Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition 2013 event is held at Emperors Palace from April 24 to 26. Top speakers are on attendance from across the world, who shares their knowledge on airport cities, in light of Ekurhuleni moving towards becoming a fully-fledged Aerotropolis.
* The metro holds a wreath laying ceremony as part of the 20th annual memorial of Chris Hani, the former leader of the SA Communist Party who was shot dead in Dawn Park.
* SAPS foil an imminent robbery at Emperors Palace by arresting 15 robbers.
May
* Amid a constant rise of fuel as seen throughout the year, along with a spike in consumer prices, Ekurhuleni residents also learned they were going to have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for the hike in service tariffs. This followed the metros budget speech that was delivered at the end of the month. No tariff increases were recommended for assessment rates.
* Residents are angry over a gaping sinkhole in Comet. The hole was only attended to five months later.
* The Advertiser hosts a cake baking competition for professional, novice and school bakers. The competition took place at the East Rand Mall. After the competition, the pensioners were invited to enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
* Supercop Piet Byleveld visited the East Rand Business Women meeting during May. He was one of many such celebrities who have visited the network throughout the year.
* Staff from a scrap-metal dealer in Lillianton was evacuated after radioactive material was found alongside a workshop.
* Animal rights activists stage a protest outside Pet Masters to challenge the Animal Protection Act that allows pets to be sold. The protest was an initiative Animal Without Cruelty South Africa, an animal’s rights group.
June
* Col Sam Makama, the new station commander at Boksburg North SAPS, promises the fight against crime will intensify.
* The World Congress of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) is held at the Word and Life Church in Sunward Park. Representatives of 24 out of 29 countries attended.
* Child Protection Week highlighted the rights of children. Sadly, as was seen towards the end of 2013, numerous children were still abused, even some murdered across Boksburg.
* Desmond Tombeen is shot dead in Reiger Park which was believed to be another gang-related hit.
* Parkrand resident Sanet Labuschagne competes as one of the 50 most promising home cooks in South Africas Masterchef. She fails to win, but as a wonderful time displaying her skills.
* Urian Damons takes over as new head of the Boksburg bases East Rand Mounted Unit.
* Dorin Charalambous from Midrand was found guilty under the Animal Protection Act in the Boksburg Magistrate Court for cruelty to animals. This comes after the accused left a dog to die in a locked car, with no windows open, for an estimated seven hours in a local shopping centres parking lot.
* Sean Wittstock, the youngest brother of Princess Charlene of Monaco, married Boksburg’s Chantell Violet Serfontein on June 22.
* Garth du Preez suffers terrible burn wounds when an unknown assailant poured petrol over him and set him alight while waiting at a traffic intersection of Main Reef and Commando roads. Du Preez survives the attack.
* Damian Lahoud is inducted as president for Boksburg Rotary Club.
July
* International Nelson Mandela Day is celebrated on July 18. The Ekurhuleni metro also gets involved by partnering with Sibusiso Vilane, to complete the Trek4Mandela Challenge. The challenge also helped to raise funds for the Caring Girls Programme and a Youth Leadership Development Programme. Throughout Boksburg, companies and individuals lend a hand to make a difference in the community to celebrate the birthday of the late Madiba.
* Pinkie Vutela-Skosana is elected as the new Boksburg Child Welfare chairlady.
* Kingsley Holgate, renowned modern-day explorer, was the guest speaker at the local celebrations of Land Rovers 65th birthday.
* A natural gas pipeline in Anderbolt explodes in the industrial area, causing an evacuation of the area. Three workers from a nearby factory were injured.
* Terry Phasey is re-elected as president of the Boksburg Rotary Club. Phasey and Peter van den Elshout is also honoured with the Paul Harris Award.
* Hannelie van der Merwe is elected as the new president of the Boksburg Lions Club.
August
* St Dominics Catholic School for Girls in Boksburg celebrates its 90th birthday.
* The Advertiser hosts Femme Fatale, a Women’s Day celebratory brunch. The day was devoted to celebrating all things female. Guests on the day included Sorina Flooze Erasmus and Izak Davel.
* The metro unveils over 270 new vehicles as part of the emergency services. This includes 48 ambulances, nine fire trucks and 129 metro police vehicles.
* It was a massive explosion and flames that reaches to the heavens when the Luxor Paints factory caught fire.
*Former mayor of Boksburg, Mxolisi Eric Xayiya is appointed as Gautengs new Economic Development MEC.
* A two-year-old baby girl dies in Reiger Park after she accidently strangled herself with a skipping rope.
* Tambo Memorial Hospital buys new equipment to improve the standard of service it offers to the public.
September
* A number of fundraising efforts were done throughout the year to fight cancer, including the Cupcakes of Hope hosted in September.
* Good news for Oos Rand Secondary School as construction for the long-awaited new school building gets underway. The project will cost about R90-m.
* Eighteen foreigners were arrested for illegal mining at the disused mineshaft in Knights.
* Arbor Week is celebrated, with schools and companies getting on board to plant trees for a brighter environmental future.
* South Africa, including residents in Boksburg, celebrates Heritage Day held on September 21.
* A shop owner is gunned down in the East Rand Traders Square.
* The Advertiser earns a place on the Hospice East Rand Wall of Fame.
October
* One man died and another survived after they were found unconscious in a diesel tank at the petrol station on Commissioner Street. The men were at the time cleaning the tanks. It later appeared the men were allegedly not equipped or trained properly for the job.
* A teacher at the School of Achievement in Boksburg, Hans Jonker, is shot dead in his home during an armed robbery.
* The inaugural National Albinism Conference is held at the Birchwood Hotel at the end of the month, empowering among other tasks children with albinism to explore, engage and have fun with their lives.
* Mamas Orphanage in Windmill Park receives a welcome makeover and a mini media centre with six computers, courtesy of M-Net Cares.
November
* Plans are released to reveal the possibility of a Gautrain link from Rhodesfield to Boksburg. Details of individual routes will only be made known once the necessary studies have been undertaken.
* Plans are also revealed regarding the Bus Rapid Transport System to cover Ekurhuleni, with chances good for the first phase to include a route running through Boksburg.
* An ongoing concern for residents in Sunward Park is the open trenches dug by Rand Water for pipelines. Rand Water lays the blame on the previous contractor and was by November in the process of appointing a substitute main contractor to complete outstanding work on the unfinished water pipeline.
*n The Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile, supported by Caxton is held at the Turfontein Race Course.
* The biography of the late Father Stan Brennan, authored by Dave Gemmel, is on the shelves.
* A total of 135 648 registrations were recorded in Ekurhuleni for next years national elections. The Electoral Commissions (IEC) confirmed its plan to open all voting stations again for registration on February 8 and 9.
* Members of the Boksburg SPCA compete in the 94.7 Momentum Cycle Challenge to raise funds for the NGO.
* Residents are shocked at the mass death of fish at the Witfield Dam. A possible chemical spill is blamed. The Ekurhuleni metro was towards the end of the year investigating the cause.
* The 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse from November 26 to December 10, is held. Numerous cases nationally in and Ekurhuleni is reported before and during the campaign regarding abuse against children.
December
* Nelson Mandela, the father of the the new democratic South Africa, dies at the age of 95 on December 5. The memorial and funeral of the former president and Nobel peace prize winner is attended by heads of State across the world, including America.
*World Aids Day is commemorated on December 1, with St Francis among other organisations honouring the day in memory of those who have lost their lives.
* The Leadership 2020 Seminar is held at Emperors Palace, which is a five-day festival hosted by the Ekurhuleni metro in partnership with Leadership 2002. It is a positive change movement and non-profit organisation aiming to positively impact 100 000 young people in the country by 2020.
* Die jaarlikse Geloftediens is weer op Desember 16 gehou. Ook tydens Desember is die klipstapel by Trichardspark ter herdenking van die Groot Trek se 175-jaarvieringe heronthul.
* The country celebrates Christmas on December 25, as everyone draws renewed hope and strength for the year ahead.
