Local artist, Wehrner Lemmer, has asked Port Elizabethan Galvaspin to prepare and protect his latest piece of art from the elements.

A group of Chicago based art buyers have been touring the Eastern Cape in search of talented artists to showcase their artwork at an exhibition at the Guichard art gallery later this year.

30 Chinese automotive manufacturers will visit Nelson Mandela Bay to participate in South African Automotive Week.

Eastern Cape Premier, Noxolo Kiviet’s State of the Province Address has highlighted infrastructure development as a primary focus for provincial government over the next few years.

The ECDC trade and investment promotion unit (TP/IP) has started to track international trends and leads of global companies wanting to invest or partner with local companies for either trade or investment-related business opportunities

Professor Tobias was a great scientist with a worldwide accolade.

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is putting youth matters high on the agenda in Nelson Mandela Bay this month after securing leading parliamentarian Mlungisi ‘Lulu’ Johnson to deliver a lecture at its monthly Coega Business Forum.

Construction of the 49 schools in the Eastern Cape that will replace “inappropriate structures” is behind schedule.

Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has restated “government’s on-going commitment to Project Mthombo, which will establish a world-class fuels hub in the Coega Industrial Development Zone”.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) invested R7.8 billion in the Eastern Cape between 2002 and 2012.

The Buffalo City Municipality faces budgetary challenges with regard to the next General Valuation, scheduled for next year.

The Eastern Cape recorded the highest expenditure of the Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant during 2011/12.

The prevailing market conditions showed that tea production in South Africa was “unsustainable,” the Agriculture and Rural Development Portfolio Committee has told the Bhisho Legislature.

The Eastern Cape Legislature’s Human Settlements Committee wants the department to finalise its discussions with Buffalo City on the revitalisation of Bhisho.

Transport MEC Thandiswa Marawu has spelled out a vision for the development of Mthatha that will see it become “the next urban centre”.

The Eastern Cape Legislature’s Education Portfolio Committee has criticised the department for its failure to address challenges around the recruitment of Mathematics and Physical Science teachers.

The Eastern Cape’s Department of Sport, Recreation Arts and Culture has been criticised for not having a “framework that acknowledges and funds exceptional players and those that represent the province”.

The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) has been sent to Kouga “to provide infrastructure development and management challenges,” Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi has told the National Assembly.

South African National Parks plans to form public-private-partnerships in a number of Eastern Cape national parks to exploit restaurant and retail opportunities.

The National Department of Environmental Affairs has embarked on a process aimed at speeding up the process of environmental impact assessments and waste authorisation and disposal applications.

The Alfred Nzo and Chris Hani district municipalities are among 21 rural districts nationally that have been earmarked for special support, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi has told the National Assembly.

The penultimate sale of the 2012 mohair summer season this week saw 68 495 kilograms on offer, Mohair South Africa saying it consisted of “some very good quality individual clips”.

The Draft Environmental Impact Report for the development of a golf course in Belmont Valley outside Grahamstown has been released for public comment.

A total of 2 383 emerging builders, youth, women and people with disabilities in the Eastern Cape have been trained by the National Home Builders registration Council (NHBRC) over the past three years.

A “municipal vulnerability index” and disaster-risk management tools should be developed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the National Disaster Management Centre.

The Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) says that municipalities, particularly non-metro institutions, should be “encouraged to play a more direct role in economic growth”.

Two by-elections have been scheduled for the Eastern Cape on June 13 in Matatiele and Emalahleni.

Focused on private sector as the engine of Africa’s economic development, the report examines the challenges facing the sector’s development and highlights ways to address these challenges, taking country differences into account.

Some 532 Schools in the Eastern Cape had indicated that they needed additional mathematics teachers, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshega has told the National Assembly.

The Department of Water Affairs will have ploughed R400 million into four water schemes in the Eastern Cape once they are completed, Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has told the National Council of Provinces.

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Committee Dumisile Nhlengethwa has called for a detailed report from the department on how it intends “to assist municipalities in collecting the debt owed to them by government departments”.

The Final Scoping Report has been released for the proposed expansion of existing citrus cultivation near Addo that will create an additional 325 seasonal employment opportunities and 25 permanent ones.

The Joe Gqabi Economic Development Agency was being launched at the right time and would be able to take advantage of the massive infrastructure investment by the state-owned enterprises, Transport MEC Thandiswa Marawu said this morning.

The establishment of a bamboo industry in the Eastern Cape has taken another step forward with the launch of a small bamboo weaving and craft making project at Chintsa this week.

Wool prices softened further at this week’s sale, the penultimate of the season. Cape Wools said in a stat

Buffalo City’s Public Transport Infrastructure Systems (PTIS) grant has been cut significantly.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for East London for April came in at 6.9% year-on-year (y/y) substantially above the national figure of 6.1% but below the 7.1% recorded for the Eastern Cape as a whole.

The Department of Higher Education and Training has started the process of identifying campuses in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal that will be “recapitalised for teacher education purposes”.

A total of 1 410 schools in the Eastern Cape have less than 135 pupils which is the minimum enrolment number.

Construction of the 138MW first phase of the Amakhala Emoyeni wind farm between Cookhouse and Bedford is expected to start in the first quarter of next year.

Transnet CEO Brian Molefe has suggested that transportation by sea should be viewed as the solution to the challenge posed by the rail-gap between the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Mthatha weighbridge was now operational again following a R57 000 calibration, the Eastern Cape Department of Transport says in a statement.

President Jacob Zuma has told the National Assembly that Government is “confident that this time around we will be able to stabilise and normalise the Eastern Cape Education Department”.

A number of wind farms in the Eastern Cape are among those who were successful bidders when the Department of Energy released the names of the 19 companies who had been selected following the second window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme.

The Draft Public Transport Concept Plan for the Eastern Cape has called for the rationalisation of public transport services “in terms of cost and efficiency”.

PetroSA announced this morning that it had signed an agreement with China’s Sinopec Group to drive the building of Project Mthombo, the multi-billion Rand oil refinery planned for the Coega Industrial Development Zone.

The value of wool exports up to the end of March stood at R1.9 million as compared with R1.1 million for the whole of last year.

The Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture has called for tenders for an audit of sports and recreational facilities in the province.

The Department of Public Enterprises has established an Automotive Forum that will “focus on improving operational efficiencies on rail and at the ports,” Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has told the National Assembly.

A new dam is to be constructed on the Xura River to address the “inadequate” supply of water to Lusikisiki and 23 rural villages, Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has told the National Assembly.

The number of civil cases for debt reported at the East London magistrate’s court dropped by more than 50% from February to March this year.

Specific allocations to the existing industrial development zones would end in 2013/14, the Department of Trade and Industry has told Parliament.

Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources (SA) has embarked on the drawing up of an EMP following its application for a prospecting right in an area located in the Mbizana Local Municipality.

The Buffalo City Municipality has included R5 million in its draft budget for 2012-2015 for the upgrading of the East London City Hall.

The Department of Environmental Affairs has given the go ahead for the construction of a 62 turbine wind farm at Oyster Bay with a generation capacity of 160 MW with each turbine being between 1.8MW and 3MW.

At least 545 former councillors in the Eastern Cape will benefit from the once-off gratuity payable to non-returning councillors who served a full term.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies launched the R5.8 billion Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) this morning that aims to “encourage manufacturers in a broad range of sectors to invest and raise competitiveness”.

The Camdeboo Municipality has criticised the timing of the implementation of the Eskom tariff increase.

The proposed carbon tax to be levied by Government could become as great a debacle as e-tolling, Associate Director at Deloitte, Izak Swart has told an Energy Seminar.

The Johannesburg-based Walter Sisulu University Foundation, the university and the Sisulu family will kick-start year long celebrations of what would have been Walter Sisulu’s 100 birthday this Friday.

The number of people employed in the Eastern Cape declined by 46 000 year-on-year (y/y) in the first quarter of 2012 to 1 279 000.

The Walter Sisulu University has entered a bid for R1.7 billion from a special infrastructure and efficiency fund set up by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

A new Bill gazetted today aims to boost job creation and industrialisation in outlying areas through the licensing of special economic zones (SEZs).

The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements has called for expressions of interest to develop the concept and undertake the preliminary planning for the Qunu City concept.

Kei Rail has now ferried more than 100 000 passengers since the daily service was reintroduced on June 11 last year.

The Eastern Cape’s Human Settlements Department wants to improve the delivery of RDP houses and fast track the implementation of housing projects.

The National Department of Basic Education plans to appoint a team to participate in a National Transversal Agreement for the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative.

“Eastern Cape development university, Walter Sisulu University (WSU) needs a massive R1,7 billion to bring the university up to the required standard,” says administrator Professor Lourens van Staden.

In an effort to enhance its current Information Communication Technology (ICT) services to investors, the East London IDZ has constructed an ICT node room in Zone 1A.

Construction of a R60 million new plant at Greenbushes for Lighting Innovations will get underway “in the next few weeks”.

The Electricity and Energy Directorate was on target with its spending on the electrification programme with 74% of its budget of R25 million spent by the end of March.

Municipal councils will have to approve the filling of senior managers’ posts in terms of regulations that will come into effect in July in terms of the Municipal Systems Act.

The Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism has given the go ahead for the re-zoning and sub-division of Shepton Mallet Farm at Hogsback from Agricultural to Resort II.

Corporal punishment was “most common” at schools in the Eastern Cape, according to the General Household Survey released by Statistics South Africa this morning.

Enabling infrastructure, central to the success of businesses in the marine aquaculture cluster, has been put in place by the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ).

The second phase on the Provincial Integrated Public Transport Master Plan for the Eastern Cape that is currently underway will be presented to stakeholders at the end of this month.

There were 4 910 students from Africa studying at Eastern Cape universities in 2010, High Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has told the National Assembly.

The official opening of the Steve Biko Memorial Centre in Ginsberg was scheduled for October or November this year.

Only 20% of the ex-councillors who were not re-elected in the May 2011 local government elections have so far been paid the gratuity they were promised.

The Eastern Cape spent 98.5% of its adjusted budget for the 2011/12 financial year, but overspent on its current budget and under spent on the capital budget.

The East London IDZ board welcomed two new members at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday October 26.

The East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) is laying the groundwork for increased automotive investments, with multimillion rand expansion due to be completed in the course of 2012.

Premier Noxolo Kiviet ambitiously pledged to improve the image of the Eastern Cape while “repositioning the province within the national developmental landscape.”

The Eastern Cape is set for a 1 200 jobs boost as the provincial Job Stimulus Fund sets off to a good start.