One of the oldest living Tshivenda authors, Ms Ndivhudzannyi Emelinah Sigogo, is encouraging young people to start writing books in their own language and has urged them to learn from older and more experienced writers while the latter are still alive.

On Thursday, 29 August, as Women’s Month came to an end, a living monument to what women entrepreneurs can achieve opened its doors in Thohoyandou. The new Premier Hotel Thohoyandou, built at a cost of almost R200 million, promises to set a new benchmark for the tourism industry in Vhembe.

Seven years after construction started, the sports stadium at Waterval has still not been completed, though at least R28 million has been spent on the project. Residents are now fed up with the Makhado Municipality’s promises and excuses.

The Vhembe District may not have the worst municipalities in the country, but they fall short of expectations, especially considering the millions spent on consultants and special initiatives aimed at improving financial accounting standards. Last year, the amounts spent by local municipalities on unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure reached nearly R800 million, with seemingly no consequences for the officials and politicians involved.

Ndivhuwo Matshaya, better known as Prophet Matshaya of the Power of Light Divine Ministries in Hamakuya-Domboni village, was tragically shot dead at Thengwe-Mutangula on Wednesday, 28 August.

Drama unfolded at the Sibasa Regional Court when the mother of Murendeni Ralinala, a 21-year-old man brutally killed in Dopeni two years ago, stood up and walked out crying during the court proceedings.

The early-morning raid on the offices of the Thulamela Municipality on Tuesday must have sent shivers down the spines of many officials at municipalities in Vhembe, and perhaps even some politicians.

The distinguished scholar and public-administration expert, Professor Dovhani Thakhathi, passed away on Friday, 30 August. At the time of his death, he was residing in Pretoria, having previously lived in Haraliphaswa, Nzhelele.

After trying to avoid dealing with the issue for almost two months, the Musina Municipality’s council eventually convened on Friday, 30 August, for a meeting to discuss the overpayment of senior officials.

By Wednesday this week, many residents in Louis Trichardt and Tshikota were still left to their own devices in a constant battle for clean drinking water as the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) has seemingly all but lost complete control over the ongoing water-supply crisis in the district.

The economic conditions in Zimbabwe forced Tanaka Moyo (40) to legally seek greener pastures in Musina. He opted for a unique business plan, selling the wild jujube fruit to make a living. The fruit, called masau in Shona, is better known as mazwilu in Tshivenda.

As the unemployment rate in South Africa continued to rise, a group of women from Makonde village decided to start a community-based project to create job opportunities for themselves. However, it is very difficult to continue with the project without support from the government or the private sector.

At the age of 104, William Masindi Sadiki still has many stories to tell. Some of these are about his experiences during World War II, when he was part of the North Africa campaign. He is one of the few black soldiers from that era still alive, and he proudly pins his war medals on his chest on formal occasions.