Bergsig Guesthouse is nestled at the foot of Platberg. Here you’ll find three comfortable bedrooms, an indoor swimming pool, home gym and magnificent views of Platberg!

Contact Martie Greyling on 083 556 8740.

34 Bergweg, Harrismith

Click here for more information.

Article from BusinessLive [Source]

“Most of you might be aware of the ongoing initiative to develop the logistics hubs along the Durban, Harrismith and Johannesburg corridor, which will serve as key links to the North-South Corridor, and ultimately service the entire region.”

Read full article here.

Article sourced from iol.co.za Business Report.

State-owned companies will invest billions of rand in the Free State over the next five years, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday.

Read full article here.

Article sourced from The New Age Online
-Getrude Makhafola

The province is set to benefit from a multibillion rand investment in infrastructure development over the next five years, with the town of Harrismith earmarked as the province’s logistical hub.

Click here to read full article.

| Race photo gallery | Results and times |

Discovery Harrismith Bergwedloop is Saterdag 8 Oktober 2011 suksesvol aangebied op ‘n baie mooi Oktober’s dag.   Die wedloop het ‘n inkrywingsgetal van 714 atlete getrek van regoor die land waarvan 485 die wedloop voltooi het voor die afsnytyd van 3 ure en sodoende hul medalje ontvang het.

Baie plaaslike atlete oud en jonk het deelgeneem en soos verneem het almal dit baie geniet en weer eens het almal besef dat dit ‘n baie strawwe wedloop is en Wally Hayward se woorde beaam.

Die eerste mansatleet was Temo Rampuku van Toyota in ‘n goeie tyd van 1:10:16 en is gevolg deur  Andrias Masoeu  van Mr Price   1:12:28  Andries was ook die eerste atleet bo-op die berg.    Derde was Paul Mokwoena  1:14:13.  Die eerste junior man was Mthokozisi Shabalala van DAC  1:17:24, eerste Veterane mansatleet was Simon Segau van Discovery  1:19:59, eerste Meester Friedel van der Merwe van Strand   1:32:20 en eerste Groot Meester Eugene LeGoff van Khosa  1:49:55.

Die  rekordhouer   Myrette Filmalter  van Tuks  het geseëvier in die wedloop in ‘n tyd van 1:30:53 en daarna Mpumelelo Mnyandu van Klipriver Striders wat ook die eerste Junior atleet was in ‘n goeie tyd van 1:39:12.  Ons plaaslike atleet , Bambie de Wet was derde en die eerste veteraan dame in‘n tyd van 1:46:48.   Riekie de Wet van Lewensentrum Alberton is die eerste Meester Dame in ‘n tyd van 2:17:47 en die eerste Groot Meester Dame Marilyn Moore van Breakthru Midrand in ‘n goeie tyd 2:51:36.

‘n Baie talentvolle jong atleet van Harrismith Hoërskool Edward Clark het die wedloop in 1:25:18 voltooi en het sodoende die Skolekompetisie gewen. 

Die skolekompetisie is geborg deur N3TC  om plaaslike skoolkinders  aan te moedig om deel te neem aan atletiek, landloop en padwedlope.

Die Harrismith Marathon Klub wil ‘n algemene bedanking rig aan al die atlete, toeskouers, helpers en borge.  Al die rolspelers stel die Klub in staat, sodat  Harrismith  ‘n gehalte wedloop   vir die afgelope 89 jaar te kon aanbied. – Baie Dankie -

HOOFBORGE

N3TC Toll Con (vir School Challenge)  en  Discovery (Bergwedloop)

WATERPUNTE:

Discovery Life

Entrawood/Entracor

Mortimer Toyota

Old Mutual

Peter James Motors

Time Freight

ANDER:

Nestlé vir Hampers

Maluti-A-Phofung  Munisipaliteit

Jan en Esau

Eddie Clarke en sy span

Nooddienste

Aquellé vir water

JCH   Telecom (Musiektoerusting)

CMW Elite

Robbie en Karen

Eddie Clarke en sy span

Du Toit Neetling

Eugene Marais

ALLE HELPERS

Source: The New Age, September 7, 2011

Lehlohonolo Mokoena

Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality was selected as the best performing municipality with regard to water services in the province.

This was revealed during a media briefing at the municipality’s headquarters in Phuthaditjhaba.

The municipality received two Blue Drop awards for clean drinking water at a water conference held in Cape Town in June.

Setsoto municipality in Ficksburg received one Blue Drop award.

The water systems of Makwane and Harrismith, which provide water to the two municipalities, excelled after each obtained 95% in the 2011 Blue Drop score.

The Maluti-a-Phofung Water executive operation manager, Nico Emmennes, said the quality of water the municipality provided to its residents – including the chemical and microbiological compliance and the monthly reports the municipality submitted to water affairs department – contributed to the municipality being the top water provider in the province.

The chief executive of Maluti-a-Phofung Water, Limpho Letsela, said: “We are determined to keep excelling in the province. We will always ensure we are supplying quality water for the residents of Maluti-a-Phofung.”

provinces@thenewage.co.za

Source: The New Age, September 15, 2011

Getrude Makhafola

The capital Bloemfontein and many other towns in the province are being targeted for renaming in line with government policy of changing names of towns and streets that date from colonial and apartheid-era times.

The provincial government is in the process of changing names of most of its towns, pending completion of public hearings.

The department of sport, arts, culture and recreation’s statutory bodies official, Jeff Mphumela, said yesterday there are already many names proposed for the province’s towns.

He said towns such as Ficksburg, Petrusteyn, Bloemfontein and Odendaalsrus are earmarked for name changes. Other towns that may be considered are Welkom, Bethlehem, Ladybrand and Harrismith.

“A town such as Odendaals rus is turning 100 years old. Ficksburg is also more than 100 years old. These are milestones.

“Next month will see us intensifying public hearings to afford all Free State residents input regarding the name changes,” said Mphumela.

Regarding Bloemfontein, he said there are a couple of names proposed but that Mangaung was the popular one.

Mphumela said: “The name changes also include street names. Some street names will be renamed across the province.”

Meanwhile, MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation, Dan Kgothule, has postponed until further notice public hearings that were supposed to be held in Kroonstad today.

The meeting was expected to discuss a possible name change for Kroonstad and some of its streets.

The public hearings will be held at Seisoville community hall.

getrudem@thenewage.co.za

Enjoy your rest in this peaceful old Victorian-style dwelling built circa
1908 situated against the backdrop of the Platberg Mountain.

This charming old house which has the ambience of a bygone era is delightfully furnished with antiques.

Hospitality at Pumula provides a refreshing comfortable overnight stay and is within walking distance from the town centre.

Office facilities such as Fax, e-mail and internet facilities are on request for the business person or leisure traveller touring the area.

Contact Antjie – 0849510230

28 Stuart Street
Harrismith
9880

Freezing weather grips Harrismith

Heavy snow grips Harrismith, with road closures and a power failure causing a standstill in the town on Tuesday.  The residents did not sit still and built armies of snowmen.  The power supply was restored on Tuesday afternoon.  Below is some of the headlines in leading newspapers on the events in and around Harrismith.

Snow no fun for township dwellers

Harrismith – While Harrismith residents frolicked in snow that blanketed the Free State town overnight, the unusual weather brought hardship for nearby shack dwellers at Intabazwe township.

[Read full article here : News24]

Snow hits SA

The Free State town of Harrismith, a halfway stop between Johannesburg and Durban, was crowded as truck drivers and motorists were brought to a halt.

[Read full article here : Times Live]

Snow on the menu

Snowmen rule in Harrismith

Harrismith – Frosty the Snowman made several appearances at Harrismith’s town centre on Tuesday, as families gathered to create a South African version of the “jolly happy soul”.

[Read full article here : News24]

Karee Avenue, Harrismith

Marooned in the snow

According to the N3 Concession Company, 220km of the N3 were sealed off and motorists were stranded along major routes. All alternative routes through Heidelberg were closed, with emergency services warning drivers to proceed with extreme caution.

[Read full article here : iol.co.za]

Article sourced from carmag.co.za – [Source]

The Great Wall is a series of stone and earthen fortifications stretching from Shanhaiguan in the east of China to Lop Nur in the west. It was built as early as the fifth century BC to protect the Chinese Empire’s northern borders against intrusions by various nomadic groups but, since the unification of its empire, China has been keen on keeping things in rather than out.

This is particularly true of its fledgling auto industry: while China has in recent years become increasingly economically open and democratic, and despite a recent shift in focus to large-scale exports of its home-grown products, China remains wary of venturing beyond its borders. Economic growth remains one of the Chinese government’s top priorities, with the manufacturing base at its core and, since most Chinese automakers are government-owned, very few have established themselves as true multinationals.

Since 2008, CMC Auto has been importing numerous commercial and passenger products from China and its product offerings include a 16- and 15-seater taxi (called the Ses’buyile and Amandla) as well as Plutus pickup. It has 40 dealerships nationwide and a 10 000 m² parts warehouse in Gauteng – carrying spare parts to the value of R50 million. CMC Auto clearly has lofty ambitions, but if this is a bridge too far remains to be seen.

The company plans to break ground in Harrismith before year-end and production should start in 2015. The medium-term goal is to produce 50 000 units of its pickup and taxi products per year in order to qualify for automotive production and development programme incentives. The project should create around 2 500 jobs and will have positive spill-overs for component suppliers and logistic companies in the area.

Of course, there is no reason for a Chinese company to not set up a manufacturing facility in South Africa or anywhere else. While Chinese imports are relatively cheap at the moment, this will probably change with time: the country’s currency is getting stronger and labour costs as well as inflation are on the increase, which will make Chinese products less price competitive over time. Moola suggested that this will see more Chinese companies looking for greener pastures outside its borders.

That said, Moola was quick to point out that this project will remain a South African initiative. “We will utilise Chinese technology in order to acquire the skills and expertise needed, but while we will be producing Chinese-based vehicles, it is our intention to build a South African brand – with South African money. We will use locally-made CMC products as an entry-point into the market.” The company plans to manufacture or source most of the required components locally and, despite not being able to comment in detail on this at the time, are confident at acquiring the necessary funding.

But, there are reasons to be sceptical and prominent industry commentators have been very vocal in the media regarding the project’s feasibility and choice of location – predominantly citing a major stumbling block as being the lack of a feasible market for Chinese vehicles in South Africa.

Surprisingly, Moola agreed but remains upbeat. “We are in the final stages of a feasibility study and all seems positive,” he added. “Yes, the South African market is very limited, but we see great opportunity in the medium- and long-term. We currently operate in north, west and east Africa and Chinese products do very well there, despite the strong challenge of cheap used imports from Japan. We are aware that the current opportunities may be limited, but we have a long-term vision and the market will have changed drastically over five years,” added Moola. “Africa offers great opportunities and the proposed Cape-to-Cairo free trade area, potentially incorporating 26 countries, shows that the potential for growth in Africa is unbelievable.”

Exports form a large part of CMC Auto’s plans as the production of both left- and right-hand-drive vehicles is planned, opening up further opportunities to export to South America. Clearly, Harrismith’s proximity to the Durban harbour helps.

That said, the plant’s intended location in the Free State has been criticised. It is, for a lack of a better description, in the middle of nowhere. But, according to Moola, it’s logical. “Harrismith is located on the busy N3 highway and is almost an equal distance from Durban and Johannesburg. It is close to the borders of several provinces and is located near the middle of the country, which aids distribution and access to suppliers from areas other than Gauteng.”

The town also has an IDZ (industrial development zone) and government is keen to develop the town as a logistics hub in order to alleviate poverty in the area through job creation and investment. An IDZ may offer incentives in order to attract invesments such as this. A massive investment such as this may also alleviate the affect of the proposed new national highway running from Durban to Johannesburg that will bypass the town.

The office of Thabo Makweya, CEO of the Free State Development Corporation (FDC), said that they were “very pleased” with the proposed plans as it will have a major impact on the province’s and town’s economic and social position. According to Moola, negotiations between CMC Auto, the FDC and the Harrismith municipality are ongoing. “We have the ground we need in Harrismith, but negotiations regarding services are still being held.”

Moola also confirmed that the East London IDZ has made a proposal for the production facility to be based in the Eastern Cape. The East London IDZ could only confirm that it is their mandate to try and attract investment opportunities to its municipality.

CMC Auto’s plans are clearly ambitious. If it works, it represents a major shift (and an even bigger first step) for the possibilities of Chinese vehicle manufacturing in South Africa and Africa. If it doesn’t, R7 billion is a pretty large white elephant..