WATCH: For GOGOz, the gloves are on COSMO CITY – Age is nothing but a number for these grannies.

Clara Nose (65) lands every punch to show that senior citizens are as active as everyone else.
Over the past four years, Claude Maphosa has been keeping grannies in the north of Johannesburg fit through boxing.

Maphosa, who has established himself as a bodybuilder, started hosting bodybuilding contests in the townships of Johannesburg. When he held a contest in Cosmo City, he realised there wasn’t a gym or fitness centre in the area. Maphosa decided to take the initiative and opened up a gym in Cosmo City.


He said even though the programme had become successful, the gym did face certain challenges. The first was that of transport. “As active as these ladies are they still struggle to move to and from the gym, it would be helpful if we could provide transport for them,” he said. Maphosa does provide transport for those that he can assist.

Another challenge was maintaining and supplying boxing equipment. “We have over 30 grannies and I need to ensure that they have a set of gloves and equipment that they can all use at the same time.” He added that he did not want a situation where he had to turn away grannies that were interested in signing up because he could not accommodate them.

“I would love to expand this programme to other townships so grannies all over Johannesburg can get fit, healthy and active.” He is planning to host a gogo’s boot camp in October where senior citizens will compete in a boxing showcase and businesses will get involved in sponsoring prizes. Maphosa said all proceeds from the event would go towards buying boxing gloves.

He is appealing for help to grow this initiative and make it sustainable.

Details: Claude Maphosa 082 395 5115, info@ateamfoundation.co.za

 Before the punching and ducking begin, the gogos of Cosmo City begin their morning with a warm- up session.

 Gladys Ngwenya (68)is still active enough to dodge anything her trainer throws her way

 Gladys Ngwenya (68), gives her all during her morning boxing workout session.

 Clara Nose (65), shows that the boxing programme is a full body workout as she performs an abdominal exercise.

 Mabel Mokgosi (66) is still as energetic as ever as she spars with her trainer

The gogos of Cosmo City do boxing to keep active, healthy and fit.

Mzansi’s youngest club DJ, Oratilwe Hlongwane, best known as DJ Arch Jr has broken the Guinness World Record

Mzansi’s youngest club DJ, Oratilwe Hlongwane, best known as DJ Arch Jr has broken the Guinness World Record by becoming the youngest club DJ in the world. The five-year old DJ sensation was officially inducted into the record books on Wednesday, September 13, after successfully beating Japanese six-year-old Itsuki Morita’s record. The young DJ performed his record-breaking one hour-long set on June 10, after his father Glen Hlongwane managed to sneak the youngster into the Platinum Lounge in Cosmo City. This was DJ Arch Jr's third attempt. His first attempt was two years ago when the young boy wasn’t able to concentrate long enough to complete the hour. #DuduzanesFather His second attempt wasn’t recognised by the global world records body because his set was performed at a stadium and not in a club or a bar. Arch Jr was crowned SA’s Got Talent winner in 2015. He's a resident deejay for the Mc Donald’s U/14 Schools Soccer League, and has performed at the SAFTA’s (South African Film Awards) and AFRIMA’s (All Africa Music Awards) in Nigeria.

Watch Mzansi's 5 year old DJ Arch Jr breaks Guinness World Record

JHB west cluster police charged with fitness COSMO CITY – Douglasdale were the strongest and fittest members in tug of war.

Officers from Douglasdale, Honeydew and Linden performs squats with heavy weights in tow. 

The Johannesburg West Police Cluster members held an employee’s health and wellness day at Cosmo City multi-purpose hall led by the Cluster Commander General Theko Johannes Pharasi.

On 9 September, the Polmed medical scheme offered an opportunity to members to test their blood pressure, sugar levels, HIV status cholesterol and other related illnesses.

Police offers lunge out on crime. 

The day started with aerobics whereby members were taken through their paces by the instructors from the Gym Company. Leading by example was the general himself, showing chest out and stomach in.

There were also other activities arranged for the day which included a potjiekos competition, tug of war and soccer.

Linden Police Station members came first for cooking delicious potjiekos.

Johannesburg West cluster police stretch out before they start their exercise.

 Douglasdale Police Station snagged the win for the strongest and fittest members in tug of war. It was Honeydew who came out victorious for their dribbling and scoring skills in the soccer match, beating Douglasdale in the finals by a penalty shootout.

Douglasdale police won the fittest and strongest group for tug of war. 

Passengers climb out of taxi after it rolls - COSMO CITY

Paramedics treat patients after a taxi rolled near Cosmo City. 

Paramedics arrived after the occupants had already climbed out of the taxi.

A taxi accident left at least nine people injured this morning, 11 September, when the vehicle rolled on Malibongwe Drive near South Africa Drive in Cosmo City.

According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, ER24 paramedics, along with other services, arrived on the scene at approximately 8.15am, to find the taxi on the centre median.

“The occupants had already climbed out of the vehicle and were found walking around on the scene. Paramedics assessed the patients and found that they had all sustained minor injuries,” he said.


He added that the patients were treated for their injuries and were thereafter transported by various services to nearby provincial hospitals for further treatment.

The details surrounding this incident are unknown but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.

Gautrain - Improved public transport set to boost commercial activities and escalate Property Values (COSMOCITY)

According to the Gautrain Management Agency, it is planning to extend the rail route by 150 kilometres over the next twenty years, including routes through Randburg, Fourways and Soweto. A proposed new line will connect Mamelodi (Irene) with the current network, branching off from Sandton, Randburg, Cosmo City, the Cradle of Human Kind and Lanseria.

Pretoria’s Bus Rapid Transport System – A Re Yeng – which was introduced in 2014 – has also done much to improve transport in and around Tshwane. Dos Reis Marques notes that a number of businesses have opened along the bus routes as accessibility improved.

Don’t overestimate your property value

“While the new property developments and the proposed improvement of public transport will likely have a good impact on property prices in Gauteng in the long run, we’re finding that sellers are assuming that buyers will pay unrealistic prices for homes”, says dos Reis Marques, “Buyers are very savvy and a house that’s not priced properly won’t sell. My advice to sellers remains to ask the advice of a qualified estate agent in terms of getting a realistic valuation.”

Dos Reis Marques also advises first time buyers to get pre-approval for a home loan before house hunting; “Knowing what you can afford, and importantly how much a bank is willing to loan you, will save a lot of time when it comes to buying your first property – there’s no point in making an offer on a property you can’t possibly afford. So do your homework before you start doing the legwork.”

COSMO CITY DONATIONS Stem from Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge spares time to help the less fortunate

RANDPARK RIDGE – The school recently took part in the annual Mandela Day when they packed lunches, made soup and delivered those and beanies to children in need.

Trinityhouse Preparatory Randpark Ridge grate vegetables as their bit for Nelson Mandela Day. 

Trinityhouse Preparatory and High School Randpark Ridge  took part in their annual 67 Minutes for Mandela Day initiatives.
The preparatory school participated in a soup-making initiative during which the youngsters washed, peeled and grated various vegetables. Once grated and collected, the vegetables were taken home by a number of generous parents who cooked the vegetables into a delicious soup.

Marketing officer, Robyn Aingworth, said Sunbake donated 100 loaves of bread which were added to the 100 loaves donated by the school. “During assembly on 28 July, Trinityhouse Preparatory handed over 600 litres of vegetable soup and 200 loaves of bread to Kids Haven,” said Aingworth.

She added that the high school supported Mandela Day as they collected lunch packs and beanies. The lunch packs were prepared by the students and packed during school. Aingworth explained that 1 368 lunch packs and 633 beanies were donated to 17 different schools in Zandspruit, Kya Sands, Cosmo City and Soweto.

Trinityhouse Preparatory classes grate some vegetables.

“A number of teachers and students dropped off the items at the various schools and were welcomed with big smiles and many hugs.”

Aingworth concluded that it was great to see all the children, staff and parents supporting Mandela Day and made a difference in the community.

COSMO CITY - Police response and patrol mayhem Honeydew CPF Sector 2 appeals for prioritisation as the suburb remains high in the crime stats.

Honeydew CPF Sector 2 manager Sergeant Nicholas Makhura said residential crimes have peaked, according to police stats.

The shortage of patrol vehicles and manpower at the Honeydew Police Station has been labelled as the main cause of the sky-rocketing criminal activities in the police precinct.

The station came under fire after the residents complained that they wait long hours for a response vehicle to attend to their complaints.

An informant from the Sasol garage near Clearwater Mall, where a Mercedes-Benz was hijacked on 19 July, told the Northsider that the victim had to wait five hours for a police vehicle to get to the scene. Fortunately, the vehicle was recovered hours later in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg, after the victim’s tracking company detected its whereabouts.

Read article here: Man watches robbers drive away in his Mercedes Benz

The issue of insufficient resources was tackled at a Honeydew Community Policing Forum (CPF) Sector 2 meeting on 28 July, where members pleaded for support from the police. Areas such as Weltevreden Park and Randpark Ridge required prioritisation as these areas have been subjected to constant house-breakings and dog-poisoning incidents.

Sergeant Nicholas Makhura, the Honeydew Sector 2 manager, again indicated that the area still had a serious problem with residential robberies.

He said house robberies topped the charts in the whole station this month. “House and business robberies were the biggest contributors to the crime rate this month, compared to the same period last year,” said Makhura.

CPF Sector 2 acting chairman, Neville Burnett, criticised the police for only utilising its resources in Cosmo City. “I believe the station is not giving us what we need. This is not on! We are not getting the support that we need. We got to put our foot down. We can’t carry on like this, crime has increased,” he complained.

He added that this matter should be addressed with the station commander.

The lack of police vehicles also created a problem for security personnel, who stated that police response time is poor and they take too long to trace number plates.

Honeydew Police spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan, responded to the issues. Muthan indicated that some areas in the sector are bigger than others. “People need to understand that the Honeydew police precinct is a very big area which also polices Zandspruit and Cosmo City. The area has six sectors and each sector has two vehicles for patrols.”

He also reflected on how police operate. He said police attend to all complaints; however, there will be times where members prioritise according to the incidents. “A theft that has already occurred will not be as serious as a theft or robbery in progress.

Also, don’t expect that as you put down your telephone, you will have a police van at your doorstep,” Muthan explained.
Muthan further explained that police are taken to task if they fail in their duties. “Our reaction times are monitored on a daily basis, and if a reaction is not within the go period, then the commander or driver is held responsible,” he concluded.

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