* MR Joel Kaapanda doesn't understand why such a big deal is made about the Chinese vessel. That's one very uninformed Minister of Information! Could somebody enlighten Mr Kaapanda on the current situation in Zimbabwe?

* BUSINESSWOMAN off to Zimbabwe! Who will host our First Lady? The women of Zimbabwe need help to feed their families and make sure they can survive another day while Mugabe has arms sent to Zimbabwe from China.

* CAN anyone who is fearless, has strong willpower and voice get up and speak for us poor Namibians, who are oppressed by our own selfish leaders, who we voted for because we thought they were fighting for freedom, but were instead fighting for self-enrichment. We need a leader, thousands will follow. - Lady Ann

Food for thought

* HAVE you lately called Air Namibia's reservations section? Well don't bother to waste your time as the phone has not been answered for weeks now. It doesn't take much to figure why they're not in business. Too bad our hard-earned tax money gets wasted to bail them out all the time.

* AFTER learning the hard way from Ramatex, it's high time for Government to introduce legislation concerning skills development, Black Economic Empowerment, Preferential Procurement Policy etc. The introduction of such initiatives will ensure we are trained and economically empowered through shared ownership. We should also guard against only enriching the elite class.

* IS there a link between sea encroachment and sand mining in the Swakop river that is obstructing the river's flow to reach the sea and with the huge amount of sand that washes up on beaches north of the river mouth?

Zim impasse

* AFRICAN leaders must know that there is no difference between a repressive black government and a repressive white government. We as Africans must not keep quiet, as it could be Zimbabwe today and Namibia tomorrow. Members of opposition parties must stand up and show solidarity and tell and show to the whole that we are with the people of Zimbabwe.

* THERE are probably many countries whose populations have divided views on the Zimbabwe issue, particularly in Africa. Do the leaders fear chaos in their own countries, hence the reason for being diplomatic with the problem?

* SEEING that African leaders are in denial about what's happening in Zimbabwe, it is up to us the African people to do something.

* THE whole Zimbabwe arms ship brings out the truth about the apparent sanctions against Zimbabwe. There are no sanctions against Zimbabwe. There is a travel ban against Zimbabwe's top leaders. If there were sanctions, an arms embargo would have been in place. Will our leaders now please stop lying to us?

* IT'S a shame for Mugabe's regime. They have money to buy weapons, while the people are suffering from hunger and poverty. - Meno

* FUNNY that the Swapo Government does not have a clear stand with regard to the crisis in Zimbabwe. Remember 2009 is election time and the decision lies with the voters.

* MUGABE is busy making himself look despotic and desperate. Imagine how much local and international respect he would have gained had he stepped aside gracefully! But now? I hope all Namibian leaders are taking a leaf from the Mugabe experience about what not to do!

* OH, how predictable we are sometimes. When I heard news reports that a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe was barred from offloading in SA, I knew it was heading for Namibia. If the weapons are offloaded at Walvis Bay, we will know why the Government has not made its voice heard on the crisis in Zimbabwe. But we the ordinary citizens should not support this.

* AFRICAN brothers and sisters, to allow the Chinese arms to be off-loaded at your ports would be a shame! It would be like giving a knife to one boxer in the ring only, while the other boxer has to fight with his bare hands.

* CAN a Zimbabwean who was deprived of his/her rights of decent shelter forget easily how Mugabe destroyed their homes for them to vote for him again? Children, women and the elderly suffered the heavy rains and cold. Does Mugabe still vividly remember the Bulawayo atrocities? Moreover no food, roads, hospitals, fuel, electricity, communication and he still insists he wants to move forward in destroying the country. The world will wake up one day from its slumber and see the truth that in Zimbabwe there is a living dinosaur.

* HOW can a senior minister ask such a silly question about the Chinese ship loaded with arms to a country where the rule of law does not exist? If the Honourable Minister did not have an answer to the question, a "no comment" would have done the trick.

From the regions

* TSANDI hospital management please do something about the long grass growing around hospital premises. Mosquitoes breed in this grass and the patients are the ones suffering.

* WHOEVER badmouthed the Otavi Village Council, can you prove that the council is controlled by the CEO? Stop the cheap politics!

* WHEN are we going to have a tarred road between Okahandja and Okondjatu? Governor of Otjozondjupa region please do something. - Elice

Education

* DISCRIMINATION! Oshikwanyama language is forbidden to be taught at schools in the Erongo Region. I am so worried about this development. My child learnt Oshikwanyama from Grade 1 to 5, but from next term Oshikwanyama will be replace by Oshindonga. It is a big threat at Vrede Rede Primary School at Swakopmund. Oshikwanyama is also a Namibian language, why replace it with another local language? Currently, the school has 164 Oshikwanyama learners as opposed to only 28 enrolments for Oshindonga.

* THIS story of under-qualified teachers reminds me of the book 'Animal Farm'. They have laboured their whole life, now they will be dumped. Who do you think will employ them?

* WHY is the Ministry of Education punishing newly recruited teachers? They had been without salaries for two to three months since their appointments at the beginning of the year and they again had to go without any pay for the April holidays.

* UDJOMBALA Junior Secondary School teachers are you aware that the parents go through our children's books. The Grade 10 Physical Science pupils never receive any exercise in the first term and did not even write a test in the first three months of the year. Just be aware that we are monitoring you.

* IOL please improve your service! Maths students spent more than three hours in the exam hall given only page 1 of the five-page question paper with pages 2, 3, 4, 5 only arriving after three hours, while the candidates were already deep into their exams. Did it happen to all centres or just at Mweshipandeka?

Politics in general

* NSHR is not a political party and it will never be. NSHR only wants democracy in this country, which many people don't understand what it means to be in a democratic country.

* PLEASE Mr President of UDF when will you hold the congress? Our people are walking away to other parties. You can even call an AGM. I am next in the queue to join another party, please hurry up.

* I WONDER whether our former President really retired from both posts of party and country President, because wherever the current President goes, Tate Sam Nujoma is there too and both deliver speeches! Is it not better for him to be called an assistant president?

* THE so-called RDP member, can you leave NSHR alone. If you are truly an RDP member you must be proud to have an organisation that cares about the people's rights. Let's all promote democracy in our country. - Letty

* NSHR personnel, be happy when some individuals in Swapo Party and RDP are feeling your presence. You are doing a great job for this country and its people! Some Swapos are complaining that you 'have hidden cameras' around their rallies while RDPs are crying foul that you 'are associating with' their party. You don't need their permission. They can go hang! This is a democratic country. The human rights watchdog was here before these political parties were democratically formed.

General

* WE the young soldiers in military camps are sick and tired of sharing our sleeping quarters with old soldiers, who don't want to maintain hygiene in the barracks. The guilty parties are especially those who use snuff, drink mbike, smoke, have smelly feet and clothes. Why can't they separate young from old when it comes to our sleeping quarters?

* TO Mr President: Why did you put NDF generals' salary packages on par with international standards and forget the lowly paid foot soldiers? Are they not important to you or do you regard them as useless and worth only the pitiful salaries. Are you happy seeing your soldiers running to cash loans?

* GRN has really failed to distribute wealth equitably, create jobs and to allocate funds for empowerment projects.

* ONE is not guilty until proven so by a competent court. My question is why the Inspector General of the Police sees and proves his officers' guilt before declared so by a court? Members with pending cases are not considered for promotion. It does not matter what type or merit of allegation. This leaves most field members such as detectives, members in charge office and those in day-to-day crime prevention units most vulnerable, as they can easily pick up cases against them due to the environment in which they operate.

* THE manager of Spar Hochlandpark should tell us the criteria on who qualifies for paying by cheque and who not. I went to do shopping at there, but did not have cash on me nor my debit card and wanted to pay by cheque. The till attendant notified me that payment by cheque is granted at the manager's discretion. Just by looking at my face, the manager decided that they were not going to accept my cheque. I believe their process is non-transparent.

* CAN somebody tell me how long one has to work as a contract worker in a company? NamPost is a big company, but it makes people work for more than four to five years as a temporary worker in this independent country. How's that possible?

* WHY does a former announcer of the NBC Damara-Nama service get preferential treatment? Every time a relative of hers dies, she is allowed to invade the studio, personally making announcements. But, other persons and groups are prohibited from adding personal flavour to their written notices.

* THERE you have it, Namibia is already out of the 2010 World Cup football without kicking a ball - thanks to Barry Rukoro.

* WE don't hear anything about the improvement of salaries for civil servants. Mr Peter Nevonga, for the past two years we are telling you the same things at the hospital meetings but nothing is done. Please check the re-grading of all categories, not only accountants and HRM staff. People are resigning because of this. It's really unfair.

* A NAMPORT advert, which appeared in the local media with a note that "no faxed or electronic mail applications will be accepted" refers. Please advise NamPort not to show us openly that they do not want new blood. This is open discrimination and should be condemned. We are living in an electronic age and to place such a note is to pour water in one's face.

* CITY of Windhoek please rename Robert Mugabe and Laurent Kabila streets. The two don't have any admirable qualities to have streets named after them.

Letters Of The Last 48 Hours

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