SMSes for Wednesday 26 Nov 08
* ARE we going to reach the year 2030? I don’t really think so. Our elders really do scare me. What is this conflict and stuff all about? I thought the political parties are there to join hands and face all problems in our country, but no, they are busy planning a war like in Congo. Swapo, RDP, I’m so disappointed in you! You are elders, you have to be an example to us as young Namibians. Who do I have to look up to? I’m only 22 and the future is just turning black on my side. I thought we were living in a peaceful country. The same crisis as in Zimbabwe is about to hit us and there’s going to be a war like in Congo. So, there’s no reason to send troops to the DRC! Swapo, RDP members, please unite and be our heroes!! And let me reach my targets in life and let my dreams become a reality! Peace for all Namibians. – Yvonne
Food For Thought
* DEAR leaders, please do something before there is bloodshed in our peaceful country about what your followers are doing. Namibia is a democratic society in case we’ve forgotten. The messages that you send out as leaders when speaking at Swapo rallies might be the contributing factors to this kind of behaviour amongst the members. I’m referring to what happened at Outapi in the Omusati Region and at Greenwell Matongo area in Windhoek where Swapo supporters attacked the opposition parties. The positive messages sent out will have a positive effect on us as followers. Let’s not bad-mouth the opposition and see them as a threat but rather as contenders in a political race. Let’s practise what we are preaching. We do have one thing in common, to strive for a better life for all Namibians, to make Vision 2030 a reality and not eliminating each other from this society with these unnecessary attacks. Let’s make Namibia a better place to live in. – Pizzi
Politics
* [FORMER President Nelson] Mandela once said that the world is not hungry for words but action! I hope our Safety and Security Minister will read this and stop singing about our problems and start putting actions to bring change, because he can’t tour the whole year without anything on the table!
* WHAT Swapo supporters did to RDP in Omusati is foolishness. Namibia is not a one-party state. Please people let’s educate our (members) people. – Concerned woman
* INCIDENTS of political violence are escalating in Namibia. President Pohamba please address the nation before it is too late. We don’t want war! War is costly.
* THE Police must arrest the lawless people who disturbed the RDP rally in Omusati. These are enemies of peace and must face the full force of the law. They are known.
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* MR Jerry Ekandjo you came up with stiffer sentences for people who assault a Policeman in uniform. Now will these people who attacked the Police officers in line of duty be judged?
* HOW would one expect good from [Elijah] Ngurare if he is busy confusing the nation by backing up what the Swapo supporters did to RDP supporters at Outapi. I wonder even who chose him for the Swapo think tank. – KW
* COMRADE Ngurare what would you do when your kids fight against your neighbour’s kids? Do you congratulate them or encourage them to do so? I trusted you in that position Swapo Youth League secretary so demonstrate the true colours of the party rather than be unrealistic.
* I WAS listening to National Radio, the phone-in programme on November 24. A Swapo youth leader was congratulating their members for disrupting the RDP meeting at Outapi. People were beaten up, cars were damaged, Police were insulted and tribal words were used such as “Kwanyamas go back to Angola”. Somebody elected to lead our youth is the one condoning such undemocratic behaviour. He is not even afraid to go on air and say what he said. Swapo leadership we feel unsafe under your leadership. Please call this youth leader to order. He is instigating war, hatred and tribalism. Any peace-loving Namibian is supposed to condemn this leader’s behaviour. Please we do love our country. Tate Pohamba when are you going to protect the nation?
* FELLOW Namibians, our beloved country is on its way to becoming a second Zimbabwe. Look at what happened during the weekend in Outapi and Windhoek. What happened to freedom of association which is guaranteed in our precious constitution? Please Father of the Nation, intervene without delay. Thanks.– AK, Mariental
* PRESIDENT Pohamba, your deafening silence on Swapo violence against fellow Namibians in contravention of our Constitution confirms your bondage to a higher controller, as all of us citizens know you to be a peace-loving man, who inherently abhors such despicable acts of intimidation and violence.
* AS an ex-pat currently living in Namibia, I have been dismayed by the lack of tolerance shown towards other political parties by Swapo supporters and its leadership. Democracy stands for many things including political freedom and the right of opinion. Swapo should respect all opposition parties for being part of the democratic process they and all Namibians so bravely fought for.
* I’M a full Swapo supporter and I will always be! But I’m very disappointed with my fellow supporters in the way they are conducting themselves. Leave RDP to hold their rallies and when elections come we show them that we are here to stay!
* I HOPE President Pohamba has listened to the issue that he is not welcome in the Omusati Region. President, I think your Swapo supporters are panicking and these actions may boil to tribal hatred. Please President, protect every member of the society irrespective of their political affiliations.
* I AM a proud Swapo supporter, but I condemn what these hardline members are doing by disrupting RDP rallies! Let them have their rallies! We will show them once elections come, peacefully!
* SWAPO members must stop violence against the new parties please. You people from Omusati Region take an example from Ohangwena Region people at Eenhana that won the election over RDP but there was no violence.
* WHY is President Pohamba so quiet while the citizens are at one another’s throats? Is he waiting to see corpses before he condemns the provocations by members of the party he leads?
* PRESIDENT of Swapo and the entire leadership shall be held accountable for any life lost due to you condoning the violence by your supporters!
* SWAPO why are you so threatened by RDP? I thought you were the mighty one. Shame on you. We the youth of Namibia have lost trust in you.
* I AM very disappointed about what transpired at Outapi. Confrontation and intimidation will lead to the destruction of our beloved country. Our leaders please wake up before is too late.
* PEOPLE of Namibia! Let us be sure of what we are doing but not just to please our bosses by doing and saying all the possible uniformed things and utterances. Tribalism is very destructive. It may appear to be funny to those who never travelled out of the country to go witness the ordeals other nations are going through.
Seals And Surfers
* WHAT’S the big deal if a seal attacks two people? Thousands of seals are killed annually in a brutal manner, so it’s only fair that the seals get their revenge. Now everyone knows how those poor seals feel.
– Alton Tsowaseb
* WISH it was a seal culler attacked by a seal! Leave the seals alone!
General
* CERTAIN immigration officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs are making the Zimbabwe nationals pay them in exchange for extension of days in their passports. The targets are at Spar in Khomasdal, Pick & Pay in ’Tura and Wernhil in town. ACC please help, this situation might lead to things bigger than corruption.
* CITY of Windhoek Health Department please visit Horse Shoe Market (Outala vaLibertena at Single Quarters). They prepare food but some of these “kioski” are very, very dirty. Even toilets need renovation.
* MINISTER of Finance, Honourable (Saara) Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, I appeal to you to look at the matter of charging interest on under-taxed employees. The error was done by the Revenue Department but the taxpayer ends up paying 20 per cent interest. Why penalise an innocent taxpayer? Please help us.
* DEAR Katutura Police Station Commander, Madam could you send officers to patrol Selina Haitembu Street in Oshetu/SQ. Botsotsos sit along the street and study residents’ movements. A man was assaulted and robbed by these thugs recently.
* SHEBEENS should be closed on Sundays, like bottle stores. Please.
Bouquets And Brickbats
* THANK you Unam for sending conditional admittance letters early. This will give parents adequate time to seek funds for their prospective student children.
– Twapewa, Okahao
* I AM a Windhoek resident, driving to the North every three weeks. Driving through the town of Otjiwarongo gives me hope for the future. One can see development, progress and excellent administration of the town. We must give credit where it is due. Other towns must go and learn from Otjiwarongo. Well done, and keep your main street a centre of attraction!
* OTHER hospitals and clinics must take an example from Robert Mugabe Clinic (in Windhoek). There nurses know how to handle patients. Keep it up!
* JUST want to thank you guys for still telling it like it is. Keep up the hard work.
– Wimpie.
Communications Bill
* I SUPPORT the Communications Bill! If one has nothing to hide, why the fear? It is the State’s responsibility to protect its citizens, and that includes proactively doing so! Info must just be used with great confidentiality.
– Liberal
* THE reason why the new Communications Bill has now been delayed for 10 years is largely because of the securocrats’ meddling in its drafting. But we have had a Surveillance Act since the mid-90s [pushed through Parliament by Hage Geingob] that requires a legal order by a judge. At the same time, we have no law governing the Internet in Namibia, which means the NCIS spooks can hack our e-mail without restraint, as long as they use an outside “sub-contractor.” Why not just amend the Surveillance Act? Or is this just an under-handed attempt to stop the new Comms Bill and thereby protect Swapo’s vested interests in e.g. MNET Namibia? Please explain this to us, Hage [Geingob], Uutoni [Nujoma], Pendukeni [Ithana], et al!
Education
* CAN the Ministry of Education please tell us when the Government schools are to close for the learners?
* I’M 18 years old, studying Pre-Med at Unam without a bursary. What is going to encourage me to vote in 2009? Are we really the future leaders of Namibia? Please give us bursaries.
* AS a teacher I urge the Ministry of Education and Institute of Pension Funds to sign an agreement so that loan holders can pay off their loans quickly with the money from their pension. Students from poor families are struggling in tertiary education, when the Ministry doesn’t pay on time or not give loans. I have raised this issue but nobody cares.
In And From The Regions
* MINISTER of Education are you aware that some teachers from Kavango Region did not get paid this month? What will happen to our December salaries as schools are closing next week? We did not pay our accounts this month and our policies are pending.
– Unhappy Teacher.
* WE people of Musanga area are left behind when we mean development in Caprivi. We are also part of Namibia. We don’t have electricity but we are near town and also we have network problem. People higher up must do something. We also have a problem with a road, they should give us even a gravel road. Please