SMSes for Thu 26 Mar 09
* GRN should build storage dams and reservoirs into which floodwaters can be channelled and possibly be redistributed to areas receiving less rain, thus creating jobs for the unemployed and poor.
Food For Thought
* THE Municipality must offer cremation services at an affordable price. Problem solved!
* WHO are the veterans? Who was affected by the liberation struggle? Is it the so-called war veterans or was it the whole nation? My parents never fled the country but were active inside. Please Namibian people, we want a referendum on the matter. Let’s not use that as an excuse to soak money from taxpayers. If it’s education those kids want then they should enrol themselves in schools. Minister and MPs are they also entitled to this money? – Legend
Taxing Times
* I THANK our Government for very good tax relief. I agree with Comrade Madi that Comrade Finance Minister (Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila) must please backdate the tax exemption to August 2008, because many mineworkers were retrenched from that month. The unions are still sleeping or busy positioning themselves for the coming parliamentary elections, because it looks clear that nobody else consulted the Minister on the above issue, apart from our SMSes. – Shavuka
* FIRST the State House, now a new office [for former President Sam Nujoma] worth N$42,3 million. That money could’ve been invested in developing educational institutions. We all pay tax. Don’t we have a right to decide on how our money will be spent? Follow (Nelson) Mandela’s examples and not (President Robert) Mugabe’s. Finance Minister, who drew up the Budget?
* NDF: The nation needs to be well taught about the defence [ministry]. Defence is eliminating unemployment in Namibia. Imagine this year we got 1 300 recruits at Osona, 1 250 at Oluno and 1 300 at Oshivelo (ABS). Who are you to condemn the defence budget?
Politics
* BAN party colours from national events.
* WHY must we wear a certain political party’s colours almost every 21st of March? – Dockiezt
* THIS is indeed a free Namibia, nobody is stopping opposition party members from wearing their party colours on Independence Day, feel free and leave Swapo alone. – Amy
An Odd Choice
* DEFENDING Sackey Namugongo’s broadcasting over Independence Day celebrations is myopic. Should a pastor with rape allegations against him continue to deliver sermons until proven guilty in a competent court of law? What a nation are we moulding and what a shame!
* PLEASE leave Namugongo alone, he is also one of the freedom fighters. His pending case has nothing to do with performing his duties. Let the court decide not you.
* THERE is nothing wrong with the NBC inviting S Namugongo to present? Fine, as long as they could do the same with B Kandetu, G Munyama or J Nyamu. Politics of the belly?
Office Space
* CAN I please get clarity on the office of the Founding Father. With all due respect to the Founding Father, I hope not to offend anyone but since death is a natural cause and the father passes on, who will occupy the office and what will the office be for? My apology if I sound offensive.
Running The Show
* THERE is are saying that ‘a country without tradition and culture is doomed to failure’. Our traditional authorities are doing outstanding work. Why doesn’t the Government set up a house of traditional authorities to debate issues on tradition and culture? So that traditional leaders, who are in Parliament, can sit in the (HOTA) instead of the Parliament. Thanks.
General
* NAMCOR made huge losses with the Afronet – Glencor oil contract last year, now they want a GRN bailout after renewing the same contract? They should be joking.
* EVERY civil servant should qualify for his or her own housing subsidy (on one house) as a fringe benefit all civil servants are entitled to individually because everyone works individually for the state. Everyone has his/her own pension which serves as collateral. Why is a subsidy given to only one of the spouses in cases of those married in community of property? This is utter discrimination! Why do two directors married in community of property each receive an exorbitant housing allowance? Why does this not apply to the “other” housing allowance (rent)? LAC please test the legality of this in court.
* MORNING Namibia. I just want to ask please what is the speed limit for the GRN cars on the national roads. – Surely the same as for the rest of Namibia except possibly in the case of an emergency. – Newsdesk
Bouquets And Brickbats
* PEOPLE like (Erkki) Nghimtina, (Pendukeni) Iivula, (Hage) Geingob should learn from Minister Alpheus Naruseb and Prime Minister Nahas Agula for their uniting speeches on Independence Day. Some politicians can hardly distinguish between what to say at a national day and political rally. – Ue2
* I’M happy to see The Namibian is giving back to the community in the form of the Newspaper Cup. However what I fail to understand is that out of a million, the winners only get N$16 500. Less than N$50 000 altogether for all money prizes. In the future, I’d like to see prizes like N$5 000 for each player of the winning team. It will raise the competitive level of the tournament. – This sponsorship is not just about prize money. The bulk of the costs of the near N$1 million this tournament costs us, goes towards the travel, food and accommodation costs for the players and officials who come from all the various regions. The intention is also to develop soccer at grassroots levels and the teams from those regions can also approach their local business community to help sponsor kit etc. – Ed
* I’M still looking for your article on the Dalai Lama on page 3? But it looks as if our Oriental friends have a lot of influence in South Africa as well. Payback time for those poorly made AK-47s? – Ouch! Sorry, sorry, sorry. Our bad. The article was, of course, on the international pages. We slipped up in not changing the referring page number. Thanks for helping keep us on our toes. – News Editor
MVA
* MVA PAYOUT: It’s amazing to see how much the MVA fund was willing to fork out for the Belgians involved in Harry Simon’s collision. Does that mean the lives of the many Namibians who’ve died on our roads and those who have been injured do not have as much value? No one in Namibia has ever received that kind of payout. Why then do we pay the fuel levy if the money is pocketed by tourists and MVA management alone. Is it a case of all lives are equal but some more equal than others? – Disgusted citizen – Apparently the amounts paid out are related to the income earned by the victims. – Newsdesk
* HOW can MVA pay out millions to the European accident victims while Namibians who suffer similarly are paid peanuts? Can MVA please clarify this difference?
Service Please
* WHO do we turn to if mechanics don’t do the job they are paid for? Is there not a regulatory body to complain to?
ACC Alert
* AWARDING a tender of millions to renovate Natis to a company with (allegedly) no experience and only a cellphone needs ACC to investigate.
* ACC investigate unfair recruitment and nepotism in the City Police. Two weeks ago they recruited 15 new members without advertising the posts to the public and only when it comes to promotion, only a certain group is considered.
Education
* POLYTECHNIC library toilets are unhygienic, dirty, leak and do not flush. There is no order in their library too, students are always too noisy, using their cell phones disturbing when you want to study or to read. The library staff do not keep order, they just ignore things. We are part-time students and paying a lot of money and cannot waste our time or money when we want to use the library facilities. Need proper service please. – Concerned student
* THE GRN must also consider the vocational training graduates. We need at least a government maintenance workshop in each region and at some big GRN institutions e.g. hospitals, educational institutions. The workshop must have a builder, a refrigeration and aircon technician for cooling systems, a plumber for sewage systems etc, an auto mechanic too. Most of the graduates are just at home. Why? Teachers and nurses are mostly considered. Imagine a diploma holder catching fish in an oshana but the mortuary, toilets and boiler at the hospital have not been working for almost a year. – Ndaloloka.
In And From the Regions
* HOW can that person say that elephants should petition the GRN to reduce the number of people. Are you the one building houses for us so that we can stay in town? What do you give us in order for us to move. Don’t just think of yourself. – LB
* THE Ministers of Trade and Finance should consider making Oshikango a free commercial zone.
* OKAHANDJA Municipality. We are tired of certain drunk electricians on standby.
* MR Erastus Negonga should come to Ondangwa and see that all flooded houses were built in oshanas with approval from the town council. Even the newly serviced plots where NHE has to build houses is in oshanas and currently flooded. So he must get his facts straight. – HD
Advertising
* I FULLY agree with the person who wrote the SMS about the advert on Radio Wave. The ad shamelessly promotes drinking and driving! On the same note, the same radio station also runs a couple of others which, in my opinion, are insulting towards Afrikaners. Radio Wave, we are not all hillbillies or stupid. – Theo
* I’M not happy with the condom (Cool Ryder) advertisement on our local television NBC. NBC never considered that the Cool Ryder advert can have a negative impact on children, they are only concerned about the amount of money they can get from the company making these so-called cool condoms. NBC in case you have forgotten our little sisters and brothers do watch your TV. Mr/Mrs NBC director what will you tell your eight-year-old kid when you are watching TV and the Cool condom advert comes on TV and he/she asks you ‘Dad/Mom can I also try the Cool Ryder condom’? – Unhappy NBC Viewer
Health Matters
* TO the Ministry of Health and Social Services, I want to hear from the MoHSS is it fair to reveal people’s diseases on the doctor’s sick leave paper, as Meatco is (allegedly) demanding. – Ndaloloka.
Sporting
* COACH (Tom) Saintfiet please get real and select players on how they recently performed at their clubs. Most of the players you select are not even fixtures in the teams especially the South African-based players. Why is Michael Pienaar not even given a call-up?