SMSes for Tuesday 17 August 2010
* DR (Hage) Geingob’s speech about China should be interpreted as realism that Namibia is part of the global village and that we have no choice but to partake in the world using trade relations. China is one of the countries that will have its viable presence on the world stage so we should not discount China but ensure that both Namibia and China benefit through concerted trade relations. – Economist
Food for Thought
* THE solution for the head-on collisions on the road between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja as well as the Grootfontain and Rundu road is that the Goverment must please construct a separate road between these towns so that the cars, which are travelling in one direction, may be able to overtake the car in front without fearing another car coming from the opposite direction on the same road. Please help to save lives!!
Bouquets and Brickbats
* NDESHI & Jakes of Friday shows how women mentally abuse men. But men do it physically and what causes this?
* NAMIBIAN farmers received N$160 million above the normal meat price as a bonus from Meatco. As a result of this poor management workers are forced to stop working; stay at home; some without pay and others with 2/3 of their monthly pay. We Namibian workers earning N$2 000 a month are being punished for the management style of South Africans employed by Meatco.
On the March
* MR Dick from Ondangwa, this demo is serious and not a joke as you think. Give me any case of equal value to this one in Namibia’s judicial history. Wake up, you seem to know little or are pretending mukwetu.
– Kanam’lo
* THE action of the Police Commissioner in Ohangwena Region is in conflict with the Namibian Constitution by preventing a peaceful march on the delay of the election results judgement of the Supreme Court.
* RDP! You did not want to accept the election results and ran to court. Now what’s your problem? Why do you protest now? Let the law now take its course. Isn’t that what you asked for ‘democrats’?
In and From the Regions
* HOW different are the following regions from the pre-colonial African states and the colonial homelands: Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshana, Kavango and Caprivi. In the North, South Africa only confirmed what was there before. No wonder the overwhelming majority of northerners voted for incorporation in 1946. This is a fact that liberation historians and politicians conceal and deny. Even the liberal The Namibian will deny this.
* ALL buildings in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay were only allowed to be three storeys high. Why now allow a 10-storey monstrosity at Langstrand?
* PLEASE councillor of Oshikango do something about fresh water at Enghandja village. Our small businesses in the village also need electricity.
– Toivo Tukondjeni.
Education
* PLEASE National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) consider shortening all the Grade 10 subject syllabuses! They are too long and a teacher cannot cover them in time. And now and then they teach during weekends and holidays to finish. At the end our children write exams without revision. It’s even clear that what is taught is more than what is asked in examinations!
– Kamushishi
* DEAR Dr Abraham Iyambo please rescue Adult Education Unam graduates who are unemployed.
– Paulina
* THE Ministry of Education must tell the Namibian nation the secret behind sending young people to be trained as teachers in the fields of agriculture, science and mathematics in Zimbabwe. My sister was ungraded in maths in her fourth attempt in maths. Now she comes back from Zimbabwe with a diploma to teach maths at Secondary level. I know the colleges of education are not going to take her because she does not have the points. In one of the three years of her training she was placed in a school to do teaching practice. In fact she only had two years of training. With maths declared a compulsory subject, do we have the tools to implement this crucial Cabinet resolution?
* PLEASE I am a teacher of entrepreneurship and, as I am living in Tsumeb and was not able to visit the SME Exhibition held in Windhoek recently, I ask you to please compile a supplement of exhibited SMEs for our children to see that it is possible to make a living by showing them examples of people who had the guts and succeeded. The living example is worth so much more than the text book theory.
– Anka Ellinger, Tsumeb Secondary
City Fathers Please...
* CITY of Windhoek when are you releasing the the names (of those selected) for the City Police and Fire Brigade. There are only a few months left to the end of the year. Just imagine - from February until now? The budget is already out so what are you waiting for?
Health Matters
* MINISTER (Richard) Kamwi please add a second nursing sister at Oranjemund State Clinic for better service. Our plight seems to fall on deaf ears. Medicine shortages, nurses tired and not smiling and people sent back without help especially family planning and pregnant mothers.
NBC
* PLEASE re-broadcast Miss Namibia 2010.
* NBC please train your camera operators on how to adjust the cameras well as we are tired of watching NBC news with the poor quality pictures. It is unprofessional.
* PLEASE NBC-TV we Nkurenkuru town residents in Kavango Region have not been able to view our televisions clearly up to now.
Health Matters
* MINISTRIES of Justice, Health, Gender, legal centres, is there nowhere a person can go to report someone you know who is infected with HIV and is busy knowingly infecting innocent young girls and women? Please!
General
* PEOPLE with prepaid electricity, buy enough or recharge your electricity while some units are remaining to prevent damage to your electrical appliances.
Labour Issues
* ANGOLA is ratified by IMO, so when is Namibia going to do the same? Replace political appointees with capable marine staff. Remember you cannot treat marine matters like a home. Please hear us out.
* TRANSPORT problem. Why don’t the watchmen of Rooidag, Nama Pan Gate and Ndove Border Post at the veterinary cordon fence have transport to take them to and from their work place to Grootfontein at the end of the month? The Directorate must do something.
– Tsumkwe resident
* THE Government must implement a law that will force companies to hire local people. For example, foreign labourers must be paid four times higher than locals. It will force them to go local.
Responses to recent SMSes
From the NBC
* NBC please differentiate between a news bulletin and a documentary. Wednesday evening’s TV news effectively turned out to be a SADC doccie.
– JK, Swakopmund
Dear JK
Thank you for your comments. We have looked at the 20h00 TV news bulletin that was broadcast on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 and established that out of the 17 news items, four stories related to the SADC, totaling to approximately 8 minutes of airtime. We believe that considering the fact that the SADC summit is currently taking place in Windhoek, that Namibia is on the brink of taking over the chairmanship of the SADC and that the Southern African Development Community is celebrating its 30th anniversary, matters pertaining to the SADC are of such significance that they warrant extensive and in-depth reporting. We can assure you that coverage of the SADC summit and anniversary has not been at the neglect of other issues of national interest.
You are welcome to contact us directly for detailed information on all the stories covered that day.
* WHY is there no show about teens on NBC. We would like jobs like presenting and helping out parents and have teenage talks on TV.
Currently, NBC hosts four different TV shows that cater to the youth. They are:
Whatagwan – Mondays to Wednesdays at 16H00
Off The Hook – Thursdays at 16h00
School Grounds – Fridays at 16h00
Beats Per Minute – Fridays at 21h00
Regarding jobs (like presenting): we will announce audition dates as soon as there’s a need for new presenters. In the meantime you are more than welcome to join our audiences for teenage discussions on ‘Off The Hook’. Please contact Ndapanda at 061 291 3099 or send an e-mail to offthehook@nbc.com.na.
Ilke Platt
Corporate Communications Officer
* DR Elijah Ngurare makes a living from politics surrounded by bodyguards and drivers, but some of us don’t. As a country we didn’t need a law to tap citizen’s private calls without any threat to national security. Intolerance against divergent views and the opposition as well as public incitement of violence against human rights activists and police brutality are all reasons enough not to reveal our identities on the SMS pages in The Namibian.
* MINISTRY of Justice please come up with a hard punishment for the women throwing away their newborns! If a man kills then he’ll be given a minimum of 10 years without a fine but for the mothers they can go free with the fine of N$500 only! Calling it justice...?