SMSes for Friday 20 April 2012
SMS Of The Day *IF all drivers applying for the renewal of their drivers’ licences are required to redo a learner’s test, one will find that the majority of the drivers have no clue about traffic rules. Maybe the minister should consider just that.
Food for Thought
*DURING the 50s and 60s Namibians went abroad (exile) to liberate our motherland; 22 years post-independence young Namibians are migrating to Canada and the United States running from unemployment and an insecure future. Something is wrong somewhere. Anyhow history repeats itself.
*GREED, breeds greed and soon devours your very being, sucking the life out of those who feed it. It’s terrible to live without a soul when you have a conscience. Don’t sell your soul to mammon.
*WHAT exactly is the motive behind Immanuel Ngatjizeko’s notion to change the pension law? Rather make adjustments to your own and other comrades inflated benefits that you do not deserve. As a Namibian I deserve and appreciate my marginal allowance.
Bouquets and Brickbats
*I WISH to express my appreciation and thanks to NamPost Namibia for their speedy, efficient and great service. I posted a precious, small parcel from Windhoek to Grootfontein. The cashier told me it would take seven days but it took two days. That was awesome. Thank you NamPost.
*WHY always shed a bad light on the Omitara farmers? The government uses the squatter inhabitants as political lab rats. The Basic Income Grant (BIG) has dried up and the squatters have become dependent on the grant. The result: crime in the area is skyrocketing and tensions between farmers and squatters are increasing once again.
*ONE Africa News, you are making a mockery of journalism with your milk on the news reader’s desk.
– Afrovoice, Otjomuise.
*PLEASE note that Worcestershire is a county in England not a country!
Your Good Health
*THE government has a responsibility to control alcohol abuse in Namibia by stopping issuing licences and closing some of the shebeens, especially within residential areas. I read in local media that the Ondonga Traditional Authority area has 75 000 people and 15 000 shebeens, that is five people per shebeen. Where are we going as a nation?
– Kamati
*HEADLINE: ‘Namibia becoming a nation of drunks’? People are tired and disappointed by their very own government. Ignorance, nepotism, tribalism, rich getting richer, poverty, elitism. The list is endless. Did I mention corruption? What else can we do since we do struggle for ourselves? Leave us to spend our inadequate cents the way we want.
*HOW can a United States-funded project call us drunks. Surely the study is really wrong to label the entire Namibia as drunks. Mr Editor, you fail as a professional to print such headlines. What image are you giving to the outside world? I am sure the taxi hike price was a better headline.
– David
*REFERRING to Thursday’s first published SMS that ends with: leading by example? When the front page is about the obvious Namibian alcohol problem, how come you, The Namibian, run a full page advertisement of the culprits on page 11? Please support a national ban on ads for alcohol and gambling.
*THOSE complaining that Namibians are drinking too much can go to hell. We are contributing to the nation’s economy. You talk too much!
– Cde Kateta
Running the Show
*ACCORDING to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry report referred to in another English daily, Namibia needs to import 191 400 tonnes of grain this year. I am confused as Agriculture PS Ndishishi recently told The Namibian that the country ‘no longer imports grain’. Doesn’t the PS know what is reported by his own ministry?
*IF you think your own media institutions – NBC, Nampa and New Era – are working against you, it’s probably because you are not doing your job. At least those mentioned above generate some income. Who really reads Southern Times and at what cost?
– JD Hatutale
*I THINK all the ministries need education and information departments.
*TO the government of Namibia (Land of the Brave!), you all surely must be aware that the great majority of those in positions of trust and responsibility are simply not ‘up to the job’! Furthermore the boards set up to control such Stated-owned enterprises/parastatals are mostly not fit for purpose! Little wonder we Namibians pay dearly for suspensions, huge exit packages and the tremendous waste of public finance! Question is: Who is brave enough to stop the rot?
– OAP
Pensions
*MINISTER Ngatjizeko you will be also become old. Remember that. Don’t remove elders’ pensions.
*MINISTER Ngatjizeko must remember that those old pensioners. Their kids, who were supposed to assist them today, perished while fighting for independence and yet they did not benefit a cent. That must be a departing point because it seems nowadays in Namibia only returnees must benefit
*DID Minister Ngatjizeko really hear himself when he uttered that statement regarding old age pensioners? We have if not 50 per cent, then 60 per cent, of veterans who were given thousands of dollars and still expect more, thousands of whom have stable incomes. Be serious. This country has only 2,1 million people and still you guys just want to starve the people and allow yourselves and a few others to benefit. Leave the people to get their benefits. It’s really frustrating to hear our leaders saying such grave things.
– Concerned citizen
*IF the government wants to take away pensions from people who have paid tax all their lives, then they must at least in return give tax relief benefits to all persons over the age of 60.
*IF government takes away pensions from those with alternative income, they must also take away pensions of war veterans who get salaries.
Politics
*SOME ministers forget that they are servants. The arrogant nature of some of them makes them forget we are the ones that voted for then. Please remind then that elections will come again.
*Namibian people can’t remain united while wearing different party attire? Besides, who doesn’t know Namibia is a multi-party democracy with or without party colours anywhere in the Land of the Brave?
Law and Order
*PRESIDENT Pohamba, the main cause of justice delayed in our criminal courts is the exodus of state prosecutors for greener pastures. Both experienced and new prosecutors resign due to the inequality in the salary benefits of the magistrates and prosecutors, low salaries and the lack of clerks and typists to support prosecutors. In truth, the majority of the prosecutors offices have no clerks and typists. Prosecutors have to do administration and court work on their own. Can the Cabinet perhaps address this burning issue as a matter of urgency before the whole justice system collapses?
*CAN the first issued date also be reflected on the driver’s licence. The current practice is to only give the renewal date which really can’t tell how long the person has been a driver.
From the House
*I have noticed that our parliamentarians are experts on broadcasting and media reporting as they have so aggressively showcased! Why not take it over! Can I also point out shortcomings in each ministry and object to their budget request. It is so sad. Why not debate the Government Institutions Pensions Fund, etc.
Education
*DR Iyambo please return to your ministry or else there will be nothing left when you return. The ministry misses your visionary leadership.
*WHEN does Namcol plan to pay its tutors their salary for March?
*DR Namwandi you warned about no politics at school. Why are you now quiet when some people want to politicise the issue of Mr Hamutenya being made the patron of a school?
Health Matters
*I AM a student at Unam and was in the dining hall yesterday where I noticed that hygiene is not practised. How can they put mops for cleaning the floor on top of the tables where we eat? Management, please do something, we will die of cholera.
*WE have community counsellors in our hospitals and they are really doing a great job sometimes helping the nurses and directing them what to do because not all the nurses are being trained in field of HIV? My question is: When is the Ministry of Health going to recruit these workers as government employees? And when are they going to get benefits like medical aid, pension and salary increases? We want the Cabinet to look at these issues.
Labour Issues
*MINISTER of Fisheries, we permanent sea-going employees at Freddies Fishing Company at Walvis Bay are unhappy with some company regulations. We are going to receive half of our salaries this April because we did not work the whole month due to a lack of quotas. And again, last year in April 2011, we did not receive our full salaries. We don’t know why the company does that. Minister
Bernard Esau must help us please.
*NURSES and pharmacists let us ask the Minister of Health to explain to us the way forward about regrading of our salaries. It’s unfair that doctors salaries were increased without delay
Lost and Found
*I, Brasius Nangobe, lost my wallet with all my documents in Windhoek. If anyone finds it please call me on 081-223-3555 or 081-280-5883
*I ASSER Shigwedha lost my ID at the Kuisebmond area in Walvis Bay. If found please contact me at 081-614-9648.
*I FRANS Tresia lost my file containing my birth certificate, proof of registration and other documents in Oshakati. If found please contact me at 081-607-3838. Thanks.
*I P Namwandi: I lost my wallet through theft. It contained my ID, drivers licence and bank cards around Hochlandpark. If found please call 081-262-6722.
Service Please
*HOME AFFAIRS is really a major problem. I phone reception and they say they will put me through. Nobody answers. And if I try and get hold of reception again the phone is off.
*IF I make an electronic fund transfer from an FNB account to a Bank Windhoek account the funds are immediately deducted from the FNB account but only show on the recipient account three days later. Who benefits from the interest on these funds for these these days and is this legal?
ACC Alert
*PAULUS Noa make a turn at the Karasburg government offices. People do hair, needlework and whatever they want.
In and From the Regions
*KEETMANSHOOP Municipality, can’t you see what our roads look like? If you cannot tar the roads, at least clean after the rains because we pity our vehicles because of the corrugations.
*COMRADE Ruth Nhinda, Endola council, please we need electricity at the other side at Ongha. IT’s so dark!
*OMAALALA (A) doesn’t have electricity, it is just at the cuca shops. Why? We need electricity councillor please do something very urgent.
*THE magistrate’s office at Gobabis is dirty. Even the telephone used by the the magistrate is full of dust. What are the cleaners doing?
Responses to recent SMSes
From the Ministry of Mines and Energy
*IN response to the SMS on the delay in the Solar Revolving Fund application process.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy understands the public concern about the delay in the Solar Revolving Fund application process. However, when the Solar Revolving Fund was launched in April 2011, there was an overwhelming influx of applications in the first two months and the fund could not approve all at the time. All applications that came in from April to August 2011 have been verified, some already installed, while others are pending due to deposits from clients and other pending documents such as a pay slip, and quotations from service providers. We are however working hard to fast track the process to deliver good services to our people. Above all, the Fund is doing very well. So far it has financed over 200 solar systems within a year. It is good to note that the fund is a revolving fund and cannot be compared to a commercial institution. It involves systems installations, according to a code of practice, repayment to ensure that the fund is sustainable and that all systems financed are functioning and clients are happy to repay their loans. For more information regarding Solar Revolving Fund, you can call our Ministry at 061 – 284 8111 or visit us at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, 1 Aviation Road.
Regards,
Lydia Ndapandula Amutenya
Liaison Officer
Ministry of Mines and Energy
*TO the person asking about how intelligent customs officials in Wednesday’s The Namibian, please don’t tell me that you can’t differentiate between customs which deals with import and export of goods and immigration which controls people who are entering and leaving our country customs does not have a mandate to arrest people!
*I RECALL at the time of our first elections for independence, one of the promises the ruling party made was cheaper fuel from Angola!
*THE lady and baby arrested at the border and held in prison is yet another show of incompetency. Due to a death of a family member I too overstayed in South Africa by three days. They endorsed my Namibian passport at the border and I had to pay a N$1 000 fine to the SA Immigration Authorities here in Windhoek within 30 days. No fuss and unnecessary trauma and costs to the taxpayer! Now that’s efficiency.
*IF women are more educated and men show more responsibility, we can discuss how single parenting cannot harm the child. Polygamy is definitely not a solution!
*ONCE again the leaders are the ones that are destroying our cultures (reference to abolition of polygamy). In fact they seem not to know what culture is. Maybe to them culture is dressing in traditional attire, rather than the way of life of particular groups.
*TSUDAO Gurirab! Your analysis of Zimbabwe is unwarranted and microscopic – it lacks an understanding of the economic and geopolitical neocolonisation of Africa, or you have chosen to ignore these! Zimbabwe is no different from any African country – all that’s different is usually the time trajectory down neocolonisation – if your reference/standard includes Namibia, I urge you to go back to the time trajectory I referred to!
*TO the SMS suggesting NBC should stop ‘Generations’, lay off. That soapie is not for small kids and it has motivated me to work hard in life as a student to succeed. And no, I’m not gay, nor do I care about that aspect of the soapie.
– Loyal viewer