SMSes for Monday 23 April 2012
SMS Of The Day On the farm * THE minister of lands must realise that he is now throwing money in the water by buying more farms. My friends who have been allocated these farms are just sitting on them. They have no skills and money to make the farm productive. A lot of people lost their jobs and became poorer due to this system. I think you should now invest in skills and provide them with tools and equipment. Even our cattle numbers went down because of these resettlement farms. At the end of the day you will never be able to provide land to all the people. All of us cannot be farmers.
Food for Thought
*DEMOCRACY is taking root in Africa and there are circumstances where the opposition leader took over. We would like to applaud our continent for developments of this nature. Leaders in Africa as well have taken the throne though they are from the opposition like Michael Sata in Zambia, Mackey Sall in Senegal, Joyce Banda in Malawi etc. We would like to see more of these happenings on the African soil where it is due.
Bouquets and Brickbats
*GOOD article by Gerson Hamupolo. Our country definitely needs hydrologists. I hope something comes up for you. I heard Australia and Canada are always looking for professionals. Just a thought you could explore.
*CONGRATULATIONS to Messrs Kasera, Kaute, Gurirab and Hengari (The Namibian 20 April). Unfortunately they are not the government.
– James Marais
*ALEXACTUS Kaure, that's exactly the problem; the current crop of ' leaders' literally use the system to steal; be it dodgy tender deals, facilitating fees, S&T, etc. People need to wake up and call our greedy 'leaders' to order. Enough is enough!
*BRILLIANT column Basilius M Kasera! I totally agree with your view on TB Joshua! I wish there was some law that could ban that satellite channel!! Before TB Joshua there was Pastor Chris and his wife...ai!
*WITH regard to the opinion of Basilius Kasera (The Namibian, Friday, April 20) it seems Mr Kasera has never faced any problem in his life. Leave people to go to Nigeria for those who believe by faith. Yes without faith nothing will happen to you. We get healed with our faith. Remember if you are a believer without faith prophet TB Joshua will never heal you.
*I WAS touched by Mr Van der Merwe's efforts to help Maria keep her shack. But at the same time heartbroken to realise Maria's shack in Pionierspark was being demolished by the City of Windhoek.
*MARIA Seibes and Louis van der Merwe if you had been one of the two or three construction companies who can get any available piece of land in Windhoek, then Maria could stay where she lived. Unfortunately you have not got the right connection to the City of Windhoek’s planning department!
*NAMIBIA thanks for the articles about alcohol abuse! Profits before health is a death threat that our children have to live on daily basis with. Government can we relook at and rectify the mushrooming of alcohol outlets, specifically the shebeens!
*THE Weekender, to the person who does the Paparazzi column, do you read other professional writing on columns like the ones you do? The ones I read in magazines like Drum are criticism but it’s light-hearted and actually funny. Talking about sodomy and whether a PDK member is offering is just. Dissing Gazza as to why he didn’t win because of what he wore is not relevant. Stop dishing out criticism that leaves readers feeling awkward and uncomfortable! I want to read something positive about other people or at least be light-hearted!
*I SAW a child spitting out of the car window; the spit landed plump on my windscreen. Parents please let’s teach our children good manners.
Politics
*IT’S never a problem for a Swapo leader to be patron of a school but a big one for Hidipo Hamutenya to be patron of Haihambo PS. Is this country only for Swapo?
*SHAME on you Swapo members in Ohangwena Region. Mr Hidipo Hamutenya did a great job at Haihambo school while Swapo members who are complaining did nothing. Viva Mr Hamutenya for caring about our nation. And I want other opposition parties to follow suit. Please Swapo members you are supposed to praise him for his contribution to our country’s development. He did as Mr Moongo of DTA is always suggesting and they are both politically mature.
*MR Hidipo Hamutenya is a freedom fighter and Namibian son. What is wrong to have him as the patron of Haihambo Primary school?
*I REQUEST the founding president and father of the nation to advise the people in Ohangwena Region that it is dangerous to discriminate against or hate someone because he or she belongs to a different political party. They must appreciate and accept the gifts given by the patron of Haihambo Primary School.
*THE controversy at Haihambo Primary School is disturbing the school’s atmosphere. Some of us are tired of this behaviour by some cowardly politicians. We were told no politics in schools. What is this that we are witnessing now? Can someone please tell me if all government schools in Namibia belong to Swapo?
Politics in General
*INDIA has tested a long-range missile. That’s okay. Iran, North Korea, Namibia must not do it. Can someone explain to me why is this so?
– Sage.
A Question of Land
*WE have a situation: a top government official fences off the land. He claims the land is his because it was lawfully given to him by a concerned communal land chief. But then he tells the media that the land he occupies is not communal land. Now how come the land was given by a communal land chief if it is not communal land?
*SHOCKED to hear that Police Inspector General Ndeitunga and Commissioner Auanga and Defence Minister Namholo were given land at Mupapama, Kavango East purportedly to prevent cross-border crime. A conflict of interest? Chief Mpasi of Ukwangali must be called to order before it’s too late please.
Law and Order
*UNAM student killing a student. How on earth do you leave a student with emotional problems on campus. I am angry and feel sorry for the Shapange family. This is unacceptable. Tjiramba and all of Unam do something.
*I’M highly disappointed by Unam regarding the stabbing incident. Instead of creating greater awareness about mental conditions, they summarily label and stigmatise them.
– Mr T
*THE psychiatric problems are known and the student is admitted into the hostel. Is there is no person there to assist him? Unam management please accept responsibility.
– ASK
*UNAM defined by students stabbing one another! Fellow students watching and doing nothing! Security guards sleeping on duty! Unam management why don't you consider hiring more guards and deploy one at each block at the new hostel? Why don't you get security cameras at the hostels? Why do you let students walk alone from the gate late at night? Laptops get stolen from students’ rooms. A girl was raped and now someone is killed! What's next? A suicide bomber?
*MINISTER of Safety and your team stand up. People will kill. Have you heard what happened at Unam? We are looking for protection from violence. There is no help at the Katutura magistrate’s court. When I left there on April 17 I made my decision which is to kill that person or he will kill me whenever we met. I even bought a weapon. Please help me. Where else can I go, except Katutura court before he kills me or I kill him.
*Psychiatric problems known and the student is admitted into the hostel where no person is there to assist him? Unam management please accept responsibility.
*I WITNESSED an extreme and gross form of GRN vehicle abuse on Saturday. Workers of the Dept of Works in Karasburg while drunk drove a white GRN bakkie to go and buy more alcohol. When reprimanded they attempted to assault their supervisor in the presence of the police who sided with these corrupt thugs. The bakkie continued to be abused for the rest of the weekend like it is done every other day of the week transporting girls and alcohol.
*THE Ondangwa magistrate's office is very dirty. It has no cleaner. They just hire prisoners to come and clean the offices and the building is getting old and is not up to standard. Why doesn’t the ministry provide new offices for Ondangwa magistrates? Everything here is old. It was the first court in the North but no one looks at it now.
Education
*UNAM please explain to the Namibian nation how your admission system works especially the Faculty of Nursing. Imagine one writes a mature age entry test in 2010, passes the test but to date is being told unfortunately there is no space.
*THE importance of preschools in laying that all-important foundation for children cannot be overemphasised. Sadly that cannot be said of most private preschools in Windhoek; their motivation seem to be monetary as classrooms are filled to the brim with most of their first graders not school ready.
*WE need clerks and clerical assistants at all circuit offices and we need two school secretaries at all cluster centres, there is lot of work.
*THE 13 directorates of education were decentralised to the regional councils, however, there is no office space at the regional councils to accommodate the directorates of education. It is a high time for the Ministry to build its own office accommodation and flats or houses for the officials. Now the directorates of education are renting offices from private developers which are too expensive. We humbly request the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education to look into the matter.
*OUR government seems to have forgotten that there are people who are really penniless and cannot at all afford to pay university fees. Apparently they will send us money later. Today we held a meeting at which we were told to pay by the end of this month. If not we won’t be able to write the exam and must go back home.
Health Matters
* PLEASE Dr Kamwi your ministry must recruit porters in hospitals. Nurses are busy they can’t transport patient to wards while other patients are seriously sick waiting for assistance. Porters must be there to assist. There are people who are well trained but they are just sitting at home with their certificate please.
Labour Issues
*WE are still waiting for the National Planning Commission to pay us for the extra days we worked for the census.
*MINISTER Nghimtina we would like to study to become pilots and there are many of us but we are getting nowhere. Since you said in Parliament the other day that you have a shortage of skills, we agree with you. How can we be assisted as it seems there is no help at the directorate of aviation. Please try to solve this one for us, otherwise we will end up unproductive in this brave land.
*A GOVERNMENT that discriminates against its own people, like ours does, is not fair. Subsistence allowances received by people in the private sector are taxable but not in the government service. That permanent secretary who claims N$3 million every year gets it tax free.
In and From the Regions
*RUNDU town council please tell the street vendors to keep where they sell clean. That place near Cuca Tops is very dirty. Some people from other towns say Kavango is the dirtiest place in Namibia. Some even dump their stuff in town and even cook in town using firewood. Please do something
Service Please
*NAMPOWER must do something about their constant power failures that are damaging our appliances.
NBC
*HOW come that we should listen to and watch world news on radios and TV and only thereafter know what is happening in our country? Should our news not to be the first 06h00 morning news?
*COME on NBC the world is going forward. How can your report on Rudolf Berters’ wonder goal for Pirates and show us footage of when he was at Eleven Arrows. Show us the latest things.
Lost and Found
*I FOUND Paradzai Chikwanda’s ID, driving licence, bank cards. Contact 081-732-8012.
*FOUND wallet with documents for Garises WJS. Driver’s licence, ID. Contact 081-249-7683.
*I NENDONGO Nendongo P lost my ID at Oshakati. If found please contact me at 081-342-9460.
*I FOUND the ID of Niklaas van Wyk in Khomasdal. Contact 081-288-9213.
Responses to recent SMSes
*COMRADE Kateta, how do you contribute to your country’s economy by drinking alcohol? Drunkards are ever absent from work and admitted in hospitals. The government loses a lot of money because of them. You are embarrassing us
*AFRICAN linguist, I understand your concern as it is also my concern. Our languages will become extinct! In Windhoek primary schools, apart from English, only Afrikaans is offered. Not a single primary school in the city suburbs and Khomasdal offers a Namibian national language!
*INEQUALITY in salaries is definitely not the only reason prosecutors are leaving the office of the prosecutor general! The ones who are left are too scared to give the true reason.