SMSes for Thursday 26 April 2012
SMS Of The Day *ALCOHOL abuse is not a disease. It’s a symptom. The disease is hopelessness which comes from poverty, no good prospects in sight and an all-round lack of faith in things ever changing. We already prohibit alcohol sale during weekends and it’s only led to more illegal shebeens popping up. Why? Because there is a demand for the product. Improve the basic lives of people and they won’t need to drink to forget.
Food for Thought
*WHERE is Comrade Ernest Lichtenstrasser? The man’s photo appeared in Wednesday’s edition of this newspaper. We want to know if he is still alive and what the aim was of independence. Come out comrade and give us a story of what happened that sad day. Aluta continua.
– Evaristo
*ON TUESDAY night I was listening to a phone-in programme by Ricardo and there was the serious and sensitive topic brought up about the mushrooming of churches in Namibia. And these churches are defrauding people by telling their members to give and give for their blessings, eventually leading to these members selling their property, including houses. I clearly remember when the Founding Father Dr Sam Nujoma brought up the same issue when he was the President of this country and he was almost buried alive. He wanted a control on the mushrooming of those churches and there was an attack on him. Now we are feeling the heat.
Bouquets and Brickbats
*APPLAUSE to some Otjimbingwe community members who took the initiative to improve road conditions in the village. They are doing that with money out of their pockets and with assistance of a Samaritan who provided a truck. Thank you for the first phase of that 10 km road. The councillors could not do it after 22 years of independence. This is a good example to councillors. Do the same to upgrade the rest of the roads and also bring development to Otjimbingwe.
*AT last someone has taken the initiative as the municipality obviously does not see the need for lovely parks, open spaces for recreation etc. The new putt-putt course will be very popular and a definite plus. Our children are cocooned in townhouses with nowhere to play. Thank you Lothar Nitsche and Martin Wiese!
*DEAR editor please revive the weekly column on influential Namibians’ favourite books. It used to be quite intriguing for us bookworms and I believe it’s a good tool to develop a culture of reading in our country.
*IT’S a shame and disgrace to the nation for a school principal to behave in a such an unacceptable manner! Was that the only means of discipline on her mind to humiliate these poor kids like this? Does she realise how traumatised these kids are going to be for the rest of the school calendar? She surely doesn't deserve to be called a school principal, a bully perhaps! Dr Namwandi please send your team down there to investigate this matter!
– Diana Ekandjo
*WHAT type of nonsense is the Döbra principal practising at the school? Does the school rule say if a shirt is not tucked in, it should be removed? And even if it’s a school rule, that's some silly, sick rule. How can she humiliate the learners like that?
– Mohammed
*IN response to Armas Abdul Malik Shikongo’s article on Tuesday about faith. The problem is that even though 80 per cent of Namibians claim to be Christians, most of them don’t actually live by the teachings of the Bible. Otherwise there would not be so many children being born out of wedlock. Boko Haram in Nigeria has killed hundreds of innocent people in the name of Islam. Does it mean we should discredit this religion?
– Jomo
*SOCIAL Security Commission, if the seriously ill poor have to solicit funds through the media and from the public what do you mean by “social security”? I have been employed for 11 years and had deductions every month but have not benefitted anything.
From the House
*MR Kazenambo Kazenambo you ‘re very wrong. How can you legalise prostitution if your country still has a big problem with HIV-AIDS. And what do you expect from school kids? What will be the result and consequence?
Business as Usual
*IMPORTED cars destined for Botswana land at Walvis Bay port and are then transported to Botswana by road. Namibians wanting to buy one of these cars have to follow them, buy it there and register it before the car is brought back to Namibia. Who is gaining and who is losing in this type of transaction? Our leaders haven’t got the grassroots people at heart.
Education
*I AM a teacher in Ohangwena Circuit. To date we have not received our payslips for March and April. Why do we have to wait for months before we get our payslips?
*TEACHERS must conduct themselves professionally. That was rude of the teacher and that principal putting on earphones. Is that good?
Health Matters
*I SERIOUSLY request our government to employ more nursing tutors in our nurses training institutions at all levels. There will be more nursing students be it student nurses or nursing assistants. By doing so we are doing investing in the future of the Land of the Brave instead of looking outside for nurses. The reasons given by the writer in The Namibian on Friday are totally correct.
*DR Kamwi why do you encourage nurses to study while the ministry cannot even provide enough study leave. One person per district is really impossible. Please Permanent Secretary of Health rectify to at least two people per district for study leave with full pay.
A Question of Land
*NAMIBIA tops the list of densely populated countries but the land price is sky high! Does anybody have a clue why?
In and From the Regions
*OTJIWARONGO municipality it is not safe to have your main electricity boxes in someone’s yard. It is high voltage and our kids can’t play freely in their own yard.
– Concerned resident.
*WE are still in the dark. Omaruru municipality please replace your street lightbulbs with new modern bright ones. We are stepping on snakes and being robbed due to insufficient light. Please change. Vision 2030 is knocking on your door.
*WHY are Caprivi's street lights not being fixed? Mine haven’t worked for two years. Some locations are left in the dark at night and that just encourages theft and muggings. We have been complaining for years but there has been no improvement. Remember, development starts with the small things.
*ONDANGWA Town Council please the town is dirty and roads are bad.
NBC
*I WANT to hear from the board members of NBC why we can’t have three channels. The extra ones are for sport and movies.
Please Help
*ONLINE Namibian. Why does it give problems opening in the mornings or is it my computer?
Service Please
*NAMWATER, especially the Grootfontein branch office, needs a serious overhaul when it comes to service and customer care. No statement, no payment, no timely reconnection of water payment. One has to beg for service.
– Gatvol taxpayer, Okatjoruu
Lost and Found
*I HAVE found a blue parrot. Anyone who has lost or knows someone who has lost a light blue parrot please contact 081-833-6836. I live in Khomasdal and you can contact me any time.
Responses to recent SMSes
*TO the person asking how we contribute to the nation’s economy by drinking, the answer is simple: We buy those drinks and pay Value Added Tax. About absenteeism at work, it has not been proven that alcohol is the cause I know people who do not drink but are just lazy! Leave us to enjoy life!
– Cde Kateta
*THIS is to support the person who wrote about the Polytechnic forcing students to do introduction to mathematics and statistics. Some people like me will never graduate because they never had maths in high school. Can the Poly management seriously look into this please. Put yourself in our shoes.
*DOES the Minister of Labour know that a state pension all over the world is earned through years of hard work and tax contributions prior to retirement? Does he know that it is therefore incorrect to even call it a grant?