SMSes for Monday 06 August 2012
SMS Of The Day *YET again the ‘shoot the messenger’ mentality emerges around so-called leaks from Cabinet. If these people ran a transparent, honest and accountable Government they wouldn’t have to be paranoid about ‘leaks’.
Food for Thought
*THE Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Jerry Ekandjo, handing over National Housing Enterprise houses at Ongwediva recently, described denial of access to housing as a violation of human rights. But when municipalities across the country destroy poor people’s dwellings, or so-called shacks, nothing is done to stop it.
Bouquets and Brickbats
*ALTHOUGH I agree with Gwen’s editorial on monuments and statues to some extent, I believe few Namibians link the Reiterdenkmal to our colonial past. Many only see the man and his horse not that it was erected to honour the German Schutztruppe for the massacre of Namas and Hereros. I am sure that if it was a bust of a South African aeroplane bombing Cassinga it would have been removed on the 21st March 1990.
*THE current editor of The Namibian does not have guts to print SMSes critical of the Swapo government! Not one of my recent SMSes has been printed, apparently because I have stuff to say which he does not like. Gwen please come back. Your newspaper is losing touch! You probably won’t print this either.
*VIPP Directorate: I am a resident of the Khomasdal VIP flats near Spar. We have been without water for two weeks although we pay every month through the ministry. We want to know where the money went that we paid? We are struggling and the flats are smelling. Imagine working with a minister or the President without showering or washing clothes.
Man on a Horse
*MINISTERS there is still a colonial kudu monument which you also still can remove!
On With the Games
*AS if raw materials from Africa are not enough, some athletes seem to have been poached for the Oly-mpics.
*UNBELIEVABLE! I watched the women’s soccer matches at the Olympics and whenever there is an injury, the ladies are up and going within a few seconds. We all know by now how men fake injuries grimacing and rolling for minutes. The only men’s match where there were fewer injuries and where they were quick on their feet was when the pitch was rain-soaked. No one wanted to risk the coldness of the water. Shame!
– HK
Law and Order
*MY heart ached as a parent when I heard the story of the molested young boys in the south. This episode should be dealt with and please do not sweep the matter under the mat. This nightmare will haunt those little boys for the rest of their lives and affect their future very much. I hope that they get a lot of love and support from their mothers. We, as parents, need to pay a little more attention to our children to avoid these things from happening to them or for them to do it to other children.
– Concerned mother
Education
*MINISTER Abraham Iyambo we heard you on the news on Thursday. We agree. What our children need most at schools are practical subjects. That way they can learn skills. Thank you.
*IF we want our learners to perform better, why are they still not able to read? Instead of addressing the real issues we keep coming up with bloated documents that get awards for their bulkiness but do not solve our problems.
Health Matters
*I WANT to welcome the new Permanent Secretary Andrew Ndishishi to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Sir, this is a very complicated ministry. You cannot put in closed-circuit TV to observe the movements and treatment of the patients.What about their privacy and their confidentiality? You want to see how the doctors are examining the patients? No sir, use that money for something else. At this moment the Katutura hospital needs a sonar machine as as soon as possible. Let us use the money where we can save the lives of our people.
– Concern Namibian.
Labour Issues
*REGIONAL councils uplift the level of chief clerks. They have been running the constituency offices for years. Please be realistic and promote the staff members internally. It is not always the best talker in the interview that can do the work. Look at the quality of the work and promote the people to make the public service a better place.
In and From the Regions
*SWAKOPMUND’S municipality must get serious. At Friday’s auction only a very few residents could afford erven. Minister Katali must please intervene. Find a proper solution to make erven available to all residing in Swakopmund. The auction was a big circus. Swakopmund residents will never get a chance to own property in their own town. Some of us have been paying rent for so many years, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel for us to own property because of the prices. What must we do? Comrades it is time to call the Government to task.
– Concerned resident
*SOMEONE please help me understand how and who determines the prices of erven. In Rundu a residential plot (with no mention of the sizes) costs over N$120 000. Really? Someone look into this please otherwise the right to shelter will be a dream to many of us.
*THE gravel road between Omatjete and Omaruru is a disaster to cars owners and needs serious attention. Why can’t the Government help us and tar the Omaruru and Uis road as there are already bridges and the cost to tar it will be less. This will benefit Omatjete, Okombahe and Uis residents as well as visitors and tourists.
* I READ in The Namibian about the hot ash in Outjo. The Ministry of Mines and Energy must arrange evacuation measures as soon as possible. A volcanic eruption could be looming.The Government must act as soon as possible please for the sake of the wellbeing of Outjo’s residents.It’s better to take precautionary measures before it’s too late. That ash they are talking about could be volcanic ash! And just smouldering under the earth’s surface waiting to erupt!
Needs Urgent Attention!
*THE tap at the Wernhil Park taxi rank side is malfunctioning and water is running.
NBC
*I AM a proud Namibian who would like to request the NBC to interview Mr August Maletzky as a legal advisor on ‘1on1’ because I saw him on ‘Good Morning Namibia’ making important points.
*NBC Oshiwambo Service. You allow three minutes on your morning programmes for each caller, while your moderators use the programme for private discussions and greetings.
Lost and Found
*I FOUND an ID for Jansen Ashley Garth Greytin and United Africa Group card for Jansen Mervin please call or SMS 081-242-1958.
*WILL Lucas Mupupa please contact The Namibian’s editorial reception. Some kind person has handed in your ID, driver’s licence, bank and other cards.
Responses to recent SMSes
*RESPONSE to ‘SMS of the Day’, Friday, August 3 – most days are a public holiday for some public servants, not only paydays. Go to Home Affairs and test my theory.
*BOTSWANA killings too harsh? Nobody can condone the taking of human life, however, poachers have to be dealt with harshly because who else will protect wildlife. A poacher is a poacher, nationality is not the issue.
*THE organisers of the festival Olufuko scheduled for August 21 to 27 are now saying that they have been misunderstood. Thanks to heavy criticism brought by the churches and NamRights. God is great and he always with us.
*ISN’T former President Sam Nujoma taking this a bit too far? He seems to be branding himself on the whole city. Firstly the money and now the renaming of the traffic circle. I mean, who regulates these kinds of things? Why don’t the citizens get/or have a say? This needs to end!
*TO the SMS requesting the extension of religious programmes on June 4. Namibia is not a state based on religion but a secular state in which the non-religious are also recognised in the Namibian Constitution article 1(1). Jamming national TV and radio programmes on Sunday or any other day with religious programmes would be unfair to some Namibians.
– Secularist, Kuisebmond.
*GECKO. While pitying the prophets of profit, who lack the foresight to grasp the spectacular disaster to this incredible country if we allow foreign business people to exploit us, the economic neocolonialists should quietly move aside and exploit their own countries and allow Namibians, with vision, to make a living on a sustainable basis.