SMSes for Monday 26 Monday 2012
SMS Of The Day *THIS is the right time to test Anti-Corruption Commission Director Paulus Noa and see if he is a true man for the job. The three presidential candidates are using state resources for their political campaigns. Is it not a corruption? Noa you are just a remote-controlled man in office, rushing to arrest small fish and turning a blind eye to the big fish. Shame on you.
Food for Thought
*ON the Parliament restaurant worker’s lift accident. I am sure if it was the minister of foreign affairs who was in the lift, Otis Elevator Company would have been reached for comment the same day. Now it’s a waitress and has even been taken to the worst of Namibia’s health institutions – Katutura Hospital. If you want someone to be out of your way, send that person to Katutura Hospital. There you are ignored, ill-treated and you end up losing your life because even the minister doesn’t care. Why was she not taken to the Roman Catholic Hospital which is nearer? Is it because she doesn’t have medical aid? Do something about that woman before we do it for you, be it the government, lift company or restaurant manager.
*I AM suggesting that the voting system should be changed in such a way that the people vote for individuals and not for the party. We need to be cautious of anyone running for political office, by voting the candidate who will uphold the Constitution of the country and be concerned about the general welfare of the people they represent rather than their own and their party’s interests.
*ONE of the reasons why some ministries do not reconcile their accounts is because they do not know which section in their structure/establishment is responsible for this function. The use of accounts reconciliation can do better than the old dated term bookkeeping. The Public Service Commission should move on par with development for better public service delivery.
*I AM a bit worried about the modern term used by our media when referring to a man who kills his lover. From the layman on the street it seems like these murderers are given new meaning for their barbaric, inhuman and cowardly actions by the media as ‘passion killers’. They would even start introducing themselves to their inmates as ‘passion killers’, as it sounds more modern. Can the media come up with better word that would condemn this barbaric act rather ‘modernising’ it?
*BEN Biwa should know that goes around comes around. What he did to the employees of NAC has come back to haunt him.
Bouquets and Brickbats
*BEAUTIFUL tribute to Ausie Naomie, Matthew Gowaseb (Friday 23 Nov). I too am one of the mouths she fed and am eternally grateful for her graceful presence during my high school years. R.I.P Ausie!
Politics in General
*‘STRUGGLE kids? Perhaps they were children when they arrived in the land. Before or after independence every Namibian child had the right and privilege to free education although now it is unaffordable. There was no age limit. Were the ‘struggle kids’ in a restricted camp not to attempt education and search for a job like any other Namibian child? Come on leaders! Stop taking us for a fool’s ride. We’ve been patient but it is running out.
*TOP four Swapo positions must reflect equal regional and ethnicity representation or at least part of it.
*NAMIBIA needs a president who is not just a Sam Nujoma candidate but a person who is his/her own man or woman. We need a person who will work in the best interest of all Namibians.
– P Ndeutapo
*THANK you President Hifikepunye Pohamba for backing Hage Geingob for the party vice presidency. This is truly an excellent example of democracy. I am happy that you are not like others whose interests are only on one ethnic group.
n WHY can’t the three Swapo candidates go on live television and debate issues concerning the nation?
*OMAHEKE governor is contesting for the position of Swapo deputy secretary general without lobbying support or informing her comrades from the region for support. Is it because she doesn’t need the support of her fellow comrades or what?
Labour
*WHERE are the prophets of doom who said teachers’ salary demands were unreasonable. Now that government top leaders will reportedly get 36% salary increases, what do they have to say? Teachers’ demands were well-calculated and they should not give up. They need to fire Basilius Haingura and plan a legal strike next year.
– HHK
*COMRADES the battle must start all over again because Minister Abraham Iyambo and his fellow MPs will get 36% salary increment. We will be deducted N$750 per day on strike in a once off deduction. Rich get richer and we get poorer. Rise up for your rights. Prepare to put chalks down in January. Let ministry top officials teach the learners. Rise up for your economic freedom.
*MINISTER Abraham Iyambo it is easy for you to say the strike is illegal since you are getting your your big increase. You want us to deliver so that you can look good but you could not care less about us. Do you even know what teachers are paid? Please move to another ministry. We will never trust you again. If you stay, forget Vision 2030. Whatever you will say in future, we will remember how you treated us. Ship out comrade.
*NAMIBIANS don’t complain? Let’s propose 50% salary increment for all senior public office bearers. Maybe this will stop them from mistreating the poor electorate if they ever have a conscience.
*I COULDN’T agree more with DTA Kazeongere Tjeundo who says “it’s better to increase the salary of teachers and other public sector workers rather than that of the president”. To Swapo MP Ruth Nhinda you say the salary of the president is lower than that of other presidents on the continent. What exactly can’t our president afford on that so-called low salary? And MP Nimrod Muremi the country might be stable and peaceful but the population is going hungry and that is nothing to be proud of. Are you joking or are you just blind to the corruption of leaders because they are Swapo leaders? Do not assume other people cannot see the corruption by our leaders. You say you take care of the leaders by giving them huge salary to stop corruption but in actual fact you are robbing the taxpayer to stop leaders stealing from taxpayers. Does that make sense?
– VKK, Swakopmund
Health
*MATERNITY leave needs to be extended to four months so that at least a person works only up to 7 months and rests for the last two months. Women can hardly perform their duties during the eighth month.
Economics
*SAARA Kuugongelwa-Amadhila your taxation system is way too harsh on Namibians. When I get my monthly salary you tax my bonus and you tax my pension after retirement. If I start a small business with the same pension you tax me again. Does it ever have an end? We won’t get rich in this country, for as long as the taxation remains the same.
*AREVA paid millions to United Africa’ in your edition of Friday, 23/11/’12, refers. What is an entrepreneur, is it someone who sells an EPL for millions of dollars and whiles away all of his/her time shopping and wasting money, making pledges for political party congresses etc ... or some innovative individual who organises a business and assumes the risks for it? In Namibia, the former seems to be on equal terms with the latter. Pilferers of our natural resources, like some kind of successful businessmen, live a life of luxury so far from what most Namibians can only dream about. And upon closer scrutiny it becomes clear that their wealth is not derived from some innovative business acumen, but from sheer theft of our natural resources. Fellow citizens, do you have a clue of how the best get-rich-quick schemes work? I do, it’s quite simple, just be ‘connected’. EPLs are awarded to the well connected and are sold to foreigners. Such enrichment is a far cry from entrepreneurship and must be stopped now.
– August Maletzky
Jobs
*MORE graduates wandering around in the streets with their degrees. Why? Because every job opportunity that is available is for those who have three and more years of experience. Now how the hell will a graduate right out of varsity have so much experience? It’s about time we consider these things, fellow Namibians. Companies should have training for new recruits coming out of university but not only for the grade 12!
In and From the Regions
*I AM taking serious exception to Jerry Ekandjo’s threatening to downgrade Khorixas. Does he have issues against Damaras? It was Uis, then Omaruru CEO. What next?
Education
*ELIJAH Ngurare, on what research do you base your assertion of offering condoms in schools? Research done in the Kavango Region showed that perpetrators of teenage pregnancy are sugar daddies from outside the school. Are you sure they will manage to convince the experienced sugar daddy, to use a condom just because it came from school?
Labour Issues
*NAMIBIANS wake up! There is big income disparity. Study fees must be reviewed so that students pay as per their parents’ income. How can a cleaner’s child pay the same amount as the well paid employees/ parents?
– Ndahafa
Lost and Found
*I, E. T. Nanyemba, lost my grade 10 certificate in Usakos last week. If found please contact 081-611 6604.
Responses to recent SMSes
*THE concerned physician in The Namibian of the 23rd. I have looked at the frequency of my colleagues’ sick leave. They are booked off every week. Physicians are responsible for the low productivity in Namibia and that fellow’s colleagues have to work double as hard. Colleagues don’t have one doctor but moving between a few of them per month.
*I DON’T understand what the fuss is about G-strings at the public pool. What’s so offensive about such a thin piece of material that mothers feel compelled to pack up and leave, and then complain about the audacity of the wearers of such G-strings to pose for pictures at the fountain in the proximity of children. Can a psychologist please explain how seeing someone in a G-string is harmful for a child’s development? If you’re offended by other people’s bathing attire, then it’s polite to stop staring at them.
– J.G. West