SMSes for Friday 25 January 2013
SMS Of The Day *WAR on the mini-skirt: I was at the Rundu police station over the Christmas holidays, after having been a victim of Rundu’s increasing crime, when a female police officer (in a tight pencil skirt!) informed me that I could be arrested for wearing shorts. I thought she was joking and jokingly dared her to proceed with such unlawful arrest. I was shocked when I later read about those arrests! If law enforcers don’t respect the law, what do you expect from rapists? Police officers need to be educated on the law, clearly they do not have a clue. Thank you and bravo Jacqueline Asheeke on a brilliant article. Legal Assistance Centre, the women of Rundu need you!
Food for Thought
*THE government violated the constitution of Namibia by letting parents pay for primary school education for so many years.
*TOM Alweendo, about the skills shortage in Namibia: There is only one answer to the problem, fix the educational system first. Modify vocational education to cater to the employers’ skill needs. Pour more money into academic institutions.
*I LIVE next door to a shebeen in a residential area. Evils take place in front of my children’s eyes every day. Children learn from what they see, who is going to protect them from all of this? Someone should intervene.
*IS there an age limit for driving?
*I HONESTLY believe that the country should increase the current lunch hour to an hour and a half. The amount of cars on our roads has doubled. As a parent you have difficulties to collect your children at school, drop them off at home and still be on time for work.
*IT is unfair that the Kunene Regional Council advertises a tender on January 15 and makes the deadline January 25. Only 10 days to get the tender documents ready! Most offices where we usually get help are closed over the weekends, so we only have eight days. It’s not easy for small or new contractors to get a reliable accountant to help with the rates and prices. And if I am in the Kunene Region, it’s even harder to finish some of the required admin issues. Please look into this.
*TEACHERS, police officers, soldiers and health professionals, we’ve been downgraded to live in rented rooms and shacks. What happened to the basic right to shelter?
Bouquets and Brickbats
*YET another death on the Western Bypass. Roads Authority should be blamed for these deaths for refusing to lower the speed limit!
*IT is so ironic that NPC’s Director General assesses Namibia’s skills needs when the tertiary institutions cannot even manage to register students!
*GOOD job, Petrus Damaseb, on your strong warning to August Maletzky! He should go back to university and complete his studies, and only then can he be called an attorney! Now the law society is “racist”? He has no idea who is part of the law society as he is unfortunately not welcome there due to his lack of university degree. Sorry brother!
*WHEN we talk about the ‘mafia’, we look outside of Namibia, but the City of Windhoek reminds me of them. Most of us were gone for the holiday, but our utilities bills are sky high! Other people that came to inquire about it were given a hundred reasons why we were overcharged, but in the end, as always, they win!
*WELL done to the police in Rundu for bringing back morality. I support their action for arresting those girls for public indecency. As parents, we should teach our kids to respect their bodies.
*I JUST want to thank Verron Gaseb for the great effort and hard work he is doing at the Regional Office of Education in Otjiwarango. Please keep it up and one day God will reward you. Keep the light shining.
*WHO do Air Namibia’s local flights serve? Why are the tickets priced so exorbitantly? I can’t believe a ticket can cost up to N$4 000 from Windhoek to Ondangwa for 45 minutes? Oh, no!
Suggestion box
*IS there a body that monitors the NSFAF loan refunds from institutions to students? If no, then start one now!
Service Please
*CITY of Windhoek, please put a traffic light where the Western Bypass meets Independence Avenue. People exiting from Katutura are risking their lives when they knock off at 17h00.
*FRANS Indongo Gardens’ administrators, can you please fix the air conditioning system? It is terribly hot these days. Worse still, there is bird poo everywhere, one cannot even open the windows.
*WHAT’S going on with Old Mutual Claims Department? I’ve been waiting for three weeks for a claim to be processed, instead of the seven working days, like I was promised.
*MINISTRY of Home Affairs, we are tired of standing for such long periods of time in queues, please employ more people.
Labour
*REGIONAL Director, Erongo Education: We, the teachers of Arandis and Henties Bay are so disappointed in you. How can it be that you place us in the Wavis Bay circuit? It defies logic. Walvis Bay is too far from us!
*BASILIUS Haingura and Frans Kapofi, when will the meagre salary agreement you signed be fully implemented? Basilius Haingura, don’t forget what you said at A Shipena Secondary School. If it is true that political office bearers get 36 percent, then you will go to renegotiate. Frans Kapofi wants to be categorised as a political office bearer to get 36 percent while he gave civil servants peanuts.
Education
*MINISTER of Education, failing students just because of Maths won’t help them. Not everyone is good at Maths, we do well if you exclude Maths.
*ETOO, Unam wants to kill us distance students! Without the N$5800 registration fee, we’re not allowed to register. Where are we going to get that money?
*MINISTER of Education, why do you take so long with the acknowledgement letters? What’s the point of you setting the due date for submission of loan forms so early? We apply for the government loans because we want to study, not just for fun.
*WHAT is happening at Technical High School (HTS)? We are in the second week of school and have not had one single lesson! Can the principal please explain?
Response to Previous SMSes
*WHAT were you doing the entire year for you to score 0-13 points in Grade 12?!
*TOURISM is the second largest contributor to GDP, and the tourists are brought into Namibia by Air Namibia. If Air Namibia crashes, a lot of businesses will suffer. All employees at Air Namibia pay tax. 52 percent unemployment rate in Namibia and some are still calling for more job losses. Why approve a businessplan and not follow through? You need money to make money! Complain about sensible issues.
*I ALSO support the idea of supplementary exams, especially for the Grade 12s. This will save money and time.
*I AGREE with the author of the SMS about the outrageous caesarean sections performed by doctors on women who are on medical aids. I suffered the same fate when I was informed, at the last minute, that I didn’t have a big enough opening for a baby that weighed a mere 2,9 kg and this was after I had gone through labour pains. Private doctors need to stop this practice of making abnormal profits at the expense of our health and that of our babies.
In and From the Regions
*ELECTRICITY is urgently needed for the villages along the Ngoma/Bukalo Road, specifically Mile 26. Remember, elections are around the corner!
*ENGELA Constituency Councillor, most of us in Engela don’t know who you are. We last saw you when you were campaigning and now that we voted for you, you do not provide the required services to the community. You don’t inform us about anything that concerns us, not even by using the local radio.
Lost and Found
*I, BERNHARD Nui Gaweb, lost my wallet with my ID and driver’s licence. If found, please contact me at 081-858 9082.
*ON December 24, I lost two cellphones – a Nokia E5 and Nokia C5 – in a small silver bag in Swakopmund Pick n Pay. According to the CCTV footage, a pregnant woman wearing a white dress picked it up. A friendly request to the woman, please call me at 081-293 4404.
*GENERAL Geoffrey Boois, I found your ID card in Windhoek. Please call me at 081-656 8209.
*I, LIKUKELA Best, lost my wallet with my ID, FNB and police card. If found, contact me at 081-313 9766 or Ongwediva Police.