SMS for 17 JUNE 2009

* WHO is failing learners? Everyone involved, especially the top ones. Please, do away with the automatic promotion of learners. Learners don’t know what failing is until Grade 10 and 12. What a poor nation. And learners should be taught relevant subjects according to their ability that has been identified earlier. We are just trying impossible things.
– A teacher in Oshana Region

Food For Thought
* HOW much do Namibians owe the Chinese? These dues are never finished being paid. Trains bought from China are standing broken at TransNamib. The Namibian Government is again planning to buy scanners from China. What a waste of our resources! Buildings built by Chinese or companies from East Asia such as the Police College; Patrick Iyambo Lungada walls are falling apart. Namibians where are we heading? Wake up Namibians, this is the nation’s money.* LUCKY Dube preached and said ‘they would build no schools anymore all they build will be prisons’. People want Ramatex to be transformed into a prison while school kids are taught in tents. How prophetic Dube was.- Ou KaunoBouquets And Brickbats
* NBC, thank you for the programme ‘Polana Girls’. It is great fun to watch and inspires me to cook more with family and friends. Why can’t there be more programmes like it?* WHOEVER is responsible for the Independence Stadium should be ashamed. One can see the pathetic condition in which it is. It only shows that it was never cleaned after the match between Namibia and the DRC. No wonder teams coming for the World Cup are not interested in coming here.* I SAW very dirty toilets at Independence Stadium. NFA shame on you, this was on June 13.Politics
* THE allegation by President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Former President Sam Nujoma that opposition parties were nothing more than tribalistic and family parties is baseless and aimed at misleading the nation.Spy Bill
* I AM a foreigner who has lived in this beautiful country and with its wonderful people for over a decade. I, however, still feel unsafe any time I go out because of high crime. I wish to passionately appeal to our Government to be a little bit sensitive to the SMSes in The Namibian by abandoning that ridiculous Spy Bill and rather give that money to the Police or City Police to install more cameras in the City of Windhoek and other major towns in Namibia to enable them to track criminals to protect life and property of all inhabitants, and especially to safeguard our precious tourism industry.* DOES anyone in authority ever read the SMS pages, asks a reader. Of course authorities read it, that is why they now want to intercept our messages. Remember that Government had the opportunity to include communication interception way back in the Intelligence Act. They did not do it because there was no SMS page in The Namibian. Now that we can complain and criticise even ex-President Nujoma freely and fairly, they want to intercept.* MR (Paulus) Noa of ACC, do you think we are going to report corruption by writing letters if the GRN implements the Spy Bill? Or are they going to read them also?* ABOUT the Spy Bill. Since people that will be affected mostly have cellphones, why then can’t the GRN hold a referendum via cell networks to get a public vote.* LET Swapo spy on the phones and websites and get safe with a Twitter connection.- Happy voter* WHAT classified information does the GRN want from the public through the draconian Spy Bill. On the contrary, it’s the GRN that is withholding findings of all presidential commissions of inquiry. Why resort to public bullying? They must rather fight enemies of progress, those killing our productive citizens. Always by your side The Namibian team.- JV * WITH our privacy taken away by this Bill, what’s next? State controlled television? Filtered Internet access? Do you really want this country to become like Iran and Zimbabwe? What is becoming of our freedom?* I TOTALLY reject the SMS saying ‘victory for President Ahmadinejad is a victory for Africa’. Let Muchali enjoy his effortless life in Canada and also note that not all Africans are blind about global politics and threats Iran might cause with its nuclear ambitions. Running The Show
* WAR Veterans’ Minister, why has Erongo Region not yet been touched? When are Erongo former or ex-combatants going to be called?* DR (Richard) Kamwi with all due respect it has become abundantly clear at all the major hospitals that you need competent hospital administrators. To mention a few: hospital staff are selling airtime recharge vouchers and cigarettes, accommodation facilities are horribly worn down and filthy and to make matters worse front officers are ruthless and there is no customer care at all. Your voice is always loud and clear when delivering speeches to your audiences but major hospitals a collapsing.- Tibrisy * AFTER auctioning the Gam cattle the Government must use the money to buy land where these farmers can be resettled. The money should not be used for other things such as helping flood victims.* WHAT if the GRN introduces literacy for the Members of Parliament? Some of our parliamentarians can’t speak proper English.In And From The Regions
* THE Tsumeb Police are not doing their job. They respond late even in serious situations. They say that there are no vehicles. And that’s the time people get killed. The Police should get serious. All they do is sit in their offices. * ABOUT cards for fetching water at Mururani. We need cards please or other systems. It’s true we are suffering with fetching water. Please help us. * PLEASE human rights officer came to 5Rand. Our rights are taken away from us. Please come and help* WHY not put up roofs at the permanent roadblock points? Why blame the Police if you the lawmakers don’t give them a roof over their heads most of the time. When the weather is bad all cars are just passing with no checks done. After 19 years of Independence our government cannot see this?- Toivo Toivo, Swakopmund* WHO gave permission for the Rehoboth Town Council to give us erven numbers and collect N$500 plus N$32 dollars but we can’t register them on our name?* ONDANGWA Nored, how can you turn off the Ohangwena street lights? Put them on again. We are tired of dark streets. This is allowing thieves to steal our property. Please change this, it’s been two weeks now. * WHAT is the use of opening cases at the Police station, specifically in Kavango Region, when our cases are being closed by the crime co-ordinator. Why are our cases not investigated properly? Every time we make an enquiry about our cases, then the Inspector refers us to his crime co-ordinator. Why can Rundu not investigate the same way as the Police are doing in other regions? Suspects are known. Please Regional Commander help us. Criminals are free in this region.Election Fever
* I AM responding to the SMS in the newspaper of June 16 of the teacher complaining about why they are not considered to be election officials. Teachers, there are many kids that perhaps went through your class last year that are jobless at the moment. Rather give them a chance to earn something. Don’t be selfish. They need the money more than you do. General
* WHERE are you City Police? You are nowhere to be seen on our streets and shopping malls. Our purses are being snatched daily and our lives are at risk. Doing our daily shopping is a nightmare as one has to look over one’s shoulder constantly for fear of purse-snatchers. City Police we want to see you, we want to feel safe. Please stop these petty crimes that always end in women being stabbed for spare coins. We want to see you patrolling our shopping malls, taxi ranks and streets. * BE warned! There’s a certain Indian man, ‘fortune teller’ moving around, especially at businesses, insisting to see the owner only. He says that he doesn’t charge a thing for telling you about how your future looks. But at the end, he asks you to pay N$1 100 if poor, N$1 300 middle class and N$1 500 if rich. He travels around. * IS ignorance of copyright the beginning of a fake world? There is always one Chinese company doing that with no effort from government to curb such intellectual malicious trends. See today’s BBC top stories. My question is if we know the importance of copyright on innovations, why should we support countries who give no importance to individual efforts rather to own growth. If Mr Milburn and his Cybersiter are victims today, tomorrow you’ll be the next.* ALTHOUGH we don’t have one cent or two cent coins, we still have prices with N$19, 99. Do shops still have those coins? Why can’t the prices be N$19,50 so that at least you have 50 cents change to buy a sweet or to add to the next item. What can you buy with 5 cents change? Please shop owners or price regulators look into this matter. * WHY are we citizens so content to pay government taxes of 29,5 per cent on low incomes plus 15 per cent on VAT when we have to spend our money. That’s a total tax of 34 per cent. The rich pay only 5,5 per cent more!* AM just wondering if abortion is now legal in South Africa. And we inherited the act against abortion from the South African colonial constitution. Why don’t we relook into these since we have a high rate of baby dumping, illegal (dangerous) abortions and unwanted pregnancies. Think about it MPs.- H- Yes, abortion has been legalised in South Africa. – NewsdeskEducation* IS it money for the ‘bus’ or what has been cooking at Thobias Hainyeko Primary School? Since early 2002, the principal of Thobias Hainyeko Primary School has been collecting money from learners’ parents, either by means of fund-raising or by instructions to buy a school bus, but up to now the so-called bus has not been bought. Still the principal demands N$100 per learner, from parents, to be paid in three months (June, July and August 2009). Why must parents keep paying?- Annoyed parentHealth Matters
* I HAVE noticed with great concern that the workers at the State Mortuary are using an old dilapidated bakkie, which they are borrowing from transport services, to transport bodies from Katutura and the State hospital and then that same vehicle is also used to transport staff to and from work. Does this not pose a health risk for the staff members being transported in this vehicle?