SMS of the Day : Monday

* CONGRATULATIONS to you, who put up the crosses around the Reiter! Wonderful idea! Humble design! Courageous act! This should be the beginning of a monument of sincere national reconciliation that unites us all in our shared yet often brutal history and provides a symbol for every Namibian of our common destiny! Please President Pohamba, let Cabinet come up with a brief for a worthy space of common remembrance in the centre of Windhoek, which promotes ‘amongst all of us the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Namibian nation’!

Food for thought * WHEN will the GRN start digging earth-dams in the north to harvest rainwater, as suggested during the flood? At some places animals don’t have access to water as the catchment dams around are filled up with sand.Politics* NAMIBIANS who were inside the country during the liberation struggle must wake up before it is too late because the Government of today is [allegedly] only benefiting the so-called exiles. They are favoured when it come to posts, compensations, bursaries for education, fishing rights, mining, diamond concessions, loans from Development Bank of Namibia, Agricultural Bank, war veterans compensations and the list go on. The few people who have been inside the country who are benefiting are the ones who are connected to the Swapo elite. We, the majority who have been inside the country, who voted Swapo to power all the years, have been ignored, we mean nothing to the Government of today. The only solution from now before it’s too late is to form our own party which can also fight for our rights. We have suffered for too long (18 years). Let’s wake up before it’s too late.General* WHAT about those girls I call from the North to work with me as a baby sitter or a bar lady? Next she starts sleeping with my husband. Then when I find out and chase her back to the North she is pregnant from my husband. Will she also be paid or not? I want to know.* WHY is it just African leaders who are being tried by the International Court of Justice in The Hague? When are we going to see the likes of (US President George) Bush in that court for war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan. Many lives have been lost in those countries, or are they not humans? Come on. – It’s not just African leaders. Don’t have all the facts at the tip of my fingers, but offhand do know that Slobodan Milosevic, for one, was tried at the International Court. Milosevic served as the president of Serbia and as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. – News Editor* I HAVE an idea which I would like to patent, but don’t know the necessary procedures to follow, and where to seek the assistance for possible manufacturing of the invented product. Thus would you please place a guiding article on this subject as well as all the related issues in connection with patents and eventual production of such inventions. – AJ – Can anyone help? – News Editor* THE way Government builds teachers’ houses is not convenient. They should not build family houses. They should consider bachelor/single flats, with one kitchen.* THE robbery in Schuster Street [Windhoek] and the subsequent late response by NamPol (who are known for their [alleged] incompetence in responding to crime scenes in Windhoek) and the City Police shows one cannot rely on the Police for assistance. We must defend ourselves.* WHILE neccessary, the recognition of war veterans should not be used to cement the liberators into power at the expense of our peace and stability, as is the case in Zimbabwe. Just remember the aim was freedom for all.Bouquets And Brickbats* CORRY and The Namibian, your inspirational words in The Namibian of Friday gave Orlando Pirates a 3 – 1 win over Mighty Gunners. Thanks. – Hendry JaggerPrice Squeeze* I DON’T know why Rama margarine is 11 dollars in Pick ‘n Pay Katutura, and 16 dollars in Woermann in Wanaheda.* How can BP on Nelson Mandela [Avenue] charge N$295 for 9 kg gas and Namox only N$158 plus delivery?That VAT* WHAT happened to the removal of VAT from certain food items, I have noticed cooking oil going up another dollar …Zimbabwe* NOT long ago Swapo was shouting very loudly and made a lot of noise so that everybody could hear including the West. 435 now! Free and Fair elections! Blah…blah… blah… This and that etc. Now that Zimbabwe is suffering the same, although by the former hero, they are dead quiet especially the past and current leadership. – S Nepunda-Okadiva* HOW is it possible that sanctions are blamed for the collapse of the Zimbabwe economy? It is history that more stringent sanctions were in force against the apartheid regime in South Africa but the economy in that country didn’t reach those levels. Investors withdrew, but the administration purchased knowledge in Europe and the US to manufacture what they couldn’t import. Examples are Sasol petrol and even a car called a Ranger. Mugabe took the land but the production of even tobacco took a plunge. How can we blame sanctions if we have land and water to harvest maize? But if we don’t work on the land nothing will grow to feed the nation. Let us realise that singing the same song will bring us nowhere. Let the Zimbabwean people decide who they want as leader. It is not the prerogative of Mbeki and Swapo leaders to label the preferred leader of Zimbabweans a puppet of the West.* COULD [South African President Thabo] Mbeki have done more for ordinary Zimbabweans? That he chose to take on the issue and has achieved nothing while more people have starved or been brutalised carries with it significant responsibility, surely?* MR Mugabe! Don’t let the country be ruled by the opposition party please. You are the one who fought it. Viva Zanu-PF! To those who blame Mugabe for the situation in the country, you must blame those guys who set up sanctions against him. United States and United Kingdom, you are making the situation worse in Zimbabwe. – Nambinga P, Rosh PinahIn And From the Regions* ONGWEDIVA Town Council two issues: why charge a N$300 reconnection fee, it’s lower even in Windhoek. Please relocate the garbage dump to the outskirts because it’s unhygienic (it’s in the centre of our suburbs). – Ignath* OPUWO Town Council must do something to the tarred road in town. That tarred road is full of soil or sand, now its look like a gravel road.* THE Municipality of Swakopmund has again increased rental fees for halls, but the chairs and tables are very old and not enough. Sources are saying that all 800 new chairs were stolen, but nobody was held responsible for the loss. Stop the rip-off and improve your services!* AS a regular user of the dumping site, I wish to ask the CEO, and the health and safety officer of Okahandja Municipality what happened to the people living at the dumping site, and what is the position of the Town Council on the issue.* WHEN are we getting electricity at Oneputa-Okambode? Please, the Oniipa councillor must do something.* DR Richard Kamwi [Minister of Health], when you come to Oshakati may you please come along with information about the upgrading course for enrolled nurses. We don’t have it in our regional office. – Concerned nurse* I WANT to know: if you are town council leader and you own a shebeen in a residential area whilst the Act doesn’t allow selling alcohol to minors, is that how to lead a nation? – Concerned Ratepayer, OtjiwarongoEducation* NAMCOL teachers are not doing enough. Why don’t they teach us like ordinary students?Health Matters* MoHSS Oshikoto Region, for the past weeks patients have not been transported from Tsumeb State Hospital to Oshakati Hospital for special treatment, simply because the petrol cards and car licence have expired.* THE shortage of medication at the Okahandja Hospital has got worse. Patients who are admitted are given prescriptions by doctors to go buy from the private pharmacy, give it to the nurses to give to patients, including children and pensioners. This was done this (last) week. Doctors are saying medicines are cheaper to buy than the cost of a funeral. My question to Hon Minister Kamwi is why are the hospitals admitting patients knowing medicines are not there? How do I as a patient feel when the doctor talks about my funeral costs in front of all other patients and nurses and I’m alive and coping with my sickness? Is it not the GRN’s social responsibility?Disconnections* NBC Stop showing re-runs every day!Labour* NOT enough! The Ministry of Labour must look into salaries in the security industry. Three dollars per hour has not changed. – KalolaSporting* TO win the remaining two matches for Afcon-World Cup qualifiers we must call up all the foreign-based players. We will beat Zimbabwe and Kenya if we use all foreign-based players. Zimbabwe and Kenya have used all their foreign players, why not us? That is why we have lost all the matches. Please let’s be serious.* CHIEF Santos welcome back to the NPL. You have done the soccer lovers of Tsumeb proud! – Kennedy, Windhoek* I SEE why Namibian national sports codes don’t improve, they only play when there are international competitions like the qualifiers. What are the ‘Biltongboere’ up to? The Springboks are busy with the Tri-nations! – Angela* WHEN will the GRN start digging earth-dams in the north to harvest rainwater, as suggested during the flood? At some places animals don’t have access to water as the catchment dams around are filled up with sand.Politics * NAMIBIANS who were inside the country during the liberation struggle must wake up before it is too late because the Government of today is [allegedly] only benefiting the so-called exiles. They are favoured when it come to posts, compensations, bursaries for education, fishing rights, mining, diamond concessions, loans from Development Bank of Namibia, Agricultural Bank, war veterans compensations and the list go on. The few people who have been inside the country who are benefiting are the ones who are connected to the Swapo elite. We, the majority who have been inside the country, who voted Swapo to power all the years, have been ignored, we mean nothing to the Government of today. The only solution from now before it’s too late is to form our own party which can also fight for our rights. We have suffered for too long (18 years). Let’s wake up before it’s too late.General * WHAT about those girls I call from the North to work with me as a baby sitter or a bar lady? Next she starts sleeping with my husband. Then when I find out and chase her back to the North she is pregnant from my husband. Will she also be paid or not? I want to know.* WHY is it just African leaders who are being tried by the International Court of Justice in The Hague? When are we going to see the likes of (US President George) Bush in that court for war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan. Many lives have been lost in those countries, or are they not humans? Come on. – It’s not just African leaders. Don’t have all the facts at the tip of my fingers, but offhand do know that Slobodan Milosevic, for one, was tried at the International Court. Milosevic served as the president of Serbia and as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. – News Editor * I HAVE an idea which I would like to patent, but don’t know the necessary procedures to follow, and where to seek the assistance for possible manufacturing of the invented product. Thus would you please place a guiding article on this subject as well as all the related issues in connection with patents and eventual production of such inventions. – AJ – Can anyone help? – News Editor * THE way Government builds teachers’ houses is not convenient. They should not build family houses. They should consider bachelor/single flats, with one kitchen.* THE robbery in Schuster Street [Windhoek] and the subsequent late response by NamPol (who are known for their [alleged] incompetence in responding to crime scenes in Windhoek) and the City Police shows one cannot rely on the Police for assistance. We must defend ourselves.* WHILE neccessary, the recognition of war veterans should not be used to cement the liberators into power at the expense of our peace and stability, as is the case in Zimbabwe. Just remember the aim was freedom for all.Bouquets And Brickbats * CORRY and The Namibian, your inspirational words in The Namibian of Friday gave Orlando Pirates a 3 – 1 win over Mighty Gunners. Thanks. – Hendry Jagger Price Squeeze * I DON’T know why Rama margarine is 11 dollars in Pick ‘n Pay Katutura, and 16 dollars in Woermann in Wanaheda.* How can BP on Nelson Mandela [Avenue] charge N$295 for 9 kg gas and Namox only N$158 plus delivery? That VAT * WHAT happened to the removal of VAT from certain food items, I have noticed cooking oil going up another dollar …Zimbabwe * NOT long ago Swapo was shouting very loudly and made a lot of noise so that everybody could hear including the West. 435 now! Free and Fair elections! Blah…blah… blah… This and that etc. Now that Zimbabwe is suffering the same, although by the former hero, they are dead quiet especially the past and current leadership. – S Nepunda-Okadiva * HOW is it possible that sanctions are blamed for the collapse of the Zimbabwe economy? It is history that more stringent sanctions were in force against the apartheid regime in South Africa but the economy in that country didn’t reach those levels. Investors withdrew, but the administration purchased knowledge in Europe and the US to manufacture what they couldn’t import. Examples are Sasol petrol and even a car called a Ranger. Mugabe took the land but the production of even tobacco took a plunge. How can we blame sanctions if we have land and water to harvest maize? But if we don’t work on the land nothing will grow to feed the nation. Let us realise that singing the same song will bring us nowhere. Let the Zimbabwean people decide who they want as leader. It is not the prerogative of Mbeki and Swapo leaders to label the preferred leader of Zimbabweans a puppet of the West.* COULD [South African President Thabo] Mbeki have done more for ordinary Zimbabweans? That he chose to take on the issue and has achieved nothing while more people have starved or been brutalised carries with it significant responsibility, surely? * MR Mugabe! Don’t let the country be ruled by the opposition party please. You are the one who fought it. Viva Zanu-PF! To those who blame Mugabe for the situation in the country, you must blame those guys who set up sanctions against him. United States and United Kingdom, you are making the situation worse in Zimbabwe. – Nambinga P, Rosh Pinah In And From the Regions * ONGWEDIVA Town Council two issues: why charge a N$300 reconnection fee, it’s lower even in Windhoek. Please relocate the garbage dump to the outskirts because it’s unhygienic (it’s in the centre of our suburbs). – Ignath * OPUWO Town Council must do something to the tarred road in town. That tarred road is full of soil or sand, now its look like a gravel road.* THE Municipality of Swakopmund has again increased rental fees for halls, but the chairs and tables are very old and not enough. Sources are saying that all 800 new chairs were stolen, but nobody was held responsible for the loss. Stop the rip-off and improve your services! * AS a regular user of the dumping site, I wish to ask the CEO, and the health and safety officer of Okahandja Municipality what happened to the people living at the dumping site, and what is the position of the Town Council on the issue.* WHEN are we getting electricity at Oneputa-Okambode? Please, the Oniipa councillor must do something.* DR Richard Kamwi [Minister of Health], when you come to Oshakati may you please come along with information about the upgrading course for enrolled nurses. We don’t have it in our regional office. – Concerned nurse * I WANT to know: if you are town council leader and you own a shebeen in a residential area whilst the Act doesn’t allow selling alcohol to minors, is that how to lead a nation? – Concerned Ratepayer, Otjiwarongo Education * NAMCOL teachers are not doing enough. Why don’t they teach us like ordinary students? Health Matters * MoHSS Oshikoto Region, for the past weeks patients have not been transported from Tsumeb State Hospital to Oshakati Hospital for special treatment, simply because the petrol cards and car licence have expired.* THE shortage of medication at the Okahandja Hospital has got worse. Patients who are admitted are given prescriptions by doctors to go buy from the private pharmacy, give it to the nurses to give to patients, including children and pensioners. This was done this (last) week. Doctors are saying medicines are cheaper to buy than the cost of a funeral. My question to Hon Minister Kamwi is why are the hospitals admitting patients knowing medicines are not there? How do I as a patient feel when the doctor talks about my funeral costs in front of all other patients and nurses and I’m alive and coping with my sickness? Is it not the GRN’s social responsibility? Disconnections * NBC Stop showing re-runs every day! Labour * NOT enough! The Ministry of Labour must look into salaries in the security industry. Three dollars per hour has not changed. – Kalola Sporting * TO win the remaining two matches for Afcon-World Cup qualifiers we must call up all the foreign-based players. We will beat Zimbabwe and Kenya if we use all foreign-based players. Zimbabwe and Kenya have used all their foreign players, why not us? That is why we have lost all the matches. Please let’s be serious.* CHIEF Santos welcome back to the NPL. You have done the soccer lovers of Tsumeb proud! – Kennedy, Windhoek * I SEE why Namibian national sports codes don’t improve, they only play when there are international competitions like the qualifiers. What are the ‘Biltongboere’ up to? The Springboks are busy with the Tri-nations! – Angela