SMS of the Day : Thursday

* MINISTER Nghimtina the current fuel crisis compels us to think outside of the box. My suggestion: Eco-friendly transport in the form of a train that runs from the outskirts of the capital, stopping at strategic centres like hospitals right to the CBD. Far fetched? Don’t think so.

Food for Thought * ON the SA xenophobia attack returnees to Namibia, how sure can Namibian authorities be these are real Namibians if they claim to have lost all their valid documents?Please Help!* Yesterday morning someone broke into Miss Namibia’s car and stole her laptop with very important information which she will need for the crowning this coming Saturday. The person also stole her file with important documents. She is requesting the public to inform the Namibian Police if they see any of the mentioned items. She further begs the thief to at least return the file, because these documents are of no use to him.Zimbabwe* MUGABE, your profile as the greatest despot of Africa has reached a new low by your utterances in Rome. The entire world is just waiting for your disappearance except those like Ngurare and Clinton Witbooi of SPYL.Price Pain* CAN the Ministry of Environment and Tourism now see how empty all three campsites in Etosha National Park are compared to the past years? Better you call it Day Visit Park because the prices are so high nobody is thinking of camping in the park. Better still, call it Foreigners Park because there is no way that local Namibians will take their families for a weekend. – K Ganaseb.* PUBLIC servants in the RSA pay less tax than here in Namibia and they will get a 10,5 per cent increase compared to our 5 per cent increase. Surely our GRN can at least give us an increase based on the current inflation rate or reduce individual tax. Pleeaase.Bouquets and Brickbats* I AM a proud employee of MTC, and I must say that this prestigious company still makes me proud daily. We will never be able to satisfy all our customers, but we are striving daily.* BRAVO and merci to the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre for always providing us Windhoekers with great cultural events, including Dobet Gnahore’s gig! It was superb! The same sentiments go to Ernst Herma and the Warehouse Theatre and the Kalahari Sands Hotel and Casino. And, of course, vive la France!* ANTI-CORRUPTION. You are doing your job correctly and I wish you would create a SMS service like The Namibian.Our Precious Planet* THE Swakopmund initiative to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by encouraging alternative eco-friendly transport must be applauded. Considering the high cost of living the public must find ways to save that extra buck. The Swakopmund effort must be the start of more to come for our good and that of Mother Nature.General* BOTTLE stores, shebeens and service stations must stop selling liquor and cigarettes to underage children. It is becoming an epidemic, and against the law. Rise parents!* HOW does someone who lives in a bashu feel touring the new State House while the leather chair at reception costs more than his whole bashu and it’s belongings?* CITY Police, please give amnesty on unpaid traffic tickets. Start afresh!* DIRECT question to the MVA. How is it possible for management to gallivant around and receive such high salaries and bonuses, while the poor victims of accidents have to beg for some compensation. I have been struggling since 2003. Seems like it’s better to be in an accident while on a drinking spree. Their claims always seem to be processed hassle free.* DO we always have to buy petrol from the RSA? If we buy from Angola, will the cost be still increasing at the same pace? Help me understand the cause.* I’M earnestly appealing to the recruiting NDF and National Youth Service, not to turn healthy HIV-positive youths away to the devastating frustration, unemployment, poverty and disease. Rather recruit them and manage them appropriately. – CH MwandingiPolitics in General* SALUTE to Senator Barack Obama. Congratulations for the victory, the earth needs leaders like you. – Samende Jnr. 2In and From the Regions* I’M concerned about street names in Katima. Why is it there are no street names? How can a person be directed to certain places in town, the Town Council should see to it that they put street names in locations and we need development on those roads. What are the leaders of Katima Mulilo doing, we are tired of your empty promises. – Douglas* WHY doesn’t the Keetmanshoop Hospital get more ambulances for emergencies because we only have one ambulance. And if there has been a accident the Keetmanshoop ambulance arrives four hours late. – Opgesukkel* WHY can’t the finance offices in OTT pull up their socks? We the literacy promoters are hungry, we need our money.* THE Head of the Namibian Police must investigate cases reported to Outjo charge office because Police officers [allegedly] cooperate with criminals and accommodate them in their houses, so we call for help or the ACC must intervene. Because we are losing our property and nothing is done to culprits. – Concerned Okunene/Outjo residents* HONOURABLE Councillor Namwandhi, we also want an army base at Mariental. – Resident.Xenophobia* ON the current wave of xenophobic attacks in SA – who should really be blamed? The attackers? The other African leaders who fail to create opportunities for their people to stay put in their countries to help develop those countries? Not that I am justifying the attacks and the killings, but how much can SA carry with its own restructuring and limited resources with about 10 years of democratic rule? There are some African countries which have been free for about 61 years. It’s about time that African leaders wake up, they should share the blame. – The African* AS a South African, I wish I could find a nice place to hide my face out of shame following the recent events in my beloved country. Those responsible for attacking fellow Africans must really be punished to the fullest extent of the law. These are people who don’t want to do anything for themselves, who thought manna was going to fall from heaven after the 1994 elections. They will burn for eternity in hell, that’s if they will be welcome in hell. Foreigners are not to blame for anything, but the government and some people in South Africa, who are ignorant of the rest of Africa, and don’t want to do anything for themselves. People like Mandela managed to work at mines and study to get degrees when things were even harder then! Also, our government opened borders to the rest of Africa before they could provide basic things for South Africans. Hillbrow, once a beautiful part of Jozi, is now known as Lagos and is a no-go area for even South Africans. To my fellow Africans, we have enough problems already, and to add xenophobia is just too much! Let’s stop it!* TAKE the World Cup away from South Africa. They don’t deserve it. Mbeki should step down. His politics, internal and external have all failed. He is partly to be blamed for the Zimbabwean refugees in his country because he is backing Mugabe. Nelson Mandela’s shoes are three sizes to big for him.* STOP trying to justify xenophobia. Xenophobia cannot be justified in any way. South Africa has set a very bad precedent. We have millions Africans, Indians, Arabs, Chinese and many other nationals working in Europe, what if their populations start behaving like South Africans? What kind of world will we be living in? – Nambaisita.Service Please!* WILL the owner of Berlys Take Away in Swakop please get some customer care training. – RodgerLabour Matters* MINISTRY of Works and Transport, we want the outcome of the post that you advertised in February* I WANT to know why the Oshikoto Regional Council is not providing training and workshops to staff members? Capacity building is only given to top management and councillors. Training needs were submitted several times. The CRO should look into this matter if he wants good achievements in the region.Disconnections* MTC, the people here in Mariental who applied in April for contracts are waiting for their free phones for April specials. It’s now June! GCM-Mariental is giving us vague excuses. What is going on? Please respond.* I WANT to know what happened to the programme on the Oshiwambo radio service called Kapundja? It was educating our children and the youth by creating their own story. – Kalla boy* I AM requesting Radio Omulunga to install their network coverage at Omuthiya. We are in need of your radio service in our town, as soon as possible. – Penda* MTC is very selfish. How can they bar NRU from sourcing other sponsors because of a contract? That proves it: their image is more important than rugby development in the country. Shame on you MTC!* WHAT a pathetic system? SSC’s answering machine seems to be a way of bankrolling Telecom. Instead of pressing a button to be answered at a division that you want you are kept listening to some boring tone. SSC please improve!* FNB Otjiwarongo, if you if you can’t even serve us in Khorixas with a Mini BOB, why did you come and recruit more clients?Education* TEACHERS at Windhoek Technical High School, did the Ministry offer you to teach in Afrikaans because our children are saying that they don’t understand because most of the subjects are taught in Afrikaans .* DIRECTOR for Oshana Education Region do something at Ontinda Combined School. Leadership is lacking and school board members are not respected.* WHEN you place a teacher in a wrong field, you are not only doing harm to the learners, but also to the teacher because he becomes unproductive because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He becomes dull because he is not exercising his mind on the things he knows best to the learners.* PRESIDENT Pohamba, are you aware that the Grade 10s do not fail? It is just the decision from the DNEA to come up with the 23 point because of the limited space in Grade 11. If you build more schools they can make it even 19 points. Please do something before the election.* MINISTRY of Education. Why is art education in school, but there’s no specific art teachers. What is the use of that subject if there are no teachers for it? We need art teachers to teach our children.* MINISTRY of Education, I want to know as who is responsible for recommending Grade 10 and 12 prescribed literature textbooks? Is it the curriculum committee, the DNEA, or an individual person at NIED? I have seen that in some languages it is the DNEA, some by the curriculum committee, which are good books, and some by an individual person from NIED. – Concerned TeacherUtility Bills* HIGH profile people are allowed to have high outstanding debts. But for we poor ones we cannot even debts of N$2 500. Why do you favour those with money and leave out the poor? – Emily* NOW I understand why my water was cut off due to arrears of N$430: to cover up for the rich ministers and mayors! I still need to pay the disconnection fee! City of Windhoek is definitely serving the rich and victimising the poor!* ON the SA xenophobia attack returnees to Namibia, how sure can Namibian authorities be these are real Namibians if they claim to have lost all their valid documents? Please Help! * Yesterday morning someone broke into Miss Namibia’s car and stole her laptop with very important information which she will need for the crowning this coming Saturday. The person also stole her file with important documents. She is requesting the public to inform the Namibian Police if they see any of the mentioned items. She further begs the thief to at least return the file, because these documents are of no use to him.Zimbabwe * MUGABE, your profile as the greatest despot of Africa has reached a new low by your utterances in Rome. The entire world is just waiting for your disappearance except those like Ngurare and Clinton Witbooi of SPYL.Price Pain * CAN the Ministry of Environment and Tourism now see how empty all three campsites in Etosha National Park are compared to the past years? Better you call it Day Visit Park because the prices are so high nobody is thinking of camping in the park. Better still, call it Foreigners Park because there is no way that local Namibians will take their families for a weekend. – K Ganaseb.* PUBLIC servants in the RSA pay less tax than here in Namibia and they will get a 10,5 per cent increase compared to our 5 per cent increase. Surely our GRN can at least give us an increase based on the current inflation rate or reduce individual tax. Pleeaase.Bouquets and Brickbats * I AM a proud employee of MTC, and I must say that this prestigious company still makes me proud daily. We will never be able to satisfy all our customers, but we are striving daily.* BRAVO and merci to the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre for always providing us Windhoekers with great cultural events, including Dobet Gnahore’s gig! It was superb! The same sentiments go to Ernst Herma and the Warehouse Theatre and the Kalahari Sands Hotel and Casino. And, of course, vive la France! * ANTI-CORRUPTION. You are doing your job correctly and I wish you would create a SMS service like The Namibian.Our Precious Planet * THE Swakopmund initiative to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by encouraging alternative eco-friendly transport must be applauded. Considering the high cost of living the public must find ways to save that extra buck. The Swakopmund effort must be the start of more to come for our good and that of Mother Nature.General * BOTTLE stores, shebeens and service stations must stop selling liquor and cigarettes to underage children. It is becoming an epidemic, and against the law. Rise parents! * HOW does someone who lives in a bashu feel touring the new State House while the leather chair at reception costs more than his whole bashu and it’s belongings? * CITY Police, please give amnesty on unpaid traffic tickets. Start afresh! * DIRECT question to the MVA. How is it possible for management to gallivant around and receive such high salaries and bonuses, while the poor victims of accidents have to beg for some compensation. I have been struggling since 2003. Seems like it’s better to be in an accident while on a drinking spree. Their claims always seem to be processed hassle free.* DO we always have to buy petrol from the RSA? If we buy from Angola, will the cost be still increasing at the same pace? Help me understand the cause.* I’M earnestly appealing to the recruiting NDF and National Youth Service, not to turn healthy HIV-positive youths away to the devastating frustration, unemployment, poverty and disease. Rather recruit them and manage them appropriately. – CH Mwandingi Politics in General * SALUTE to Senator Barack Obama. Congratulations for the victory, the earth needs leaders like you. – Samende Jnr. 2 In and From the Regions * I’M concerned about street names in Katima. Why is it there are no street names? How can a person be directed to certain places in town, the Town Council should see to it that they put street names in locations and we need development on those roads. What are the leaders of Katima Mulilo doing, we are tired of your empty promises. – Douglas * WHY doesn’t the Keetmanshoop Hospital get more ambulances for emergencies because we only have one ambulance. And if there has been a accident the Keetmanshoop ambulance arrives four hours late. – Opgesukkel * WHY can’t the finance offices in OTT pull up their socks? We the literacy promoters are hungry, we need our money.* THE Head of the Namibian Police must investigate cases reported to Outjo charge office because Police officers [allegedly] cooperate with criminals and accommodate them in their houses, so we call for help or the ACC must intervene. Because we are losing our property and nothing is done to culprits. – Concerned Okunene/Outjo residents * HONOURABLE Councillor Namwandhi, we also want an army base at Mariental. – Resident. Xenophobia * ON the current wave of xenophobic attacks in SA – who should really be blamed? The attackers? The other African leaders who fail to create opportunities for their people to stay put in their countries to help develop those countries? Not that I am justifying the attacks and the killings, but how much can SA carry with its own restructuring and limited resources with about 10 years of democratic rule? There are some African countries which have been free for about 61 years. It’s about time that African leaders wake up, they should share the blame. – The African * AS a South African, I wish I could find a nice place to hide my face out of shame following the recent events in my beloved country. Those responsible for attacking fellow Africans must really be punished to the fullest extent of the law. These are people who don’t want to do anything for themselves, who thought manna was going to fall from heaven after the 1994 elections. They will burn for eternity in hell, that’s if they will be welcome in hell. Foreigners are not to blame for anything, but the government and some people in South Africa, who are ignorant of the rest of Africa, and don’t want to do anything for themselves. People like Mandela managed to work at mines and study to get degrees when things were even harder then! Also, our government opened borders to the rest of Africa before they could provide basic things for South Africans. Hillbrow, once a beautiful part of Jozi, is now known as Lagos and is a no-go area for even South Africans. To my fellow Africans, we have enough problems already, and to add xenophobia is just too much! Let’s stop it! * TAKE the World Cup away from South Africa. They don’t deserve it. Mbeki should step down. His politics, internal and external have all failed. He is partly to be blamed for the Zimbabwean refugees in his country because he is backing Mugabe. Nelson Mandela’s shoes are three sizes to big for him.* STOP trying to justify xenophobia. Xenophobia cannot be justified in any way. South Africa has set a very bad precedent. We have millions Africans, Indians, Arabs, Chinese and many other nationals working in Europe, what if their populations start behaving like South Africans? What kind of world will we be living in? – Nambaisita.Service Please! * WILL the owner of Berlys Take Away in Swakop please get some customer care training. – Rodger Labour Matters * MINISTRY of Works and Transport, we want the outcome of the post that you advertised in February * I WANT to know why the Oshikoto Regional Council is not providing training and workshops to staff members? Capacity building is only given to top management and councillors. Training needs were submitted several times. The CRO should look into this matter if he wants good achievements in the region. Disconnections * MTC, the people here in Mariental who applied in April for contracts are waiting for their free phones for April specials. It’s now June! GCM-Mariental is giving us vague excuses. What is going on? Please respond.* I WANT to know what happened to the programme on the Oshiwambo radio service called Kapundja? It was educating our children and the youth by creating their own story. – Kalla boy * I AM requesting Radio Omulunga to install their network coverage at Omuthiya. We are in need of your radio service in our town, as soon as possible. – Penda * MTC is very selfish. How can they bar NRU from sourcing other sponsors because of a contract? That proves it: their image is more important than rugby development in the country. Shame on you MTC! * WHAT a pathetic system? SSC’s answering machine seems to be a way of bankrolling Telecom. Instead of pressing a button to be answered at a division that you want you are kept listening to some boring tone. SSC please improve! * FNB Otjiwarongo, if you if you can’t even serve us in Khorixas with a Mini BOB, why did you come and recruit more clients? Education * TEACHERS at Windhoek Technical High School, did the Ministry offer you to teach in Afrikaans because our children are saying that they don’t understand because most of the subjects are taught in Afrikaans .* DIRECTOR for Oshana Education Region do something at Ontinda Combined School. Leadership is lacking and school board members are not respected.* WHEN you place a teacher in a wrong field, you are not only doing harm to the learners, but also to the teacher because he becomes unproductive because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He becomes dull because he is not exercising his mind on the things he knows best to the learners.* PRESIDENT Pohamba, are you aware that the Grade 10s do not fail? It is just the decision from the DNEA to come up with the 23 point because of the limited space in Grade 11. If you build more schools they can make it even 19 points. Please do something before the election.* MINISTRY of Education. Why is art education in school, but there’s no specific art teachers. What is the use of that subject if there are no teachers for it? We need art teachers to teach our children.* MINISTRY of Education, I want to know as who is responsible for recommending Grade 10 and 12 prescribed literature textbooks? Is it the curriculum committee, the DNEA, or an individual person at NIED? I have seen that in some languages it is the DNEA, some by the curriculum committee, which are good books, and some by an individual person from NIED. – Concerned Teacher Utility Bills * HIGH profile people are allowed to have high outstanding debts. But for we poor ones we cannot even debts of N$2 500. Why do you favour those with money and leave out the poor? – Emily * NOW I understand why my water was cut off due to arrears of N$430: to cover up for the rich ministers and mayors! I still need to pay the disconnection fee! City of Windhoek is definitely serving the rich and victimising the poor!

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