SMSes For 05 Feb 09

SMS Of The Day
n A HUMBLE request to our agricultural academics and scientists. Can you people come and study how our livestock seem to cope well with the extreme weather conditions in nortweastern Namibia, especially in Kunene.

You won’t see any pasture but still our animals are healthy and look fat. Is this attributed only to adaptation? I think there is more to this concept.Food For Thought n I NEED to know the logic behind having three separate Ministries that do functions that can be put in one Ministry. We have Health and Social Services, Labour and Social Welfare, Gender and Child Welfare. Mr Prime Minister is it not possible to put all the functions in these different Ministries in only one Ministry. In this way the professionals involved can be utilised fully and the government can also serve resources? Anyone from the PM’s office to explain please. Democracy Rules n TOLERANCE in political matters means the acceptance of differing views of other people and fairness toward the people who hold these views. It seems to me the critics of Mr Hishoono have the inability to put up with his views, and those of other leaders in Swapo, when pronouncing themselves on issues of public interest. Democracy provides space for them to express themselves, and attempt to suppress their views or to silence them lacks a substance of tolerance. Therefore we should have fairness in our criticism. – Ipinge, Ongwedivan THE Namibian is one of the agents encouraging moral decay in this country through the SMSes. This is freedom of expression without responsibility. – Fessy- We appreciate your point of view Fessy, but would dispute that our SMS page represents ‘freedom of expression without responsibility’. It is a platform for people’s views, whether we agree with them or not. We also take great care when going through people’s contributions to check for libel, hate speech, etc. Freedom of expression helps bolster democracy and guard against ‘moral decay’. It is dangerous to allow issues to fester in the dark. – News Editorn MR Hishoono! When is an insult an insult and when isn’t. Is it when it is uttered by an ordinary citizen or by a ruling party politician?n NO to Mr Kanana’s claims. It is our democratic right to criticise the leadership of the country as the electorate. Viva Gwen Lister for giving us the chance to view our concerns. Viva The Namibian for ‘telling it like it is’. Go on with the SMSes. n HAVE you ever noticed that someone with a drinking problem will never admit it and becomes aggressive when approached about it? We urge the leaders of Namibia not to follow the ways of Zimbabwe. Instead of sulking because people are making there views public, be the mature democracy we know you can be and realise that every party makes mistakes. Our leaders who truly care for the people would take the public’s views to heart and remember that the people who voted for them have the right to tell them when they are not happy. Mr President (Hifikepunye Pohamba) take your appointees to task for their lack of democracy. They are embarrassing you. n VIVA freedom of speech! Viva The Namibian’s SMS page! Viva NBC’s call-in programmes!! Down with all anti-constitution utterances! Forward with all the freedoms as enshrined in our Constitution. May we just then exercise our freedoms responsibly? Election Fever Should we talk politics in church?n RALLIES in the church. Some parishes, in the North, allow political rallies to be held during the church service. How do other fellow Namibians feel about that? Politics n POLITICS is a dirty game. Please take note that anyone who is not ready to be criticised is not fit to be a leader and should honourably quit politics. A true leader knows that he or she is the people’s servant and is answerable to them. It is about time that the leaders with bossy attitudes are out of leadership positions and only then will they be left alone. Zimbabwe n AS a staunch supporter of The Namibian I have no choice but to respect your point of view concerning publishing pictures of the Zimbabwean president and was left feeling slightly rebuked by your reply! Thanks for telling it like it is! – No need to feel rebuked! We appreciate that you took the time to express your view, which we do understand. It’s just that as a newspaper we have to approach the issue differently. – News Editorn I’M sick and tired of Zimbabwe’s damn problem! Wake up Africa, and do something drastic regarding it – like pleading with the Western Powers to at least in some way de-pressurise the sanctions. For crying loud to the empty heavens, people our own brothers and sisters are suffering! Can’t we hear their cries for the better? It breaks my heart to see them like so. Please, I plead very soulfully. Only Africans like us can save Africa! – SS //Gowaseb, Khorixas. n EVERYONE knows what the problem in Zimbabwe is and who is causing it. My question is SADC, AU and Cde (Robert) Mugabe are calling for the sanctions to be lifted. Can you enlighten as to what these sanction are. And are they real the cause of the suffering of Zimbabweans? – Kamati Taxi Talk PLEASE Nabta, we need a taxi rank at Otjomuise 7de Laan. n THE colours wanted to use on taxis in Windhoek or elsewhere is robbing people of their rights. Why can’t it be done to those who want them? There are many illegal shebeens around the country, but you can’t identify which ones have permits to sell liquor from different. Please Natis, RA, Nabta and the Ministry of Works sit and solve this issue. The best way to get rid of illegal taxis is to update the registration system and link it to relevant authorities to get rid of pirate taxis. Loving It!n LOL can also mean Lots Of Love.Generaln CAN the Government please come up with a strategy to bail out Namdeb, which is facing financial difficulties, after all they are the shareholders in that company. n PARKING at Windhoek Central Hospital. Are the doctors the only employees of this hospital? Why do the nurses and other hospital personnel have no parking area? They are being blocked from parking their cars in the doctors’ parking area at night by the security staff. They are being told to park on the open space where there is no security and lights, so their cars are being broken into. Why are they discriminating against the nurses and other personnel? n PERMIT me to view my point of concern in your newspaper. It relates to the major (medical) operations which require huge amounts of money. Parents and guardians cannot afford to pay such amounts. We do have Namutenya and other fellow Namibians who already underwent operations outside the country with the help of the Namibian people and non-governmental organisations. My input in this matter of concern is: Why can’t we create a trust fund for these operations? I suggest a 50c deduction from the income of each worker in Namibia. A good example is the Social Security Commission and MVA Fund. n CAN anyone give a legal opinion on how Government can transport, accommodate and feed a State witness to testify in misconduct hearing within Government Ministries, when this person is not employed by the Government. NO provision was made for this in the Public Service Act of 1995. BouquetsAnd Brickbatsn PARLIAMENT! Taking Parliament to the people through outreach and the Parliament online bus seems a joke. It’s like they only do it when they feel like it or is it laziness at its best? n THIS competition run by MTC is very much appreciated. However, I don’t think it is the most practical competition in a country like ours. What if I win, or many others in my shoes? I don’t have a driver’s licence, nor do I have a job, so I won’t be able to drive the car neither will I be able to put in fuel or maintain the car. Since I am not allowed to redeem the car for cash, it would have been more practical to offer cash prizes. n LET us dress properly. I refer to one presenter of Winna Mariba on February 3. We don’t want to see cleavage on the screen. n THANKS Hon Joel Kaapanda of MICT for your vision on the national pride campaign. In And FromThe Regions n IT is a pity for the poor residents of Omuthiya town as only the first only 36 plots are going to be sold by auction. Let us stand and say no to this poor decision. This town was established by the Okapana sellers who cannot afford to by plots by auction. We are calling for a public debate on this issue. – Namtenya Sheya Labour Issues n I AM a member of a security company. The problems I have faced in this company are as follows. (1) Does not have transport. (2) Does not have off days. You can work from the first of the month till the end and your salary will be N$1 000. We don’t have night allowances, like other companies. Night shift and day shift they work for $36 per day. I call upon the union and more especially SAN organisation to look into this. n I WOULD like to ask the public about the negotiations about security guards. When they started only the two unions, NASGWU and Natau, which used to negotiate with SAN without the workforce representative. I want the unions to ask the workforce to elect their representative before negotiations start. – Worried Security Guard ACC Alert A right shared by alln ACC please see to it that the Ministry of Justice does its work when it comes to resigned magistrates and their pensions. The Namibian please help. – Frustrated Resigned Magistrate n BAGS of maize meal meant for a feeding scheme are gathering dust at Namutoni Primary School in Windhoek, while vulnerable kids are hungry. I want the ACC to launch an investigation immediately into this matter. What are the school board and the school management doing? We shouldn’t wait till the same thing happens like in Caprivi. This is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Some bags came last year in September. Action now please! We are tired of negligent people who are failing the good government programmes to help this nation.Sporting n I AM happy to see a wind of change blowing through Athletics Namibia. Alpha (Kangueehi) is and was never bigger than sport and it will be proven in due course. What a pity for those athletes who could not pursue their dreams. For our young athletes, keep good faith and live your dreams! Viva Sport! Children OfThe Struggle n CAN the President please tell us the difference between kids from exile and the ones born here? Where will we go with our certificates? We are all part of Namibia and we all vote. Education n MINISTRY of Education. Iikuku JP School must change their working hours. How can Grade 1 and 2 learners knock off at 14h30 while others primary schools end at 13h15. Please do something. Service Please n MUNICIPALITY, answer your phones! n PLEASE Shell Service Station, your kitchen is not the way it was before. You are going down. We liked to stop there and buy when going to the North. Where is that nice cook? You will lose customers. Cook nice food. Thanks. – A Taxi Driver n PLEASE paraffin suppliers bring it back. There was none between January 27 and February 4. Ministry of Mines and Energy look into it.