SMSes for Thu 16 Apr 09

* CONDOMS are all over the place. Everybody in Namibia knows about condoms and I’ll bet almost everybody has seen a condom at least once. Not much more can be done; the information is out there, condoms are out there. Yet despite this fact, many new HIV infections occur every year. Many girls still fall pregnant.

* CONDOMS are all over the place. Everybody in Namibia knows about condoms and I’ll bet almost everybody has seen a condom at least once. Not much more can be done; the information is out there, condoms are out there. Yet despite this fact, many new HIV infections occur every year. Many girls still fall pregnant. So why are we being so ignorant? Why are young people in Namibia not showing that they have more pride? Why are they not taking responsibility for their lives and their futures? – Nangombe Hofni E, Tsandi

Food For Thought
* THE letter by Ubuntu on Thursday, April 9 2009 titled ‘Creating, not dividing, wealth’ was spot on, something all Namibians need to understand.

Bouquets And Brickbats
* I ENJOY reading Top Ten of Everything. Could The Namibian please publish Africa’s top 10 largest cities? – We’ll do our best to try and check the facts and compile it. – News Editor
* WHAT is happening at the Ministry of Home Affairs? How can a passport take more than four months to be issued? They are telling us they are running out of passport books. Was their budget not well budgeted or what? Something somewhere is wrong. Please Director we paid for our passports and we need them. – DMR, Outapi
* HOW is it possible that NBC and One Africa TV do not show age restrictions when showing ‘Camilla’ and ‘The Two Sides of Anna’. You’re destroying our kids’ future. – Age restrictions help guide us on programmes, etc, but surely it’s up to parents to control what their children watch? – News Editor

Politics
* PARLIAMENTARIANS, please change parliamentary rules so that the senseless interruptions, points of order, points of information during speeches can be stopped. We want to listen to the speeches without senseless interruptions. Keep your comments until the end. If you cannot remember for that long, write your thoughts down.
* MEDIA guilty of causing African self-hate: (Justice Minister Pendukeni) Iivula-Ithana. Those are words from a justice minister. Dear minister, why do African leaders always blame the West? Did the latter ever prevent our NBC from covering the happenings during the recent G20 summit in London? Shed more light on our home-based issues like the Lubango dungeon before the ICC starts hunting us!
* I AGREE with (Justice) Minister Ithana, the so-called ICC will always indict the third world leaders because the ICC is a Nato court not the International Court of Justice. Everyone in this world knows that George W Bush killed 1,3 million people in Iraq in the name of democracy, Osama Bin Laden killed 3 000 people in the US in the name of God. Now who is a terrorist between the two men?
* WOULD it be fair if some bands sing and chant slogans criticising Swapo leaders and its members? I don’t think so. They will be crucified, but Ndilimani band can get away with it and everything is just fine.
* WHY do Namibian ministers and presidents read their speeches from a piece of paper? Do they really plan and mean their messages to the nation? If you really know what you are talking about, you don’t read your say.

General
* WORLD economic crisis: what does it mean ‘world economy drop’? Can someone help to explain it at school level (Grades 5 – 10). – From concerned parent in rural areas – A drop in the world economy means that the total value of the goods and services produced by all the people in the whole world, better known as the gross domestic product (GDP), this year will grow less than it did last year. As such the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that world economic growth will shrink to only 0,5 per cent in 2009. The world’s GDP, or the value of the world’s goods and services produced in 2009, is therefore expected to grow by only half a per cent this year. – Newsdesk
* I WOULD like to suggest that our Police force be trained in diving especially at the coast. It is necessary to save the lives of people drowning at sea .

In And From the Regions
* THE RCC or RA must urgently come to assess the work being done on the gravel road between Rosh Pinah and Noordoewer. Instead of gravel, sand is being used to fill up large gaps and holes. Please hurry without delay to come and see for yourselves. We cannot allow our taxpayers’ money to be wasted in this manner.
* WHEN will the Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust envisage opening a branch in Otjiwarongo? We are hungry for fish.

Running The Show
* DEAR Comrade Prime Minister, due to rising crime in Windhoek and around the country, please consider the working hours for public sector and private sectors like this: 07h30 – 2h45 (lunch) 13h45 – 16h45, that’s the best in winter time and also productive.

Soccer Weekend
* THANK you so much, Gwen! You are a true compatriot. Unlike the Oupa Indongos, Pupkewitz and others, you undoubtedly deserve the highest award Namibia could ever offer for patriotism, selflessness and consistency to hold this Cup! You are a not talker, but a doer! Long live The Namibian!
* DID I see Mr (Elijah) Ngurare on NBC TV putting on a Namibian Newspaper Cup T-shirt or were my eyes fooling me? If my eyes were right, it is a good development. I hope he will advise on the unbanning of the people’s paper by our Government.
* WELL done to Ms Lister. It was a wonderful weekend, we enjoyed the soccer very much. The only thing I notice, which left a bad taste for me, was to see the so-called Premier League coach coaching the Hardap team and not succeeding to win the tournament and he was the only top brass. Please next time leave it out for the grassroots coaches, for me it seems they are better off.
* THE Namibian Editor Gwen Lister and her team have stood out to be counted in this country. The Newspaper Cup does not only serve as an entertainment event but also a uniting moment for the people in 13 regions. You are doing a great job colleagues! Keep doing and telling like it is.
* WHY a ban on The Namibian newspaper but when it comes to national events organised by the same paper everyone attends. What a contradiction! Keep up the good job madam Gwen Lister.
* COACH Willem Kapukare is a disgrace to Namibian football, how can he select 10 players from Khomas for the Shadow Team? I was surprised when I saw a boy who has never started a match for Khomas captaining the Shadow Team in the second half. – Although Mr Kapukare was part of the selection panel for the Shadow Team, he was not solely responsible for choosing players. He was assisted by other junior team coaches, including the NFA Technical Director, Klaus Staerk. Therefore, it was a collective decision by the various coaches to have 10 players from the Khomas region. We do not know the selection criteria as they were not explained. – Newsdesk

Road Hogs!
* WELCOME taxi N111391W, Erf 585 Tarentaal Steet, Windhoek. Our streets in Windhoek are not your rubbish bin. Dispose your waste appropriately.
* TO the driver of the BMW X6 registration number N3168W on the Okahandja-Karibib road on Thursday afternoon on the way to the coast, you are selfish and put many lives at risk with your selfish and reckless driving.
* TO the lady driver of the silver BMW with registration number Posh NA who, together with the black and red BMWs recklessly overtook against oncoming traffic on Monday afternoon between Okahandja and Windhoek, I want to say the following: You nearly cost me the lives of my wife and two beautiful children. They are my whole life and I love them very much. So next time you want to pull a stunt like that, think about that. You surely cannot be a mother if you are as irresponsible as that.

Price Pain
* IS N$10,95 fair for a loaf of bread? I paid this at Engen Quick Shop at Karibib.

Education
* I AM a concerned parent and much dissatisfied. JG van der Wath SSS has been without teachers from the beginning of the year. What is going on? Who is responsible for this? How can the region perform if these key elements are not addressed?
* NO! Please No! I can’t handle this any more. Responsible officials please intervene into the so-called NQA. This institution’s not meant to hinder other people’s future.
* THE presence of Inter Africa Security guards at Unam main campus is irritating. These guards police students to the extent that they even harass us while writing tests and exams, while studying in the library and lecture rooms, while making enquiries at the admin block and lecturers’ offices, while buying and eating food at the tuck shop. Unam has its own security department which is supposed to render protection services. Professionally. Prof Hangula is this a pure violation of our fundamental rights and freedoms. It’s also a waste of our money and resources. SRC, Faculty reps intervene swiftly. – Concerned student.

Labour Issues
* ALL Job Seekers’ Bureaus should be removed. The one in Khomasdal is right in front of the houses, and is causing a lot of nuisance. Whoever thought of erecting it there did not consider those living there at all.

Service Please
* THE staff at Panarotti’s Pizza need customer service training
* THE bus used by Intercape between Upington and Windhoek is very old and uncomfortable, especially for those travelling all the way from Pretoria to Windhoek! No aircon! We deserve the same respect and treatment like those in South Africa and a more comfortable bus must be provided. No discrimination please! We are not second-class travellers, Intercape!

The Old And The New
* CUSTOMARY laws in Namibia should permit men to have more wives. Women MPs stop being selfish and focus on the reality which takes you back to your roots. The Bill will benefit women more than men. If you study marriage women are distressed, unhappy and full of hate because they know their husbands have secret relationships. How many women, including in top positions, are mistresses or have boyfriends at the age of 40 to 50. Those boyfriends are actually husbands of others. Please MPs study African culture and tradition which takes you to your roots. – Disappointed Namibian Women

Health Matters
* CAN the Ministry of Health do an inspection at Save Mini Market at Oshikango. They are selling expired food. I have evidence. Please! – Blessed
* TO the Medicine Control Council, it is a disgrace to learn that a grocery manager is selling prescription drugs like sweets, then you have the audacity to bar qualified physicians from dispensing. Just walk into a pharmacy and see what medicines they are selling shoes, cosmetics, sweets, name it ! The only missing commodity is the latest clothing range. No wonder shop owners are also medicine dispensers. Doctors should probably start selling these commodities. Eish Namibia! Namibia what happened to visionary leadership. Just imagine a patient seen deep in Katutura has got to travel to get medicine. So the idea is to have consulting closer to the communities where they can make saving on some expenses like taxi fares! Think of people when you make some of these draconian laws. The doctors will just move to areas where there are pharmacists. What happens to our people?