SMSes for Tuesday 09 June 2009

•THE Spy Bill in its current form spells disaster for personal freedom. Furthermore, how does Minister Kaapanda think the communications companies will offset the costs incurred? Sounds to me like the rualing party wanting to eavesdrop on possible opposition. The NA should dismiss it, should Namibia still be considered a democracy.

•THE Spy Bill in its current form spells disaster for personal freedom. Furthermore, how does Minister Kaapanda think the communications companies will offset the costs incurred? Sounds to me like the rualing party wanting to eavesdrop on possible opposition. The NA should dismiss it, should Namibia still be considered a democracy. – Erich
•PEOPLE, stop complaining! Can’t you see that the new ‘spy bill’ will work wonders with the unemployment in Namibia. Now all the unemployed can get a job to spy on their neighbour and get paid to do it! What a lovely country we live in. PW Botha et al couldn’t have done it better!

Food For Thought
•IN Namibia, we need advice but certainly about how. Most of us have good advice but lack strategies. For example: (Elma) Dienda of CoD said, ‘parents should be 100 per cent involved in their children’s schooling’. Yes, educators want to and have been trying but how? Or (another example) ‘I’ll create more jobs’. How, if we’ve been trying?

Spy Bill
•NAMIBIANS, if we all understand what democracy means and what we fought for in this land, then let’s all say no to the Communications Bill. – Uncle Paulie
• THE clause for telephonic, cellphone text messages, etc, is draconian colonial oppression on human being’s privacy and it will never reduce or stop the escalation of crimes. It is totally a violation of personal privacy. – Samora
•WITH the new Spy Bill my identity can be found out when I say my say on this SMS page? – ER .- In theory, it is one of the areas in which the type of ‘interception’ envisaged by the proposed legislation could be abused. – News Editor
•WILL ‘Big Brother’ and the Spy Bill bring the SMS page of The Namibian to an end? It will be a sad day for Namibia. – We would find it sad too. We have no plans to end the SMS page, and will fight tooth and nail for your right to freedom of expression. – News Editor
•THE Spy Bill offers too many opportunities for abuse. It must be stopped!
•NAMIBIANS, this country has difficulties maturing as a democracy. The ruling party and GRN are considered one and the same. Spying will be used for the party.
•THE Government has lost interest in its people. This might benefit them politically but did they think of women who are ever on the run for their lives because of ex lovers and stalkers? Once that bill is passed, watch how deaths will increase. Women have to hire bodyguards. Can’t we just have some privacy please. – Pewa Kayofa
•I THINK our phones are being tapped already. It irritates to hear lots of air sound and echo of one’s voice when talking on a mobile phone.

Politics
• I REALLY do not like the way that Dr Abisai Shejavali attacks our leaders in this newspaper. He must come out once and tell this nation as to which opposition party he belongs, instead of keeping on defending them. Remember those leaders liberated this country. He should rather concentrate on church matters and leave political issues alone. – Concerned citizen. -If a person is critical of leaders or politicians it does not necessarily mean that they belong to another party. Often it is a case of speaking out on what you believe is right. The church is part of the national fabric and many Namibian churches were in the vanguard of Namibia’s struggle for liberation. – News Editor

Bouquets And Brickbats
•BRILLIANT Brave Warriors for a job well done! Coach Sir Tom Saintfiet be there forever as we honestly enjoy your presence. To the players, you did well Brave Guys and now we want any European country to come over. We will show them, trust me. Keep on African Stars as this time around it’s us to win the league! – Steven Kapendaa
•PLEASE The Namibian, the Namibian people need one page in your newspaper for Oshiwambo SMSes. Please do it for us. We love you. – We love you too! – News Editor
•TO the lady at Namibia Motors front desk. Thanks for your excellent service and telephonic etiquette. Sorry for forgetting your name.
•TAXI drivers, please clean your cars. We are now sick and tired of being in a dirty car. – Gideon, Elizabeth and Queen in Windhoek
•THE Namibian can you revisit your NBC TV schedule because you are still using the old schedule not corresponding with the new time slot. – Sorry about that but we publish the schedules as we receive them from NBC. – Newsdesk
•MR Graham Hopwood, the author of ‘Guide to Namibian Politics’, on page 225, Hon Phillemon Ndjambula completed Grade 12 in 1975 at Oluno Sec. This is not true, there was no matric in Oluno at that time. – Popyenioshili
•THANKS to the personnel of ‘Green Horizon’ programme for stopping the music during interviews. Guys I like your programme. It’s educative, informative and inspiring for us the upcoming farmers. Keep up the good work guys. – Greg, Keetmanshoop.

Miss Namibia
•I JUST want to say ‘Big ups’ to Roger and Tequila on their performance at the Miss Namibia 2009 event. It was a great performance. Keep it up.
•I CANNOT express how disappointed I am that neither NBC nor One Africa broadcast the Miss Namibia pageant. We pay TV licences and we cannot be kept up to date with national developments. Or is the entire nation expected to flock to the country club? – As far as we know, the pageant was broadcast on One Africa on Sunday night. – News Editor

Running The Show
•WHO is to be blamed for the overworked and understaffed situation at Home Affairs? Food for Thought, June 8. If you could tell me where to apply because I didn’t see those posts being advertised or do I have to know somebody there?
•YEAH, you people at Home Affairs might be under-staffed etc. But that does not excuse many of you rudely eating in people’s face while on duty or mumbling angrily and other kinds of weird behaviour.

In And From The Regions
•I JUST want to know what happened to the things we were promised by the President on Independence Day for the development of the Karas Region. If you could forward this for me to someone who can help us please do so. Thank you.
•DIRECTOR of Education, Otjozondjupa Regional Office. Why should we wait more than a year for allowances and salary problems to be corrected? It costs a lot of money to make enquiries and we are tired of empty promises. We should attend workshops, collect mail and salaries, deposit SDFs but have to wait for long periods before SNT is paid out. The excuse is always there’s no money. Who does the planning in the regional office? For how long should we wait before our problems are solved?
•WHY can’t the Karasburg Police check the tombo houses? It’s not a traditional drink any more but a drink that can kill. So-called kaalgat [wine] is not healthy either.
•MR (Paulus) Noa (of the ACC), I am stunned. Please explain why the town council of Rehoboth should be given time to get their house in order, if there is evidence that corruption might have taken place?

General
•CAN the City Police please come and remove the young tsotsis from Selina Haitembu Street before people get killed. The Katutura Central Councillor is aware about this problem, but he delegated action to the committee. These people don’t have a legal obligation or right unless of course the Councillor initiate a programme where he, the committee, Police and the community can agree on clear responsibility and support. Otherwise law-abiding people will fight back against these tsotsis and either die or go to prison. Let’s use the system please!

And Justice For All
•CAN the Attorney General explain something to us to us. A person steals more than N$1,2 million and pleaded guilty to all 22 counts of fraud. She has only N$20 000 and gets away with a big smile. Is that what we call justice? -John Angula
•A SUSPENDED sentence if you ste
al N$1,2 million! Where is the consistency!- ‘Die leeu’
Road Hogs
•TO the driver of GRN (number supplied), a silver Ford that was picking children up from Windhoek High: 1) the slip road left into Sam Nujoma is such that one yields to traffic coming from the right. You obviously don’t know this. 2) Your gesticulating was uncalled for as I was obeying the rule of the road unlike you and many driving GRN vehicles, as was your pulling up alongside me to gesticulate and hurl abuse until you realised I had taken your number. I take it that your haste was due to the fact you were abusing your vehicle as a taxi during work hours at the expense of the taxpayer. You should be embarrassed.
•TO the driver of the black Renault (number supplied). You cannot overtake at a school pedestrian crossing while children are crossing the road. An innocent life was almost lost through your reckless actions.

Education
•OUR school got 30 computers from a donor. Because there is no space for a computer lab they are stored in the old toilets of the school. We have also a shortage of classrooms. The Ministry of Education knows about the situation but they send N$7 million back to the State coffers. This is a sad state of affairs I just can’t comprehend.
•MWESHIPANDEKA, keep up the good work. Mweshipandeka is one of the best schools in the North. The principal is young but very hard working. If not believing go and see for yourself. Let’s give credit were it’s due. – Martha
•CAN the Ministry reduce the number of subjects from nine subjects to six? Too many subjects contribute to a high failure rate. Many subjects mean too much work for the learners. – Concerned teacher
•DEAR favourite paper, I just discovered with shock that half of the kids at Martin Luther High School are sitting without textbooks six months down the line! Can N$500 000 from the returned N$7 million be sent to that school? The GRN owes them from a long time ago as they are neglected over there in the bush. It will help them buy books and school cutlery or renovations here and there.
•SEEMS to us that the Minister of Education has lazy and non-dedicated workers sitting in its offices. We have been waiting for our loans for one year and six months now. We are tired of waiting, and want the Ministry to apologise for wasting our time, money and ink to sign meaningless papers. – Nursing students