SMSes for Tuesday 26 May 2009

* IF the horrendous conditions and frightening life in Police cells and prisons do not serve as a deterrent to those that have never been in there, then I don’t know what will. The trauma and treatment in there is often times worse than the sentence meted out by the judge. Please try and lead a crime-free life. On discharge, you will never be the same again.

* IF the horrendous conditions and frightening life in Police cells and prisons do not serve as a deterrent to those that have never been in there, then I don’t know what will. The trauma and treatment in there is often times worse than the sentence meted out by the judge. Please try and lead a crime-free life. On discharge, you will never be the same again. If you don’t know what I am talking about read the newspapers of May 22.* COULD someone please come up with affordable recreation for young people? Those of us who think clubbing is too dangerous and who are not really into local music have to settle for NBC movies every weekend.Food For Thought* HOW can the Ministry of Education take money back? Go to Okongo and see how learners are suffering in classes made of grass.- KF* WHO is responsible for the N$7 million returned to the Treasury in The Ministry of Education? Is it the Minister or the PS?- Hafeni* WE literate Namibians know what is going on at Namfisa – where innocent people are being suspended and fired because of big fish being involved in lucrative deals of self-enrichment!* PRESIDENT (Jacob) Zuma of RSA will introduce a hotline direct to him. President (Hifikepunye) Pohamba please introduce one, because we do not have faith in our councillors.Pull Up Your Socks* THANKS that President (Hifikepunye) Pohamba realised the laziness and running around of Government employees, rather than working. * I WAS very ashamed by the permanent secretaries yesterday on the news when the president was addressing them. The majority were only eating what was on the table instead of listening to the President. It shows no respect to our President. * MAYBE I’M missing something here. Why is our President talking to PSes? The Minister must see that the Deputy Minister must do his job and Deputy Minister must see that PSes kick the butts of Directors. Please help me if I’m wrong.Bouquets And Brickbats* VIVA The Namibian newspaper, editor and the entire staff. Without your daily newspaper, some of us could not be where we are today. But I would like to know something from the nation. Do our local musicians pay tax to the State? Most of them are rising to the top (becoming successful business persons). Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa-Amathila be on the look out for musicians making enough money.* THE behaviour of the National Council members is better than the Members of Parliament. Please keep it up. Thank you * THANK you Minister Nangolo Mbumba for giving us study loans. I am very happy to be in an independent country Namibia. God bless you.* THUMBS up to the FNB staff at Karasburg branch for their excellent service.* OH yes what a discouragement. Are we in Otjomuise not included in ‘The Great Walk Against Corruption’? No Otjomuise bus stop is listed in the New Era of May 22. We also want to go and march. Will the one in charge of the transport please respond! – Nackie * NBC has lost it is credibility because it does not report activities of other political parties other then Swapo. History will judge you.* I TOTALLY agree with Johannes Shilongo’s letter in last Friday’s edition of The Namibian. Grannies are hijacking the youth’s interest.* WHEN you are in a crisis you need the Bank of Namibia under the leadership of Governor Tom Alweendo, not the commercial banks who are driven by profit at all cost. Tom Alweendo is a great business leader and he is committed to help fellow Namibians. Tom and your capable team we love you and pray for you.- Ed Amathila* DEVELOPMENT Bank of Namibia: the criticism by Mr Endjala of David Nuyoma and the strategy of his bank is valid and justified and Nuyoma’s explanations are fallacious and illogical and supported by his lack of knowledge and experience of the industry. Even Cabinet appreciates this but does nothing. All rich foreigners will now come to DBN to open locally registered companies and get funded and deny Namibians the birthright to economic and social upliftment. Shame on you David Nuyoma you lost your vision if you ever had one.- Disgruntled Youth* PLEASE The Namibian we want to buy your newspapers here at Okalongo instead of travelling to Oshikuku or to Outapi in order to buy them, please do something … – Vaefeni Immanuel K of Okalongo – Thanks for letting us know. We will forward your SMS to our distribution department. – News EditorGeneral* NAMIBIA be careful. Angolans are illegally passing drugs and false American dollars into Namibia and cleaning the bills through Namibia with Namibia’s currency. Once the USA dollars go for payment to the USA reserve bank, the USA Federal Reserve Bank will not honour the USA false bills because the notes are false, coming from Namibia. Angola does not have laws in place to control this. Please let the Government of Namibia look into this serious issue, before it’s too late. Example: Mexico and the USA have a common border. Now there is a big problem for the USA because of drugs and false tender coming illegally.- Concened citizen * WHY are the City Police not controlling the shebeens in Katutura which play loud music 24 hours every day.* WHAT happened to Tonateni Community Care, a community project which was established to allegedly assist former Robben Island political prisoners. Was it just another moneymaking scheme using the unsuspecting former Robben Island political prisoners? Will somebody from Tonateni Community Care please care to explain what happened? * CAN the Bank of Namibia tell us if ‘Amway’ is a pyramid scheme?* ANY hairless dog in Namibia that can be used as a pet for an allergy sufferer?Politics* HOW can the Police allow lawful number plates to be replaced with Swapo plates? Biased? The Inspector General must explain to the nation!- Sheya, Outapi* IS it fair to put on or to paste my political party flags on a GRN vehicle as is currently done by most of the Government officials? We the taxpayers want to know.* WHAT is a Traditional Authority, and what are the procedures when applying for one?* IF there is one person in this country who is honest and 100% non-corrupt then it is Rainer Ritter. If Namfisa has any axe to grind with him it is either a misunderstanding or the fault is on their own side. Why is there so much secrecy around the disciplinary hearing? What is really going on behind the curtains? Who is cheating whom? Why is the Minister of Finance against RR since she had a big say in appointing him in the first place? Should the public not know since Namfisa is a public institution? Investigative journalists, do your work!Education* IN response to an SMS last Friday requesting the date of schools re-opening to be postponed: The ministry’s year plan is final. We have our year plans already. In the future be responsible, get a school calendar, find out the inconveniences and address them as early as possible. We got the same pain but it’s too late.- Teacher, Omaalala* I’M responding to the SMS that says that school should open next week. Did you think about us Grade 10s and 12s who are starting exams early because of the elections or about the northern regions’ learners whose schools had to be closed down because of the floods? Please turn back and look at real life situations. We barely have enough time to finish the books* IOL we are fed up with your empty promises. You cannot even serve the Grade 12 learners. Some of us are waiting for our books, cellphone student card, timetable and e-mail address as promised on enrolment and payment of the first instalment. Your service sucks.- HR* TUN has been [allegedly] lying now for six months so please stop deducting from us for nothing. And we want our money we paid for membership as well that deducted with immediate effect. Was this just a money-making scheme?Traffic Talk* ATTENTION to the bus and taxi association. I was just listening to Oshiwambo radio where a presenter was interviewing an officer from Windhoek Municipality’s department of transport. They want to increase buses with some 20 or more. It sounds better for commuters but it really kills taxi operators. I therefore request the intervention of the leaders of Nabta. People are trying to make a living but now the Municipality wants to monopolise the system. Please rescue us before we drown.Road Hogs* ABOUT the SMS of the Day on May 6. I ride to work with my motorcycle daily and the taxis threaten my life at least three times a day by their ignorant and reckless driving. Does that mean I can shoot them in self-defence? They are playing with my life. But no, they can do whatever they want to. Their cars are not even roadworthy and they take innocent people on board. * WE value and appreciate tourism in Namibia. Or do we? Two vehicles from a transfer company in Windhoek, MEC Liners, [allegedly] seriously jeopardised the safety of their guests on Tuesday afternoon on their way back from Hosea Kutako airport. Both the red and white transfer bus overtook vehicles at high speed on a section of the road clearly demarcated with double lines, yellow lines and a speed restriction of 60 km per hour. Surely such behaviour should not be tolerated? Given the expected decrease in tourism numbers due to the recession, we should take care, and not endanger the lives of visitors to our country?* MESSY taxi driver of N31210W, the streets of Windhoek are no dumping ground, so keep your rubbish and banana peels in your car and dispose at a designated point. Why do I get the feeling I am wasting my time on a lost cause.In And From The Regions* WE people at Tses are left in the dark. No TV, no radio. Please NBC what’s happening? Are we not part of this beautiful country?- Trocy* OPUWO Town Council are you aware that Opuwo Hospital has not had running water in the mornings for about a year now? Doctors and nurses are planning to leave the hospital to other hospitals where they may have baths and feel confident to attend to patients. Enough is enough.- Opuwo resident.* CAN someone, if not the Tourism Board, tell all tourists that the areas they travel through on their visits are indeed serviced (in cases of accidents) by Namibian nurses and doctors. Most of these health service providers are African and they are well equipped to assist any tourist, rich or poor. Many tourists’ unwillingness to be assisted by these people will and can have serious consequences.- Nickey* DEAR editor, could you please publish the public information about maintenance for us. Our maintenance court in Keetmanshoop is only in favour of the mother. We wives have to accept any decision they make about the kids of our husband born out of wedlock.* I WAS disappointed when I visited Rundu and saw that Government offices in front of the Regional Council are dilapidated and falling apart. Ever since the colonial government left those structures no improvements or renovations were done to the structures. The same in Katima Mulilo. Most of the GRN buildings are not taken care of. Are the politicians in the two regions doing what is required from them. When can we develop these two beautiful regions?* MINISTER Kamwi do something about Lüderitz Hospital. Every time we just hear that there is only one doctor. We come early and go back at 17h00 when we still haven’t seen a doctor.* OSHAKATI Town Council. Will flood victims have a plot free or will they pay for it, if the Town Council gets the portion of land free from the village headman. Will they be able to sell that land in future?* THE condition of Katima Mulilo Hospital is worrisome: X-rays, dentistry, linen washing and other basic facilities that a hospital should have are non-existing. Honourable President please intervene to save some lives.* IT seems as if it’s no longer necessary to fill in the Income Revenue return since when they owe you they take months to pay you back but when you owe them they are fast, this is especially common from the Revenue offices of Oshakati. – Concerned Civil ServantSporting* WOMEN can do all kinds of sport as well as men, if not better, but it’s mostly the male version of the different sport codes that are shown on television. Why is that? * I THINK Jason (Taks) Naule must be given a great chance to fight his local opponents before being offered another outside fight. Please Nestor (Tobias) do something, we are tired of consecutive TKOs given to the boy from the Land of the Brave.- ScoloHealth Matters* NINE years ago I went for a HIV test for an insurance policy. The policy was not approved and I was told to nominate a doctor to whom they would give the reason(s). I didn’t as I knew what he will tell me. Sometime back I applied for an insurance policy and the same happened only that this time I already nominated a doctor who called me. He explained the possibility of me being HIV positive (but he told me that the they only tested the presence of antibodies in my blood) and sent me for a PCR scan which he said only tests for HIV. This came out negative. Now, which test does New Start use? Which tests were used between May 8 and 12?* PEOPLE who are living with HIV-AIDS suffer from taking drugs without food. Please GRN do something to give us food during follow-up days.Service Please* BLUE Financial Services is making a mockery of the public. It claims to approve a loan within an hour. What a shame! We have been waiting for 24 days but no money was received. Keep your promise and please explain to the nation why the delay.- Polycarpus* WHY is there such a big difference between the repo rate and the prime lending rate of banks? Who benefits from it? There is a need for legislation to protect the consumer against exploitation.- A new consumer body is on the way and should be open for business shortly. – Newsdesk* PLEASE we need a service station in Otjomuise. Please businessmen and women of Namibia.Running The Show* SAFETY and Security Minister Dr (Nickey) Iyambo those policemen and women who you found not doing their job are the ones which you previously said deserve a better salary. Sir they don’t even deserve to be employed, let alone be paid!* HOME Affairs blunder: I hope the department would be equally swift with work permits for professionals that the country doesn’t have enough of, for example, doctors, accountants, engineers, etc. The benefit to the country would be immense. – Afrikan Comrade, a medical doctor* THE Namibian Government should strictly teach the nation how to produce food rather then teaching them to be beggars and waiters for drought relief handouts. The consequences are a heavy burden on taxpayers, an economic slow down, no maintenance to GRN properties and little or slow development, if not none.* PRESIDENT (Hifikepunye) Pohamba it is sad, very sad, to say but you let the Namibian people down. You, sir, are the head of a mess, a utter mess, which our laws and only our laws call the Public Service of Namibia. We the citizens experience this public service to be threat to our wellbeing and progress. Every day the newspapers report of money being stolen in one or other ministry, application forms for various services, be it a passport or roadworthy certificate, having run out. But you reward this dysfunction with a 12% increase. Sir, look at the mess at TransNamib, the NBC, et al. Are you really proud to be in charge of this? Sleep well sir, we the citizens cannot.- Unfortunately, the situation in some sectors of the civil service is not new. The President sought to address a number of the issues at a meeting with Permanent Secretaries last week. In fact, he did not pull his punches. It also needs a firm hand from those charged with direct responsibility – the Prime Minister, who is technically the head of the civil service, and the Permanent Secretaries who are the accounting officers. Also, we, the public, should continue to speak out about wrongdoing when we encounter it. – News Editor* PRESIDENT Pohamba don’t instruct PSes and Ministers in 2009, it is 19 years too late. Fire them! Others are fired and investigated left, right and centre. They are messing up!And Justice For All* I THINK the reason the public is reluctant to become involved in crime prevention is because, as a witness, they will be subjected to delays, postponements and the eventual withdrawal of charges or dismissal of accused due to poor investigations. The judicial system should find ways to address these delays in order to ensure confidence in the system. * MINISTRY of Justice, there is no justice at Outapi-Okahao Magistrate’s Court. Cases are postponed for nothing some are as far from 200. Accusers and witnesses are always present. The worst was on April 30 when accusers and witnesses came to court but none of the magistrates/prosecutors were present. Exactly the same happened on May 5. Who is responsible for their punishment? They are scheduled at court at 09h00 but they come at 11h00 or 14h00 or even 16h00. Why can’t they put up a proper timetable?ACC Alert* IT was at exactly 20h00 on May 22, when I made a turn at a bar called Okakwa kaNdunda, along the Tsandi-Outapi main road where I found a Police sedan (number supplied) parked in front of the bar with its driver, a police officer drinking either a VO or a Richelieu. Outapi station commander, that’s a piece of information. * WHEN one uses a GRN car on Sunday or takes kids to school the ACC will arrest you. Now these churches are conducting their services in GRN classes, using GRN’s water and electricity. To whom do they pay and is this not corruption? What is wrong for a GRN driver to drop kids at school or go to church with a GRN car if the churches are using the GRN resources for free? We would like to see in the annual report of the Ministry of Education the amount of money collected from these churches all over the country.* PLEASE come and look into the Bethanie Village Council. Organise rounds for an auditor please.