SMSes of the Day : Friday

* FELLOW Namibians, let us forget all differences that we may have for a moment and stand together to help, in whatever small way, to help those affected by the floods in the North. Namibia will be the better off.

* LEADERS in the Karas Region seem to be contented with our deplorable situation. As long as they enjoy the cream, they don’t care one iota about the rest. Self-enrichment is the order of the day. * ACC is taking too long to investigate Avid, NDF, NHE and ODC, but it took them a day or to investigate the case of Ha-Na-He butchery.Food for thought* WHY is it that taxpayers face serious consequences when we do not submit our tax returns on time or not at all, but we have to wait for almost a year for our refunds? When we inquire, the Directorate of Inland Revenue cannot even give us the slightest indication about how far they are with our calculations.* IF the Walvis Bay Municipality can afford to pay such golden handshakes every time, then a 10 per cent relief for its rate-paying residents shouldn’t be a problem. It will just be an act of social responsibility.* IT is useless for civil servants to complain about low salaries to Napwu and Nantu. All civil servants should cancel their monthly contributions to Napwu and Nantu, period!Thank you* HATS off for Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila, trying her best to uplift people and never a foul word. We adore you!Budget comments* ISN’T it wonderful. All of a sudden when the Swapo Government feels the pressure from the RDP it is literally throwing money at the poor in its 2008 Budget. Is this a genuine attempt at redressing the injustices of the past or just a cynical attempt to regain lost ground? I suspect the latter. – Edwin B* IF there is a budget surplus, we must do three things: Pay off State debts, invest in renewable energy on a large scale and maintain strict expenditure control, not squander. These three principles will give us space to move when in future the SACU revenue may not be so generous and allow real economic growth.* I AM very disappointed that the Minister of Finance did not mention any salary increment for public servants in her Budget speech. How on earth are we going to survive with the current commodity price hikes or is there any increment? Please someone give me feedback very soon because my head is spinning with anger and disappointment. However I am happy with the overall budget.* WHY spend more money on Air Namibia, while our pensioners are suffering with a mere N$450, this is ridiculous. This budget is not pro-poor. Why keep spending more money on a non-profit making entity. N$2,4 billion down the drain since 2000, and now 150 million given on a silver platter. Where does the Government priority really lie? Stop wasting money on useless enterprise and increase the pension money – N$450 is peanuts compared to the high cost of living. – Samson Hangula* THE Government is not supposed to have a surplus while people are struggling with high food and petrol costs. They were supposed to decrease personal tax.* WHERE does the money for ex-Swapo fighters come from, if the Government said there’s no money to increase the teachers’ salaries in a short time less than 10 years punishment? Do you really want teachers to vote Swapo while you don’t count them?* COMPETITION is good, especially in politics. It benefits the poor and vulnerable. This can be clearly seen in the current budget. It is because of competition from RDP.* I AM happy with the budget, but I recommend to the Government to embark on a national awareness campaign to inform the nation about the breakdown of the budget for the different ministries. – JanusService please* I REQUESTED a cellphone itemised billing report from MTC almost three weeks ago and still have not received it and then they still have the audacity to charge me N$70 for it! What sort of service is this? I was told that it would be completed within three working days. To make matters worse I have phoned MTC on numerous occasions and nobody has been able to give me a straight answer!* OH hell no, not again! I could not withdraw money from any Nedbank ATM on Sunday, March 2. The excuse, I assume, is Globus, Nedbank’s invention to improve service. What a joke! I’ll await Nedbank’s prompt response.* CUSTOMER service at Woermann Hyper in Khomasdal sucks! The tellers are forever screaming “over-ride”. With almost every entry they make a mistake and the customer has to wait while the supervisor take forever to attend to the problem!Politics in general* THE author of the (anti-RDP) graffiti might have come from the rally addressed by Jerry Ekandjo and might have missed the call by the President to be more tolerant.* JERRY Ekandjo is the crudest, most bombastic and unsophisticated public figure that I’ve seen on TV or read about in the newspapers. His antics in public or on political platforms leave a lot to be desired. His peers should educate him on decent ethics, but seem to turn a blind eye to his unacceptable conduct. Are they perhaps intimidated by him?* EKANDJO’S radical political rhetoric belongs to the past, he can never ever reinvent it. Find somewhere in the National Museum for him – a place with the rest of antiquities.* THE current political intolerance of Swapo supporters towards RDP supporters was as a result of speeches of Swapo leaders. So all Swapo leaders must make sure in their speeches to call for tolerance.* POLITICAL intolerance? This is going too far. Who is the enemy of the State? Stop insulting RDP and its leaders. Every person has the right to join any party of his choice without any fear of intimidation. Political parties especially Swapo must educate their members what democracy is all about, only an ignorant person can insult like that. Please learn to respect others in order to gain respect. – Samson Hangula* ‘SHAWAPO’ and ‘Radopa’ should stop implicating each other. We want things of national concern not this infighting and intolerance.* I SUPPORT Swapo and was born in exile. Please Swapo supporters, let’s leave RDP. Let’s not fight. Let people be in the parties of their choice. Let them wear their T-shirts. To our Swapo leaders let’s mind our language, discipline our youngsters and not instigate violence.* DR (Hage) Geingob must be careful of what he says on television. He cannot order the churches to preach about national heroes. Let him do it himself. The churches know their mission.Jobs in the South* I LOVE the President, but his words at Keetmanshoop were empty, because no committee was established to ascertain why the northerners are favoured for jobs in the South.* SUDDENLY, President Pohamba realises that we in the South are unemployed in our own region. My people from South be careful of empty promises. Seventeen years ago they promised us so much, but we are still the poorest of all. Make a difference this time, anyway what do we have to lose?* IF not now then when, why can’t the President address the wrongs of the past in the South regardless of the timing? Is it funny to have fancy complaints all the time?Education* PERMANENT Secretary of Education Vitalis Ankama, why have teachers in the Oluno circuit been left on probation for more than three years without confirmation? The Ministry of Education should answer us.* WE want to know if the Minister of Education knows that there are trainees at vocational training centres who haven’t written exams since last year? I am a concerned trainee at Valombola VTC, Ongwediva. Please help us out there.* THE Ministry of Education should improve the living condition of learners at Iilyateko hostel. The management of the hostel needs to be reshuffled.* MR Nangolo Mbumba, Grade 10 learners who failed went back to school, but the teachers are not enough. Why can you not re-employ those teachers who completed their BETD during the year 2005 with forged grade 12 certificates? Because although they have few points in Grade 12, they have successfully completed their BETD programme. In this way they will also pay the Government loan back which they studied with. This will be much helpful to learners.* HODs at schools spend
80 per cent of their time on school administration and 20 per cent on academic matters. Principals delegate 80 per cent of their work and spend 20 per cent of school time in their cars escaping work-related questions. No wonder learners are failing!From the regions* PLEASE help us. People are given wrong treatment at Maltahoehe State Hospital. If you go there for coughing they treat you for TB and even after six months they’ll continue with this treatment. No permission is asked from the patient to conduct an HIV test. People testing positive for the virus are discriminated against even by the nurses. Everybody in this town believes that there is no future when getting these diseases because there is no ARV treatment at all.* NBC when are going to have National Radio and the Oshiwambo service in Otjimbingwe. We are left out on national issues. All we have is Otjiherero and Damara/Nama stations. Please do something.* WE, the two southern regions are still waiting for reply from the Prime Minister’s office since November 5 2007. We also have lost livestock due to natural causes like any other person who lost their valuables to heavy rains. On the contrary the Government react promptly to the situation in the northern regions. Remember people in the South are also Namibians. Therefore, we also need compensation or any other form of assistance to re-stock again.* I WOULD like to thank Nored Ongwediva for their patience and prompt response to the never-ending power problems at Ongwediva College. You deserve to be saluted.* ACCELERATE development in our regions. Talk directly to us. Please do yourself and us a favour by not talking through our political leaders, rather do it through our church leaders. My President I will be at the forefront to make the needed arrangements to have this long overdue meeting possible with you sir with our church leaders and us the affected.* MINISTRY of Health and the Walvis Bay State Hospital thank you all for the excellent condition the hospital is in and the good service we get from you. Keep up the good work and God bless you all* A PLEA to management of Okahandja Shell Service Station: Please do something about the state of your toilets. Clients would rather refuel elsewhere where they can find clean toilets.* CAN someone please tell me what’s happening in the Ministry of Health? They are complaining about shortage of nurses, especially in the Erongo Region. There are a lot of newly trained nurses who are still at home without work. Since January they are told to wait but up to now everything is quiet.General* I AM a nurse by profession, and want to tell Minister Kamwi that he has no power to fire nurses as he threatened recently. In fact he must account for downgrading the ministry. He is against nurses getting their own union.* I AM tired of seeing photos of private sector managers posing when donating money to whatever cause. Why do you have to call journalists? Just do it and shut up! What is the purpose of charity or do you use this as marketing? It is not even your own money.* THANKS Kamatoto for being such a hero, a role model and being an example. Men in our country must do their best to fight HIV-AIDS by refraining from adultery, go for tests and find permanent partners.* CCTV is all we see on our NBC screens after the 10 o’clock news. Is the NBC trying to impress the Chinese people? What is the NBC doing with our money? Why not play something that we the adults can watch? – Deny* I AM concerned about the condition at the Doebra boys’ hostel. In January they promised to do something about the boys’ hostel, but until now nothing was done. As a parent I want to know why we are paying hostel fees if our kids live in pigsty-like accommodation.* I DON’T agree with Alfredo Hengari’s argument (February 29) about the President’s use of Oshiwambo at public rallies. If Pohamba was speaking Oshiwambo at a rally, in say, Khorixas, than it can be scrutinised, but he only does it where the crowd is predominately Oshiwambo speaking. Although not all attendants understand the language, majority do. The point Hengari ignored, is that many people at those rallies in the North don’t even understand English.* DEAR Minister Kamwi are you aware that Katutura Hospital has a shortage of beds? Patients are lying on the floors on thin old soiled mattresses? Nurses have to push around beds from one ward to another when new patients are admitted.* PLEASE Master of High Court you are delaying the payment of our guardian money. I am referring to our money, which was transferred there by Old Mutual and we as beneficiaries have to claim from you. It is about two years now that we are waiting for our claim to be paid. Why are you delaying? Please legal department of Master of High court finalise our claim.* ACC is taking too long to investigate Avid, NDF, NHE and ODC, but it took them a day or to investigate the case of Ha-Na-He butchery.Food for thought * WHY is it that taxpayers face serious consequences when we do not submit our tax returns on time or not at all, but we have to wait for almost a year for our refunds? When we inquire, the Directorate of Inland Revenue cannot even give us the slightest indication about how far they are with our calculations.* IF the Walvis Bay Municipality can afford to pay such golden handshakes every time, then a 10 per cent relief for its rate-paying residents shouldn’t be a problem. It will just be an act of social responsibility.* IT is useless for civil servants to complain about low salaries to Napwu and Nantu. All civil servants should cancel their monthly contributions to Napwu and Nantu, period! Thank you * HATS off for Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila, trying her best to uplift people and never a foul word. We adore you! Budget comments * ISN’T it wonderful. All of a sudden when the Swapo Government feels the pressure from the RDP it is literally throwing money at the poor in its 2008 Budget. Is this a genuine attempt at redressing the injustices of the past or just a cynical attempt to regain lost ground? I suspect the latter. – Edwin B * IF there is a budget surplus, we must do three things: Pay off State debts, invest in renewable energy on a large scale and maintain strict expenditure control, not squander. These three principles will give us space to move when in future the SACU revenue may not be so generous and allow real economic growth.* I AM very disappointed that the Minister of Finance did not mention any salary increment for public servants in her Budget speech. How on earth are we going to survive with the current commodity price hikes or is there any increment? Please someone give me feedback very soon because my head is spinning with anger and disappointment. However I am happy with the overall budget.* WHY spend more money on Air Namibia, while our pensioners are suffering with a mere N$450, this is ridiculous. This budget is not pro-poor. Why keep spending more money on a non-profit making entity. N$2,4 billion down the drain since 2000, and now 150 million given on a silver platter. Where does the Government priority really lie? Stop wasting money on useless enterprise and increase the pension money – N$450 is peanuts compared to the high cost of living. – Samson Hangula * THE Government is not supposed to have a surplus while people are struggling with high food and petrol costs. They were supposed to decrease personal tax.* WHERE does the money for ex-Swapo fighters come from, if the Government said there’s no money to increase the teachers’ salaries in a short time less than 10 years punishment? Do you really want teachers to vote Swapo while you don’t count them? * COMPETITION is good, especially in politics. It benefits the poor and vulnerable. This can be clearly seen in the current budget. It is because of competition from RDP.* I AM happy with the budget, but I recommend to the Government to embark on a national awareness campaign to inform the nation about the breakdown of the budget for the different ministries. – Janus Service please * I REQUESTED a cellphone itemised billing report from MTC almost three weeks ago and still have not received it
and then they still have the audacity to charge me N$70 for it! What sort of service is this? I was told that it would be completed within three working days. To make matters worse I have phoned MTC on numerous occasions and nobody has been able to give me a straight answer! * OH hell no, not again! I could not withdraw money from any Nedbank ATM on Sunday, March 2. The excuse, I assume, is Globus, Nedbank’s invention to improve service. What a joke! I’ll await Nedbank’s prompt response.* CUSTOMER service at Woermann Hyper in Khomasdal sucks! The tellers are forever screaming “over-ride”. With almost every entry they make a mistake and the customer has to wait while the supervisor take forever to attend to the problem! Politics in general * THE author of the (anti-RDP) graffiti might have come from the rally addressed by Jerry Ekandjo and might have missed the call by the President to be more tolerant.* JERRY Ekandjo is the crudest, most bombastic and unsophisticated public figure that I’ve seen on TV or read about in the newspapers. His antics in public or on political platforms leave a lot to be desired. His peers should educate him on decent ethics, but seem to turn a blind eye to his unacceptable conduct. Are they perhaps intimidated by him? * EKANDJO’S radical political rhetoric belongs to the past, he can never ever reinvent it. Find somewhere in the National Museum for him – a place with the rest of antiquities.* THE current political intolerance of Swapo supporters towards RDP supporters was as a result of speeches of Swapo leaders. So all Swapo leaders must make sure in their speeches to call for tolerance.* POLITICAL intolerance? This is going too far. Who is the enemy of the State? Stop insulting RDP and its leaders. Every person has the right to join any party of his choice without any fear of intimidation. Political parties especially Swapo must educate their members what democracy is all about, only an ignorant person can insult like that. Please learn to respect others in order to gain respect. – Samson Hangula * ‘SHAWAPO’ and ‘Radopa’ should stop implicating each other. We want things of national concern not this infighting and intolerance.* I SUPPORT Swapo and was born in exile. Please Swapo supporters, let’s leave RDP. Let’s not fight. Let people be in the parties of their choice. Let them wear their T-shirts. To our Swapo leaders let’s mind our language, discipline our youngsters and not instigate violence.* DR (Hage) Geingob must be careful of what he says on television. He cannot order the churches to preach about national heroes. Let him do it himself. The churches know their mission.Jobs in the South * I LOVE the President, but his words at Keetmanshoop were empty, because no committee was established to ascertain why the northerners are favoured for jobs in the South.* SUDDENLY, President Pohamba realises that we in the South are unemployed in our own region. My people from South be careful of empty promises. Seventeen years ago they promised us so much, but we are still the poorest of all. Make a difference this time, anyway what do we have to lose? * IF not now then when, why can’t the President address the wrongs of the past in the South regardless of the timing? Is it funny to have fancy complaints all the time? Education * PERMANENT Secretary of Education Vitalis Ankama, why have teachers in the Oluno circuit been left on probation for more than three years without confirmation? The Ministry of Education should answer us.* WE want to know if the Minister of Education knows that there are trainees at vocational training centres who haven’t written exams since last year? I am a concerned trainee at Valombola VTC, Ongwediva. Please help us out there.* THE Ministry of Education should improve the living condition of learners at Iilyateko hostel. The management of the hostel needs to be reshuffled.* MR Nangolo Mbumba, Grade 10 learners who failed went back to school, but the teachers are not enough. Why can you not re-employ those teachers who completed their BETD during the year 2005 with forged grade 12 certificates? Because although they have few points in Grade 12, they have successfully completed their BETD programme. In this way they will also pay the Government loan back which they studied with. This will be much helpful to learners.* HODs at schools spend 80 per cent of their time on school administration and 20 per cent on academic matters. Principals delegate 80 per cent of their work and spend 20 per cent of school time in their cars escaping work-related questions. No wonder learners are failing! From the regions * PLEASE help us. People are given wrong treatment at Maltahoehe State Hospital. If you go there for coughing they treat you for TB and even after six months they’ll continue with this treatment. No permission is asked from the patient to conduct an HIV test. People testing positive for the virus are discriminated against even by the nurses. Everybody in this town believes that there is no future when getting these diseases because there is no ARV treatment at all.* NBC when are going to have National Radio and the Oshiwambo service in Otjimbingwe. We are left out on national issues. All we have is Otjiherero and Damara/Nama stations. Please do something.* WE, the two southern regions are still waiting for reply from the Prime Minister’s office since November 5 2007. We also have lost livestock due to natural causes like any other person who lost their valuables to heavy rains. On the contrary the Government react promptly to the situation in the northern regions. Remember people in the South are also Namibians. Therefore, we also need compensation or any other form of assistance to re-stock again.* I WOULD like to thank Nored Ongwediva for their patience and prompt response to the never-ending power problems at Ongwediva College. You deserve to be saluted.* ACCELERATE development in our regions. Talk directly to us. Please do yourself and us a favour by not talking through our political leaders, rather do it through our church leaders. My President I will be at the forefront to make the needed arrangements to have this long overdue meeting possible with you sir with our church leaders and us the affected.* MINISTRY of Health and the Walvis Bay State Hospital thank you all for the excellent condition the hospital is in and the good service we get from you. Keep up the good work and God bless you all * A PLEA to management of Okahandja Shell Service Station: Please do something about the state of your toilets. Clients would rather refuel elsewhere where they can find clean toilets.* CAN someone please tell me what’s happening in the Ministry of Health? They are complaining about shortage of nurses, especially in the Erongo Region. There are a lot of newly trained nurses who are still at home without work. Since January they are told to wait but up to now everything is quiet.General * I AM a nurse by profession, and want to tell Minister Kamwi that he has no power to fire nurses as he threatened recently. In fact he must account for downgrading the ministry. He is against nurses getting their own union.* I AM tired of seeing photos of private sector managers posing when donating money to whatever cause. Why do you have to call journalists? Just do it and shut up! What is the purpose of charity or do you use this as marketing? It is not even your own money.* THANKS Kamatoto for being such a hero, a role model and being an example. Men in our country must do their best to fight HIV-AIDS by refraining from adultery, go for tests and find permanent partners.* CCTV is all we see on our NBC screens after the 10 o’clock news. Is the NBC trying to impress the Chinese people? What is the NBC doing with our money? Why not play something that we the adults can watch? – Deny * I AM concerned about the condition at the Doebra boys’ hostel. In January they promised to do something about the boys’ hostel, but until now nothing was done. As a parent I want to know why we are paying hostel fees if our kids live in pigsty-like accommodation.* I DON’T agree with Alfredo Hengari’s argument (February 29) about the
President’s use of Oshiwambo at public rallies. If Pohamba was speaking Oshiwambo at a rally, in say, Khorixas, than it can be scrutinised, but he only does it where the crowd is predominately Oshiwambo speaking. Although not all attendants understand the language, majority do. The point Hengari ignored, is that many people at those rallies in the North don’t even understand English.* DEAR Minister Kamwi are you aware that Katutura Hospital has a shortage of beds? Patients are lying on the floors on thin old soiled mattresses? Nurses have to push around beds from one ward to another when new patients are admitted.* PLEASE Master of High Court you are delaying the payment of our guardian money. I am referring to our money, which was transferred there by Old Mutual and we as beneficiaries have to claim from you. It is about two years now that we are waiting for our claim to be paid. Why are you delaying? Please legal department of Master of High court finalise our claim.