SMSes of the Day : Thursday

n WHAT would have happened if the 16 000 Grade 10 scholars had passed their exams? The resources to accommodate them were never in place from the beginning.

The education system has collapsed. n I WAS deeply moved by the circumstances that led to the death of the three-day-old baby.It’s absurd that Dr Gariseb prefers a post-mortem! What does establishing the cause of death do, when it should have been prevented? It’s high time these negligent staff are sued.- Joe.n ADMIRING Fidel Castro is all good and well.But would it not be wiser to follow his example? This being making sure the people of our country get the best healthcare and education possible.We have to wonder why with more resources available we can’t even get close to Cuban standards.Food for thought n THANKS to The Namibian newspaper for being creative.Freedom of expression through SMSes, this in itself helps people to unleash their frustrations and is a good social intervention.During the apartheid era, the same paper was the voice for voiceless and the oppressed.n IS it not ironic that a party that used a free press to promote its cause wants to limit the press if it is not to its liking? The best way to silence a critic is to fix what is criticised.The fact we as Namibians have to realise is that with high positions comes huge responsibility.So stop blaming others and fix what’s wrong.Have pride in what you do.n IF Mr (Paulus) Noa thinks there is no corrupt relationship or conflict of interest between Ha-Na-He Butchery and NWR, the joke is on him.We all remember that Mr Tobie Aupindi, MD of NWR, was a PA to Pendukeni Ithana while she was still the Minister of Lands.Health crisis n A SNAKE-BITTEN baby died unnecessarily because of pure stupidity and lack of commitment.And still (Health Minister) Richard (Kamwi) and his colleagues remain chiefs of the health system without being held accountable.No Government entity or so-called leader will push for an independent council to deal with these institutionalised killers.- Karamba n WE have experienced, seen and observed that some of the doctors and nurses have a don’t-care attitude towards their patients regardless of them being private or public.The nation is mourning due to medical negligence! Who cares? – Eliakim n IF Dr Kamwi cannot control his nurses at the Katutura State Hospital he must quit.n KATUTURA Outpatients is like going to hell.Minister Kamwi, can you please assist the public, as it’s no longer safe to go to this hospital.Please investigate the death of the child, who died in the presence of other concerned patients.n I’M shocked by the baby who died at Katutura Hospital after she was bitten by a snake.This is living proof that some nurses at that casualty ward are incompetent and a lot of people will end up dying while sitting in that unhygienic waiting room without windows not to mention breathing space.By the way, are babies not supposed to be treated separately from adults? n THE nurses who were on duty [when the baby died] should be dealt with.Please Honourable Kamwi intervene in this matter because there are several cases of negligence going on there.Fire those incompetent nurses who are mistreating patients and hire young, active nurses even foreign ones.Our nation should be treated with love and care.- Mamie n I’M shocked and saddened to hear about the death of the baby girl who was bitten by a snake because of the negligence of the staff at the Katutura State Hospital.How could they make her wait in the queue, while the baby needed prompt medical help? This type of behaviour must be stopped.The staff who were on duty at the time must be punished.n AS a mother I don’t know what I would have done to that nurse after declaring my baby dead.Oh la la, they can take chances! n WHEN Minister Kamwi was in the Kavango Region mourning with the family of the six children who died of alleged food poisoning, behind him another tragedy strikes with the death of an innocent soul, due to negligence of hospital staff, who are paid monthly to carry out their duties.Comrade Minister, dismiss all the culprits.n OUR institutional problems are inherent in the fact that those who manage them do not consume the service they produce.They are in a different socio-economic stratum.For example, the children of the ministers are in private schools and are attended to by private family doctors.Ministers therefore manage those institutions for others, the less privileged.Do you expect them to put in 100% commitment? Politics in general n WOULD Dr Hage Geingob classify himself as a house nigger in the Swapo house? n I DON’T know how this “loss of vision” thing is affecting my respectable comrades in the leadership of Swapo.How on earth can you expect the media to report the truth if you do not feed them with truth? Just look at the grade 10 issue! The media reported the truth and what happened? We see and hear, comrade Geingob, don’t just politic for the sake of it.You are also confusing the media.Which council will take you to task if you ever again give false information to the media? n HONOURABLE Hage, have you ever listened to yourself and asked your mirror image whether you make sense in your public speeches? Please don’t try to run away from today’s reality in Namibia! You are gradually tarnishing your good reputation and image you built over the past years! Admit mistakes and promise to improve on past wrongdoings! If you pursue this current trend, you are bound to lose support among Namibians! We are not stupid, sir! n MR Geingob leave the media alone.They are just doing their job.You always attack the media, why? You should be talking about issues that concern the nation such as education, health, unemployment and many others.Mr Geingob, what truth do you want? We want competent leaders and not enemies of the media.- Letty n WHY is President Pohamba still quiet about lifting the ban on The Namibian newspaper, which was not instituted by him? He must show his own initiative as a leader – not take what the former president did as the right thing.No, it was all wrong.n THE only thing I appreciate about Swapo is the disappearance of Casspirs and Koevoet.Otherwise building an expensive State House, granting fish quotas to comrades, jobs for comrades, road and rail development only in the Swapo-voting north, millions squandered by a well-connected few, failed education system, stagnating health services.That doesn’t sound like achievements to me.In fact can the Swapo Government tell us as a nation what changes it has brought about which have benefited us all without mentioning the northern projects? Any achievement of significance in Caprivi, Kunene, Karas, Hardap or Omaheke perhaps? I’m calling upon all the young people to be the ambassadors of change and vote for a better tomorrow.n COMRADE Hidipo Hamutenya and your members, please leave Swapo alone.You guys! You need to thank Swapo for what you know today.I wonder why you only realise now about corruption in Swapo, while Swapo ruled for 17 years.You were also top leaders in Swapo and therefore you should share the blame of corruption which you heap on Swapo today.n MR Nahas Angula, please stop your lectures about the Kwanyama history.Our President is Kwanyama too.He might take offence, or don’t you care any more? n WHAT does a butchery have to do with human rights? The NSHR should be addressing issues pertinent to human rights like the unaffordable housing prices, the high food costs, the high costs of living, the economy being controlled by a handful, institutional racism, the plight of farmworkers, the permanent injuries sustained in working environments that render workers permanently unable to work with measly compensation, unaffordable education, foreign companies that don’t abide with the country’s labour laws etc.I’m sure you are aware of these human rights realities so get to work Phil ya Nangoloh.Education n CONGRATULATIONS to comrade Sam Nujoma for building a one-billion-dollar State House while kids must use tents for classrooms.I do not want to be a hero.n THE best solution to better education is for the Ministry of Education to do away with automatic promotion and overloading secondary school teachers with up to 400 learners.If they want improvement on the Grade 10 and 12 results, let every teacher teach only up to 120 learners maximum.College lecturers only teach up to 95 students maximum and people pass well.n PALLY Carstens Primary School in the Hardap Region accommodates Grades 5, 6 and 7 in one classroom with one teacher.Is the ministry aware that this has been happening for many years? n MINISTRY of Education what are you waiting for? Introduce uniforms for teachers like other Ministries.We are in need of and we want to save the money we spend on clothes.n THIS one goes to S.I.!Gobs Senior Secondary School.When are the Grade 9s going to get an English teacher and why are some teachers still administering corporal punishment using an iron pipe? Pupils are also expected to sweep classes, while cleaners are employed.n EDUCATION PRO, the law says a child must be seven years old when they start school.That means those born after say March will be 17 by the time they reach Grade 10, but the regulation says they can repeat provided they are under 17.Please explain the logic behind all this to the public.n INSPECTOR of the Erongo Region, how will the teachers work after school, while the new principal is keeping doors locked immediately after school and not available in the afternoons? Are the teachers of Hermann Gmeiner not trustworthy any more? We hear them mourning and unhappy at school.Please act, we want to pass at the end of the year.From the regions n THE failures of political and economic leadership in the Karas Region at both regional and local government levels impede on the effective mobilisation and utilisation of scarce resources into the productive areas of economic activity.n I WOULD like to advise a certain cleaner at the Omuthiya constituency office that drought relief food belongs to all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliation.It is not Swapo food, as she claims when she distributes food to the needy.n WHY is the water tariff so high in Otjiwarongo? Can’t the municipality tell us what the problem is? Our water bill for one month is as high as N$600.n I WANT an answer from the councillor of Daures constituency on when Spitzkoppe village will get electricity.Please help us – we are tired of making fire every day.n WHEN are we, the users of the road between Oshigambo and Eenhana, going to have our road tarred? We also want to visit our families even though we don’t own all-terrain vehicles.Gravel road for 17 years after Independence sucks.General n Mr Speaker I support your idea of MPs having access to their pension while still in Parliament, but why do you not suggest that this apply to all civil servants as all of us have school kids and need this money.At least for those who are employed for more than ten years or must the poor just remain poor while the rich get fatter? n MR (Paulus) Noa the nation is about losing faith in your organisation.ACC is quick to respond to some issues like Ha-na-he butchery, while there are pending cases that are unsolved.This ACC is wasting our tax money.n AS a qualified upcoming young executive in Namibian, I am sad to say that recent very disturbing events in our beautiful country have forced me to consider leaving my country in search of greener pastures in Europe or elsewhere.I am a very patriotic person who never considered leaving the country.But after having looked into the tearful eyes of my sister, who is faced with an emotional and financial mountain to climb because she has to take her one-year-old son to SA for a heart operation, because our Government has in 18 years failed to make significant positive steps to improve the livelihood of the masses and provide better basic services such as health, I finally decided that I am tired of giving my part day in and day out, only for the benefit of a few elite who have openly time and again proven to this nation that the number one priority on their agenda is self-enrichment.n WHY is there no other alternative food at the Otavi military base for soldiers who do not eat mahangu?n I WAS deeply moved by the circumstances that led to the death of the three-day-old baby.It’s absurd that Dr Gariseb prefers a post-mortem! What does establishing the cause of death do, when it should have been prevented? It’s high time these negligent staff are sued.- Joe.n ADMIRING Fidel Castro is all good and well.But would it not be wiser to follow his example? This being making sure the people of our country get the best healthcare and education possible.We have to wonder why with more resources available we can’t even get close to Cuban standards.Food for thought n THANKS to The Namibian newspaper for being creative.Freedom of expression through SMSes, this in itself helps people to unleash their frustrations and is a good social intervention.During the apartheid era, the same paper was the voice for voiceless and the oppressed.n IS it not ironic that a party that used a free press to promote its cause wants to limit the press if it is not to its liking? The best way to silence a critic is to fix what is criticised.The fact we as Namibians have to realise is that with high positions comes huge responsibility.So stop blaming others and fix what’s wrong.Have pride in what you do.n IF Mr (Paulus) Noa thinks there is no corrupt relationship or conflict of interest between Ha-Na-He Butchery and NWR, the joke is on him.We all remember that Mr Tobie Aupindi, MD of NWR, was a PA to Pendukeni Ithana while she was still the Minister of Lands. Health crisis n A SNAKE-BITTEN baby died unnecessarily because of pure stupidity and lack of commitment.And still (Health Minister) Richard (Kamwi) and his colleagues remain chiefs of the health system without being held accountable.No Government entity or so-called leader will push for an independent council to deal with these institutionalised killers.- Karamba n WE have experienced, seen and observed that some of the doctors and nurses have a don’t-care attitude towards their patients regardless of them being private or public.The nation is mourning due to medical negligence! Who cares? – Eliakim n IF Dr Kamwi cannot control his nurses at the Katutura State Hospital he must quit. n KATUTURA Outpatients is like going to hell.Minister Kamwi, can you please assist the public, as it’s no longer safe to go to this hospital.Please investigate the death of the child, who died in the presence of other concerned patients. n I’M shocked by the baby who died at Katutura Hospital after she was bitten by a snake.This is living proof that some nurses at that casualty ward are incompetent and a lot of people will end up dying while sitting in that unhygienic waiting room without windows not to mention breathing space.By the way, are babies not supposed to be treated separately from adults? n THE nurses who were on duty [when the baby died] should be dealt with.Please Honourable Kamwi intervene in this matter because there are several cases of negligence going on there.Fire those incompetent nurses who are mistreating patients and hire young, active nurses even foreign ones.Our nation should be treated with love and care.- Mamie n I’M shocked and saddened to hear about the death of the baby girl who was bitten by a snake because of the negligence of the staff at the Katutura State Hospital.How could they make her wait in the queue, while the baby needed prompt medical help? This type of behaviour must be stopped.The staff who were on duty at the time must be punished.n AS a mother I don’t know what I would have done to that nurse after declaring my baby dead.Oh la la, they can take chances! n WHEN Minister Kamwi was in the Kavango Region mourning with the family of the six children who died of alleged food poisoning, behind him another tragedy strikes with the death of an innocent soul, due to negligence of hospital staff, who are paid monthly to carry out their duties.Comrade Minister, dismiss all the culprits. n OUR institutional problems are inherent in the fact that those who manage them do not consume the service they produce.They are in a different socio-economic stratum.For example, the children of the ministers are in private schools and are attended to by private family doctors.Ministers therefore manage those institutions for others, the less privileged.Do you expect them to put in 100% commitment? Politics in general n WOULD Dr Hage Geingob classify himself as a house nigger in the Swapo house? n I DON’T know how this “loss of vision” thing is affecting my respectable comrades in the leadership of Swapo.How on earth can you expect the media to report the truth if you do not feed them with truth? Just look at the grade 10 issue! The media reported the truth and what happened? We see and hear, comrade Geingob, don’t just politic for the sake of it.You are also confusing the media.Which council will take you to task if you ever again give false information to the media? n HONOURABLE Hage, have you ever listened to yourself and asked your mirror image whether you make sense in your public speeches? Please don’t try to run away from today’s reality in Namibia! You are gradually tarnishing your good reputation and image you built over the past years! Admit mistakes and promise to improve on past wrongdoings! If you pursue this current trend, you are bound to lose support among Namibians! We are not stupid, sir! n MR Geingob leave the media alone.They are just doing their job.You always attack the media, why? You should be talking about issues that concern the nation such as education, health, unemployment and many others.Mr Geingob, what truth do you want? We want competent leaders and not enemies of the media.- Letty n WHY is President Pohamba still quiet about lifting the ban on The Namibian newspaper, which was not instituted by him? He must show his own initiative as a leader – not take what the former president did as the right thing.No, it was all wrong.n THE only thing I appreciate about Swapo is the disappearance of Casspirs and Koevoet.Otherwise building an expensive State House, granting fish quotas to comrades, jobs for comrades, road and rail development only in the Swapo-voting north, millions squandered by a well-connected few, failed education system, stagnating health services.That doesn’t sound like achievements to me.In fact can the Swapo Government tell us as a nation what changes it has brought about which have benefited us all without mentioning the northern projects? Any achievement of significance in Caprivi, Kunene, Karas, Hardap or Omaheke perhaps? I’m calling upon all the young people to be the ambassadors of change and vote for a better tomorrow. n COMRADE Hidipo Hamutenya and your members, please leave Swapo alone.You guys! You need to thank Swapo for what you know today.I wonder why you only realise now about corruption in Swapo, while Swapo ruled for 17 years.You were also top leaders in Swapo and therefore you should share the blame of corruption which you heap on Swapo today.n MR Nahas Angula, please stop your lectures about the Kwanyama history.Our President is Kwanyama too.He might take offence, or don’t you care any more? n WHAT does a butchery have to do with human rights? The NSHR should be addressing issues pertinent to human rights like the unaffordable housing prices, the high food costs, the high costs of living, the economy being controlled by a handful, institutional racism, the plight of farmworkers, the permanent injuries sustained in working environments that render workers permanently unable to work with measly compensation, unaffordable education, foreign companies that don’t abide with the country’s labour laws etc.I’m sure you are aware of these human rights realities so get to work Phil ya Nangoloh. Education n CONGRATULATIONS to comrade Sam Nujoma for building a one-billion-dollar State House while kids must use tents for classrooms.I do not want to be a hero.n THE best solution to better education is for the Ministry of Education to do away with automatic promotion and overloading secondary school teachers with up to 400 learners.If they want improvement on the Grade 10 and 12 results, let every teacher teach only up to 120 learners maximum.College lecturers only teach up to 95 students maximum and people pass well.n PALLY Carstens Primary School in the Hardap Region accommodates Grades 5, 6 and 7 in one classroom with one teacher.Is the ministry aware that this has been happening for many years? n MINISTRY of Education what are you waiting for? Introduce uniforms for teachers like other Ministries.We are in need of and we want to save the money we spend on clothes. n THIS one goes to S.I.!Gobs Senior Secondary School.When are the Grade 9s going to get an English teacher and why are some teachers still administering corporal punishment using an iron pipe? Pupils are also expected to sweep classes, while cleaners are employed. n EDUCATION PRO, the law says a child must be seven years old when they start school.That means those born after say March will be 17 by the time they reach Grade 10, but the regulation says they can repeat provided they are under 17.Please explain the logic behind all this to the public.n INSPECTOR of the Erongo Region, how will the teachers work after school, while the new principal is keeping doors locked immediately after school and not available in the afternoons? Are the teachers of Hermann Gmeiner not trustworthy any more? We hear them mourning and unhappy at school.Please act, we want to pass at the end of the year. From the regions n THE failures of political and economic leadership in the Karas Region at both regional and local government levels impede on the effective mobilisation and utilisation of scarce resources into the productive areas of economic activity.n I WOULD like to advise a certain cleaner at the Omuthiya constituency office that drought relief food belongs to all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliation.It is not Swapo food, as she claims when she distributes food to the needy.n WHY is the water tariff so high in Otjiwarongo? Can’t the municipality tell us what the problem is? Our water bill for one month is as high as N$600.n I WANT an answer from the councillor of Daures constituency on when Spitzkoppe village will get electricity.Please help us – we are tired of making fire every day.n WHEN are we, the users of the road between Oshigambo and Eenhana, going to have our road tarred? We also want to visit our families even though we don’t own all-terrain vehicles.Gravel road for 17 years after Independence sucks. General n Mr Speaker I support your idea of MPs having access to their pension while still in Parliament, but why do you not suggest that this apply to all civil servants as all of us have school kids and need this money.At least for those who are employed for more than ten years or must the poor just remain poor while the rich get fatter? n MR (Paulus) Noa the nation is about losing faith in your organisation.ACC is quick to respond to some issues like Ha-na-he butchery, while there are pending cases that are unsolved.This ACC is wasting our tax money.n AS a qualified upcoming young executive in Namibian, I am sad to say that recent very disturbing events in our beautiful country have forced me to consider leaving my country in search of greener pastures in Europe or elsewhere.I am a very patriotic person who never considered leaving the country.But after having looked into the tearful eyes of my sister, who is faced with an emotional and financial mountain to climb because she has to take her one-year-old son to SA for a heart operation, because our Government has in 18 years failed to make significant positive steps to improve the livelihood of the masses and provide better basic services such as health, I finally decided that I am tired of giving my part day in and day out, only for the benefit of a few elite who have openly time and again proven to this nation that the number one priority on their agenda is self-enrichment.n WHY is there no other alternative food at the Otavi military base for soldiers who do not eat mahangu?

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