SMSes of the Day : Thursday

* I AM a youth, Swapo member and I am not happy with the way the SPYL leaders are behaving. These are some of the reasons the opposition parties are saying Swapo is losing vision. These youth leaders should learn to discuss their problems with the Swapo leadership before they go to the media. They should look at meme (Deputy Prime Minister Libertina) Amathila as their mother and tate (Prime Minister) Nahas (Angula) as their father. These are tested leaders of the Namibian nation. I salute you Comrades Amathila and Nahas. Please discipline the youth.

* MANY thanks to our Government for introducing the VAT-free rating. It will help the poor, but did the Government consider the option of reducing the high salaries of the President, Ministers, PSs and CEOs to assist/subsidise the rising fuel prices or can the aforementioned, as leaders, volunteer to do this if they really care about the poor. Follow the Nelson Mandela example Food For Thought* I THINK that it is important that we all realise that with the increased tax received from the 30 per cent increase in prices on food and almost everything else, the Government is not even going to notice the measly N$34 million it will lose on the exempted foodstuffs. They will be raking in far far more than they lose, and could in fact easily afford to exempt fresh vegetables and milk at the very least as well. Why does the press not point this out so that the man in the street, who is feeling the effects of these awful price increases, can know that the Government should not be trying to say they are losing money.* MINISTER of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, why are you failing to answer your questions concerning the loans if you guys preach that the youth are future leaders of tomorrow? How will this realise without education for the youth? Because the loan allocation to us students is very low, how will we really reach vision 2030? – Joel, Poly studentBouquets And Brickbats* THANKS very much to the Chief of Defence Force for positive changes you brought in the force. Continue your good work. May God bless you General (Martin) Shalli.* I WANT to thank the Minister of Finance for bringing VAT back to normal, because we cannot pay tax for airtime, tax to the Government and worst of all for a bag of our own mahangu maize meal. – Aletta E* THERE is a daily NamPost carrier service between Rundu and Nkurenkuru since June. We commend NamPost for a good job well done. Our special request goes to print media to extend their information services here on a daily basis. There are good numbers of newspaper readers here in Nkurenkuru town. So the first respondent will be seen as a pioneer and will be regarded as such. – Newspaper readers* I KNEW it! It was outstanding. Keep it up John Grobler and The Namibian.Labour Issues* WHY is it that some management cadres in Government departments can only be sent for workshops and training, not all staff members? If I’m not mistaken, all employees in Government should be given a chance to get training and workshops, especially from clerk to labourers. Please, every office of human resources must create training for the lower ranks from clerks to labourers.* ALLOW me space in your newspaper. Please, labour inspectors should make a turn at the new Cimbebasia and see how construction workers are suffering there. We need a basic salary and safety clothing like security and farm workers. – Andy* [DEFENCE] Minister [Charles] Namoloh must learn about the poverty amongst the nation. The NDF must recruit 50 per cent qualified and 50 per cent unqualified people. What about those who were born in exile? – SiganituSporting Moments* PLEASE who won Namibia vs Lesotho. It ended in a 1-1- draw. A short report, including the result, was in yesterday’s newspaper. See page 28 today for a preview of this afternoon’s clash against Malawi. – News Editor* DID you know that nowhere in the Vision 2030 is reference made to sports. That says it all.* THE Namibian Olympic delegation representing the athletes at the games is always bigger than the athletes, who are they going to represent? NOC explain please!General* WITNESS fees at the Ministry of Justice must be revised soon. This includes transport, accommodation, food and any other payments because witnesses are paid at a rate calculated long ago. All prices of the above went up 100 per cent in recent years. It is no secret, everyone knows.* MR [Jerry] Muadinohamba [of the MVA], maybe you should urge Government to ban shops from advertising liquor. It might help reduce alcohol intake.* IT will be in the best interest of all Namibians if the long-awaited financial services charter can wait until the so-called TESEF secret is revealed, why the rush now?* TO the person who SMSed that I must be disciplined for speaking against the Ondonga tribal authority. He/she said I should not link the headman (Omadhiya) to the tribal authority who fined the poor old man. Now thank you to the one who put the record right in yesterday’s SMS. He makes it very clear that the headman needs the blessing of the Ondonga tribal authority to fine or punish the trespassers, so it must expect to bear the blame equally to the headman. Lastly, please can anyone tell me whether the man has paid his fine or not, because I’m very much concerned and justice has to be practised here, if it does ever exist, thanks. – Ben Ben* AN SMS in The Namibian of July 22 2008 is misleading the public that management cadres in particular in regional councils are using entertainment [allowances] to buy food for houses, etc. The truth is that such cadres do not qualify for such allowances, only Honourable Councillors qualify for the allowances in question.* WHY are you afraid of making a profit from the SMS page? Even at 5 dollars an SMS it is still a bargain. – We’ve kept it at N$1 as we want to make the SMS service accessible to as many people as possible! – News Editor* I AM a regular reader of The Namibian and my concern is about the heap of newspapers I end up with and discard at the end of a year. Now my question is: is there no method to take these copies for conservation or recycling? – Michael Auwa* Thank you Michael. It’s great that you are conscious of the need to conserve or recycle. I also like the fact that you appear to be a diligent reader. I don’t know how far back your newspapers go, but maybe I can get our archivist to contact you and see if there is anything you have that we may need. Otherwise, I don’t know if there are any recycling businesses that would be interested in your newspapers. – News EditorService Please!* NAMPOST at Oshikuku is refusing [to allow] us to withdraw money from our own account.* STANDARD Bank please we customers, we want cellphone banking and in-contact. We are talking world of technology. Do something before we move to FNB. – N Ondema* LEGAL SHIELD ! Why the poor service? At one stage I had to hold on for 15 minutes while looking for my file. I phoned Legal Shield many times, and personally go there many times. No clear answers. Taking off from work. Do you know what this is costing me?* WHY is the Jan Jonker Service Station charging 10 per cent on a total amount if you fill up and pay with a debit card? And they only inform you after you have filled up. It does not make sense as debit card payments are like cash and funds are transferred immediately.In And From The Regions* RUACANA Town Council has developed a new dumping place … [and] they failed to contact the people living near the place. Please remember the smoke from the burning is harmful to all living people, not only to town residents. I want the Council to explain why they are not using the old dumping place. – Lys, Ruacana* OSHAKATI Municipality, please relocate our rubbish dump site. How on earth can a dumping site be close to residences?* OH my goodness, the state of the Walvis Bay State Prison where the prison staff stay is a sight for sore eyes. I’ve never seen Government employees live like that: windows are broken, missing, cracked or covered in boxes! What do you use the prisoners for if they are just there from the benefit of the hardworking taxpayers’ money. – Marvin, Walvis Bay* OKAHANDJA traffic officers are weak here. There is an orange Caddy bakkie driven like hell by a kid every day and every weekend. Please take action before that kid kills someone. – Mr Burger* PLEASE Okahandja Municipality, we young people of Okahandja need erven. Please make a plan for us. Please, we are tired of staying with our parents.Zimbabwe* Zimbabwe – what people fail to understand is that Zimbabwe is at war – an economic war and like any war at a cost. The cost now is people’s comfort and livelihood. What pride do we as Africans have when we stand in the middle of any city and realise all we have are Sowetos? Africa lets unite and fight. – Makandi* THIS message is directed to the Zimbabwe Embassy staff in Windhoek. They must very carefully measure what they say from now on because they could easily find themselves on the way home. These talks could mean a sudden increase in competition for diplomatic posts.Education* IS the Ministry of Education aware that appointment of principals is made without the Permanent Secretary’s consent in Otjozondjupa Region. – Concerned Parent* I AM a resident of Okahandja and very concerned about the appointments of principals made in Okahandja at such a crucial time. ACC help us .* OKALONGO Secondary School, what is the importance of having a computer lab if our kids do not use them. Is it for decoration? What happened to Mr Shikomba our qualified ICT teacher? Please do something, other kids are enjoying the world of technology.* AS a professional and hardworking teacher, I’m very disappointed by the remarks made by the President [Hifikepunye Pohamba] in the Ohangwena Region over the weekend, about teachers. This to me means that our president is either misinformed or lacks knowledge about his own education system. We teachers, if only consulted, have better ideas and answers on the difficulties we face and how to overcome them. – Dux!* UNBELIEVABLE that some of the students didn’t write mid-term exams due to the fact that parents couldn’t pay school fees. In spite of hammering education for all, parents have been running up and down trying to arrange all in vain. This is a disgrace Jan Jonker Secondary school.Food For Thought * I THINK that it is important that we all realise that with the increased tax received from the 30 per cent increase in prices on food and almost everything else, the Government is not even going to notice the measly N$34 million it will lose on the exempted foodstuffs. They will be raking in far far more than they lose, and could in fact easily afford to exempt fresh vegetables and milk at the very least as well. Why does the press not point this out so that the man in the street, who is feeling the effects of these awful price increases, can know that the Government should not be trying to say they are losing money.* MINISTER of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, why are you failing to answer your questions concerning the loans if you guys preach that the youth are future leaders of tomorrow? How will this realise without education for the youth? Because the loan allocation to us students is very low, how will we really reach vision 2030? – Joel, Poly student Bouquets And Brickbats * THANKS very much to the Chief of Defence Force for positive changes you brought in the force. Continue your good work. May God bless you General (Martin) Shalli.* I WANT to thank the Minister of Finance for bringing VAT back to normal, because we cannot pay tax for airtime, tax to the Government and worst of all for a bag of our own mahangu maize meal. – Aletta E * THERE is a daily NamPost carrier service between Rundu and Nkurenkuru since June. We commend NamPost for a good job well done. Our special request goes to print media to extend their information services here on a daily basis. There are good numbers of newspaper readers here in Nkurenkuru town. So the first respondent will be seen as a pioneer and will be regarded as such. – Newspaper readers * I KNEW it! It was outstanding. Keep it up John Grobler and The Namibian.Labour Issues * WHY is it that some management cadres in Government departments can only be sent for workshops and training, not all staff members? If I’m not mistaken, all employees in Government should be given a chance to get training and workshops, especially from clerk to labourers. Please, every office of human resources must create training for the lower ranks from clerks to labourers.* ALLOW me space in your newspaper. Please, labour inspectors should make a turn at the new Cimbebasia and see how construction workers are suffering there. We need a basic salary and safety clothing like security and farm workers. – Andy * [DEFENCE] Minister [Charles] Namoloh must learn about the poverty amongst the nation. The NDF must recruit 50 per cent qualified and 50 per cent unqualified people. What about those who were born in exile? – Siganitu Sporting Moments * PLEASE who won Namibia vs Lesotho. It ended in a 1-1- draw. A short report, including the result, was in yesterday’s newspaper. See page 28 today for a preview of this afternoon’s clash against Malawi. – News Editor * DID you know that nowhere in the Vision 2030 is reference made to sports. That says it all.* THE Namibian Olympic delegation representing the athletes at the games is always bigger than the athletes, who are they going to represent? NOC explain please! General * WITNESS fees at the Ministry of Justice must be revised soon. This includes transport, accommodation, food and any other payments because witnesses are paid at a rate calculated long ago. All prices of the above went up 100 per cent in recent years. It is no secret, everyone knows.* MR [Jerry] Muadinohamba [of the MVA], maybe you should urge Government to ban shops from advertising liquor. It might help reduce alcohol intake.* IT will be in the best interest of all Namibians if the long-awaited financial services charter can wait until the so-called TESEF secret is revealed, why the rush now? * TO the person who SMSed that I must be disciplined for speaking against the Ondonga tribal authority. He/she said I should not link the headman (Omadhiya) to the tribal authority who fined the poor old man. Now thank you to the one who put the record right in yesterday’s SMS. He makes it very clear that the headman needs the blessing of the Ondonga tribal authority to fine or punish the trespassers, so it must expect to bear the blame equally to the headman. Lastly, please can anyone tell me whether the man has paid his fine or not, because I’m very much concerned and justice has to be practised here, if it does ever exist, thanks. – Ben Ben * AN SMS in The Namibian of July 22 2008 is misleading the public that management cadres in particular in regional councils are using entertainment [allowances] to buy food for houses, etc. The truth is that such cadres do not qualify for such allowances, only Honourable Councillors qualify for the allowances in question.* WHY are you afraid of making a profit from the SMS page? Even at 5 dollars an SMS it is still a bargain. – We’ve kept it at N$1 as we want to make the SMS service accessible to as many people as possible! – News Editor * I AM a regular reader of The Namibian and my concern is about the heap of newspapers I end up with and discard at the end of a year. Now my question is: is there no method to take these copies for conservation or recycling? – Michael Auwa * Thank you Michael. It’s great that you are conscious of the need to conserve or recycle. I also like the fact that you appear to be a diligent reader. I don’t know how far back your newspapers go, but maybe I can get our archivist to contact you and see if there is anything you have that we may need. Otherwise, I don’t know if there are any recycling businesses that would be interested in your newspapers. – News Editor Service Please! * NAMPOST at Oshikuku is refusing [to allow] us to withdraw money from our own account.* STANDARD Bank please we customers, we want cellphone banking and in-contact. We are talking world of technology. Do something before we move to FNB. – N Ondema * LEGAL SHIELD ! Why the poor service? At one stage I had to hold on for 15 minutes while looking for my file. I phoned Legal Shield many times, and personally go there many times. No clear answers. Taking off from work. Do you know what this is costing me? * WHY is the Jan Jonker Service Station charging 10 per cent on a total amount if you fill up and pay with a debit card? And they only inform you after you have filled up. It does not make sense as debit card payments are like cash and funds are transferred immediately.In And From The Regions * RUACANA Town Council has developed a new dumping place … [and] they failed to contact the people living near the place. Please remember the smoke from the burning is harmful to all living people, not only to town residents. I want the Council to explain why they are not using the old dumping place. – Lys, Ruacana * OSHAKATI Municipality, please relocate our rubbish dump site. How on earth can a dumping site be close to residences? * OH my goodness, the state of the Walvis Bay State Prison where the prison staff stay is a sight for sore eyes. I’ve never seen Government employees live like that: windows are broken, missing, cracked or covered in boxes! What do you use the prisoners for if they are just there from the benefit of the hardworking taxpayers’ money. – Marvin, Walvis Bay * OKAHANDJA traffic officers are weak here. There is an orange Caddy bakkie driven like hell by a kid every day and every weekend. Please take action before that kid kills someone. – Mr Burger * PLEASE Okahandja Municipality, we young people of Okahandja need erven. Please make a plan for us. Please, we are tired of staying with our parents.Zimbabwe * Zimbabwe – what people fail to understand is that Zimbabwe is at war – an economic war and like any war at a cost. The cost now is people’s comfort and livelihood. What pride do we as Africans have when we stand in the middle of any city and realise all we have are Sowetos? Africa lets unite and fight. – Makandi * THIS message is directed to the Zimbabwe Embassy staff in Windhoek. They must very carefully measure what they say from now on because they could easily find themselves on the way home. These talks could mean a sudden increase in competition for diplomatic posts.Education * IS the Ministry of Education aware that appointment of principals is made without the Permanent Secretary’s consent in Otjozondjupa Region. – Concerned Parent * I AM a resident of Okahandja and very concerned about the appointments of principals made in Okahandja at such a crucial time. ACC help us .* OKALONGO Secondary School, what is the importance of having a computer lab if our kids do not use them. Is it for decoration? What happened to Mr Shikomba our qualified ICT teacher? Please do something, other kids are enjoying the world of technology.* AS a professional and hardworking teacher, I’m very disappointed by the remarks made by the President [Hifikepunye Pohamba] in the Ohangwena Region over the weekend, about teachers. This to me means that our president is either misinformed or lacks knowledge about his own education system. We teachers, if only consulted, have better ideas and answers on the difficulties we face and how to overcome them. – Dux! * UNBELIEVABLE that some of the students didn’t write mid-term exams due to the fact that parents couldn’t pay school fees. In spite of hammering education for all, parents have been running up and down trying to arrange all in vain. This is a disgrace Jan Jonker Secondary school.