SMSes of the Day : Tuesday

* WHY I consider Ben Bamfuchile the best: Ever since he took over as the Brave Warriors’ coach, the team has been and still is climbing the Fifa rankings. We are now on the 101 spot in the world and 25th in Africa. I still believe the best is yet to come from him, watch it. – Elliotts

* EDUCATION and Vision 2030. Everybody has (an) opinion(s) about the would-be achievements in 2030. Namibia’s education system is intrinsically linked to whatever the outcome will be in future. Clearly, the authorities have catered excellently for the teaching staff up to Grade 10. But, it ends there since the country is in extreme deficit for Grades 11 and 12 teaching staff. Could someone carry out a survey to establish how many teachers teaching Grades 11 and 12 have adequate subject knowledge to teach their subjects without reproach. What such an investigation will reveal will be a shock to many, but not for the most senior officials in the Ministry of Education. Instead of speaking out they prefer to remain silent, as it is convenient for them to do so. SOLUTION: Give incentives to teachers to upgrade themselves in their subjects. Many have advanced degrees in Education which are not relevant for classroom teaching. – Alex Food for thought * PLEASE allow me to express myself, as we know Keetmanshoop hospital is regarded one of the cleanest in the country, but one thing I realised is that nurses are (allegedly) not doing their job properly. For example, on Sunday night my aunt had a heart attack and we ran to the hospital to get the ambulance to pick her up. The nurses in charge told me to get a taxi or go to the Police office. This was around 00h45 after midnight. Now I want to know what the ambulance is for if it can’t be used as an emergency vehicle? My aunt died, while I was pleading with the nurses to provide transport. They told me that the ambulance is not an emergency car, what is that? Tell us MOHSS, where can we get help? Now I do not have an aunt because of the delay.* NAMIBIA is now 17 years, but I have a concern about Heroes’ Acre. How long is it going to take the nation to identify that unknown soldier. Please leaders, it is now time to tell our children the truth.Zim sanctions* WHAT a great piece of disinformation! What economic sanctions against Zimbabwe is (President) Pohamba talking about? There are only targeted travel bans and sanctions against officials of the Mugabe dictatorship. Just shows that if you repeat a lie often enough, even Presidents will believe it. What a shame for our President to fall for the Zimbabwe regime’s propaganda.* WHILE the President may disingenuously call for the lifting of economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, it is incumbent on the reporter to note that in fact there are no such sanctions, only targeted sanctions against named individuals. It is in large part of the ability of the regime to present these as general economic sanctions against the people that may make them counter-productive, making the imperative for accurate reporting that much greater. (Point taken. Thank you. – News Editor)* WHY should the EU lift the sanctions against Zimbabwe?!. Rather lift ‘Bob’ so that upliftment of Zimbabwe’s people can proceed unhindered! Mr Pohamba please help him to help himself.* PRESIDENT Pohamba and other SADC leaders should urge (President Robert) Mugabe to resign first. Then they can call for the sanctions to be lifted. – PDS* IT seems more likely to rid Zimbabwe of the tyrant, he is the one destroying the country and the people nor the sanctions.Politics in general* WHY is it that the Swapo President is talking about bloodshed, CIA, Imperialists, etc? Is it because of the rumoured new party? Parties had been democratically formed, merged, divided and evaporated, but there has never been bloodshed. Why now? Is Mr Nujoma intimidating Namibians’ constitutional rights or he is instigating violence against those who will choose to leave the Swapo Party to join the new rumoured party? – Kamushidulu, Hardap Region* WHY do you always talk about Omusati when it comes to issues within Swapo? Go form your own party like others did and let’s meet at the ballot box.* BE careful of those ugly tribalism and ethnic prejudice and many others. OPO was started as a political organisation mainly by the contract workers who were mainly from Owamboland and later other tribes started to join and that is why it was renamed Swapo to accommodate all Namibians. OPO was never a traditional body nor was it led by any traditional leader. Swapo never used the OPO flag. It created its own flag with its meaning. UDF evolved from the Damara King Council, which is a traditional set up. Is UDF only for Damara people? Please UDF leaders create your own flag with its own meaning, which suits a political party and give back the Damara flag to the Chief Council, because it means a lot to all of us Damara speaking, including those who are not UDF members. This has become a thorn in the flesh and the sooner it is resolved the better.* MR Elia Ngurare, can you advise the Swapo President to also turn the Swapo Congress into a Workshop, as there will be no elections. He can just be a facilitator on tribalism and vigilance.* I WAS in exile but I was not a Plan fighter. I was at school. Am I a veteran?Education* I’M disappointed by the Unam management for not allowing students to write their exams, when the Government has promised that they will pay the outstanding student loans. Unam, put yourself in the shoes of students, struggling with subjects for whole year but you are not going to sit for exams, please we must consider each other, Unam change your mind and let the students write. – Maria* I’M disgusted by the way the invigilator lady for Grade10 at Van Rhyn PS treats learners! She 1st almost rejected kids to write exams because they didn’t have IDs, but she also didn’t tell them they need a verification of ID and on Thursday kids were sent back home without writing despite the fees paid and efforts made by the children to pass Grade 10. Jan Jonker Afrikaner SSS responsible for the registration and giving verification to learners must respond on why they didn’t do their job properly. These are our future leaders and we are denying them access to education! – Frustrated parent* MY child is attending school in Wanaheda. Since her teacher resigned she has lost her appetite for learning. Every day she wakes up with the hope that her teacher will return to the school. She liked him very much and so did the other kids. Is it possible for us parents to talk with the concerned teacher to return just for the kids? – Concerned parent.* I JUST want to ask the Minister of Education whether they will allow the national examinations to be delayed? Since teachers of SI !Gobs lost the key of the safe where the question papers are stored, will the learners not be penalised? – Digo* IS the Directorate of National Examination and Assessment – Ministry of Education aware that Grade 10 and 12 full-time and part-time candidates at centre number NA, NX 116, Omaruru Circuit, Erongo Educational region started a JSC, NSSC national exam very late on October 29 due to irresponsible school teacher who took a safe room key home and lost it. The national exam time was just used as a time to search for the key. Grade 10 English second language exam started at 10h20, while it was planned to start at 08h00 and finish at 10h00. Grade 12 Accounting exam started at 11h00, while it was planned to start at 08h00-09h30. At 10h30 – as a normal daily school break time, Grade 12 Accounting learners were out of the exam room, some learners phoned others from different schools asking how the exam was? Both Grade 10 and 12 started later to write the exam after copies of the papers were duplicated for all candidates, but for Grade 12 Accounting exam question paper was not very much clear e.g. books lines. – Concerned senior learner* THE principal of Ekulo school in the Oshikoto Region must not take the law in his own hands by suspending more than 15 Grade 12 learners from the hostel, while they are busy with final exams. On top of that some poor learners stay in mbashus made by themselves because they have no proper accommodation. It’s very dangerous for them because its not safe around, they virtually live in bushes. Inspector please do something. – Fenny, Windhoek From the regions* REGIONAL Councillors, why do some people think that councillors should decide on who should or should not address communities in any given place within a constituency? This idea is totally wrong. Gone are Kremlin days. As long as there is no malicious intent any one can address the community on issues affecting them. Do not own the minds of people because they are created by God. – Freedom* WE would like to inquire how Anglo Ashanti Karibib Mine employs people. Seventy-five per cent of the employees at the mine are from other towns such as Khorixas, while the people born at Karibib possess all the required skills and qualifications. Seems to me you (allegedly) have to know some of the recruitment officers to be employed by the mine. Special thanks to the mine for only employing people from other towns who don’t have the required skills.* THE Councillor of Linyanti constituency, are you aware of the shortage of drinking water at Golden, Kapani and Kandiana villages in the Masida area? These three villages have been without water since 2004 when the solar panels got stolen and people have to move 4-5 km to fetch water. Can you do something please?* CELL One should realise that ignoring the South in expansion of its services or network will cost them dearly. Did you forget that the route to South Africa used by most truckers runs through Mariental and Keetmanshoop? Don’t be surprised if you arrive and people don’t make use of your product. Cell One don’t ignore the South.General* A KIND request to NamPol: Please publish the names of all B1 Butcher suspects! The communities can then help YOU by keeping an eye on these people’s movements!* WHAT is the intention of Government to make N$30 million available to pay water. This is not the solution. The solution is to reduce benefiting institutions or offices from the water supply. What we pay is distributed among them e.g municipalities, NamWater and GRN.* ARE cars with Zambian registration number plates allowed to operate as taxis in Namibia, because that’s what is going on at Katima? – GMS* THE lack of social workers will persist as long as the Government does not realise the importance of a healthy mind. Social workers are as important as medical doctors are to the community. Media and social worker educate our leaders please.* HELP! The furniture shops are overcharging us with their imposed insurance on our purchases. I bought an article for N$2 300 at a certain store, but ended up paying a total of $9 300. They said it is because of the insurance. Another store absolutely refused to accept my insurance with Mutual and Federal. I am charged for what I am already paying.* THE people in charge of the RCC company, please do something about the very narrow road linking Tsumeb to Otavi. It is too narrow and especially when a two trucks approach each other from opposite directions, mirrors sometimes collide on those sharp curves near Tsumeb, which are similar to Formula One chicanes. Passing lanes will do fine, please RCC. – Rhino* A LECTURER at the University of Namibia is an enemy of progress for the institution. On October 23 for the second time I saw kicking and breaking the door of the main hall after it was repaired from the same actions October 6. He said it’s because students had to write a test but the hall was locked. Was breaking the door the only solution for him? Did he book the hall anyway? What kind of a leader and parent is he? Why does the university need people like him? Let the university investigate this. Let him pay for his damage.* I FIND it strange that people are complaining about not being able to afford water at N$25 per household per month, yet shebeens all over the country and in the poorest suburbs are thriving!* THE City of Windhoek must also drop the prices of its plots. It’s too expensive, almost as if they are buying it from someone, while in reality it’s natural and belongs to all. They only have to control it so that we can all have a place (land) to live on. Currently the poor are shut out as they can’t afford it.* PLEASE allow me to express myself, as we know Keetmanshoop hospital is regarded one of the cleanest in the country, but one thing I realised is that nurses are (allegedly) not doing their job properly. For example, on Sunday night my aunt had a heart attack and we ran to the hospital to get the ambulance to pick her up. The nurses in charge told me to get a taxi or go to the Police office. This was around 00h45 after midnight. Now I want to know what the ambulance is for if it can’t be used as an emergency vehicle? My aunt died, while I was pleading with the nurses to provide transport. They told me that the ambulance is not an emergency car, what is that? Tell us MOHSS, where can we get help? Now I do not have an aunt because of the delay.* NAMIBIA is now 17 years, but I have a concern about Heroes’ Acre. How long is it going to take the nation to identify that unknown soldier. Please leaders, it is now time to tell our children the truth.Zim sanctions * WHAT a great piece of disinformation! What economic sanctions against Zimbabwe is (President) Pohamba talking about? There are only targeted travel bans and sanctions against officials of the Mugabe dictatorship. Just shows that if you repeat a lie often enough, even Presidents will believe it. What a shame for our President to fall for the Zimbabwe regime’s propaganda.* WHILE the President may disingenuously call for the lifting of economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, it is incumbent on the reporter to note that in fact there are no such sanctions, only targeted sanctions against named individuals. It is in large part of the ability of the regime to present these as general economic sanctions against the people that may make them counter-productive, making the imperative for accurate reporting that much greater. (Point taken. Thank you. – News Editor) * WHY should the EU lift the sanctions against Zimbabwe?!. Rather lift ‘Bob’ so that upliftment of Zimbabwe’s people can proceed unhindered! Mr Pohamba please help him to help himself.* PRESIDENT Pohamba and other SADC leaders should urge (President Robert) Mugabe to resign first. Then they can call for the sanctions to be lifted. – PDS * IT seems more likely to rid Zimbabwe of the tyrant, he is the one destroying the country and the people nor the sanctions.Politics in general * WHY is it that the Swapo President is talking about bloodshed, CIA, Imperialists, etc? Is it because of the rumoured new party? Parties had been democratically formed, merged, divided and evaporated, but there has never been bloodshed. Why now? Is Mr Nujoma intimidating Namibians’ constitutional rights or he is instigating violence against those who will choose to leave the Swapo Party to join the new rumoured party? – Kamushidulu, Hardap Region * WHY do you always talk about Omusati when it comes to issues within Swapo? Go form your own party like others did and let’s meet at the ballot box.* BE careful of those ugly tribalism and ethnic prejudice and many others. OPO was started as a political organisation mainly by the contract workers who were mainly from Owamboland and later other tribes started to join and that is why it was renamed Swapo to accommodate all Namibians. OPO was never a traditional body nor was it led by any traditional leader. Swapo never used the OPO flag. It created its own flag with its meaning. UDF evolved from the Damara King Council, which is a traditional set up. Is UDF only for Damara people? Please UDF leaders create your own flag with its own meaning, which suits a political party and give back the Damara flag to the Chief Council, because it means a lot to all of us Damara speaking, including those who are not UDF members. This has become a thorn in the flesh and the sooner it is resolved the better.* MR Elia Ngurare, can you advise the Swapo President to also turn the Swapo Congress into a Workshop, as there will be no elections. He can just be a facilitator on tribalism and vigilance.* I WAS in exile but I was not a Plan fighter. I was at school. Am I a veteran? Education * I’M disappointed by the Unam management for not allowing students to write their exams, when the Government has promised that they will pay the outstanding student loans. Unam, put yourself in the shoes of students, struggling with subjects for whole year but you are not going to sit for exams, please we must consider each other, Unam change your mind and let the students write. – Maria * I’M disgusted by the way the invigilator lady for Grade10 at Van Rhyn PS treats learners! She 1st almost rejected kids to write exams because they didn’t have IDs, but she also didn’t tell them they need a verification of ID and on Thursday kids were sent back home without writing despite the fees paid and efforts made by the children to pass Grade 10. Jan Jonker Afrikaner SSS responsible for the registration and giving verification to learners must respond on why they didn’t do their job properly. These are our future leaders and we are denying them access to education! – Frustrated parent * MY child is attending school in Wanaheda. Since her teacher resigned she has lost her appetite for learning. Every day she wakes up with the hope that her teacher will return to the school. She liked him very much and so did the other kids. Is it possible for us parents to talk with the concerned teacher to return just for the kids? – Concerned parent.* I JUST want to ask the Minister of Education whether they will allow the national examinations to be delayed? Since teachers of SI !Gobs lost the key of the safe where the question papers are stored, will the learners not be penalised? – Digo * IS the Directorate of National Examination and Assessment – Ministry of Education aware that Grade 10 and 12 full-time and part-time candidates at centre number NA, NX 116, Omaruru Circuit, Erongo Educational region started a JSC, NSSC national exam very late on October 29 due to irresponsible school teacher who took a safe room key home and lost it. The national exam time was just used as a time to search for the key. Grade 10 English second language exam started at 10h20, while it was planned to start at 08h00 and finish at 10h00. Grade 12 Accounting exam started at 11h00, while it was planned to start at 08h00-09h30. At 10h30 – as a normal daily school break time, Grade 12 Accounting learners were out of the exam room, some learners phoned others from different schools asking how the exam was? Both Grade 10 and 12 started later to write the exam after copies of the papers were duplicated for all candidates, but for Grade 12 Accounting exam question paper was not very much clear e.g. books lines. – Concerned senior learner * THE principal of Ekulo school in the Oshikoto Region must not take the law in his own hands by suspending more than 15 Grade 12 learners from the hostel, while they are busy with final exams. On top of that some poor learners stay in mbashus made by themselves because they have no proper accommodation. It’s very dangerous for them because its not safe around, they virtually live in bushes. Inspector please do something. – Fenny, Windhoek From the regions * REGIONAL Councillors, why do some people think that councillors should decide on who should or should not address communities in any given place within a constituency? This idea is totally wrong. Gone are Kremlin days. As long as there is no malicious intent any one can address the community on issues affecting them. Do not own the minds of people because they are created by God. – Freedom * WE would like to inquire how Anglo Ashanti Karibib Mine employs people. Seventy-five per cent of the employees at the mine are from other towns such as Khorixas, while the people born at Karibib possess all the required skills and qualifications. Seems to me you (allegedly) have to know some of the recruitment officers to be employed by the mine. Special thanks to the mine for only employing people from other towns who don’t have the required skills.* THE Councillor of Linyanti constituency, are you aware of the shortage of drinking water at Golden, Kapani and Kandiana villages in the Masida area? These three villages have been without water since 2004 when the solar panels got stolen and people have to move 4-5 km to fetch water. Can you do something please? * CELL One should realise that ignoring the South in expansion of its services or network will cost them dearly. Did you forget that the route to South Africa used by most truckers runs through Mariental and Keetmanshoop? Don’t be surprised if you arrive and people don’t make use of your product. Cell One don’t ignore the South.General * A KIND request to NamPol: Please publish the names of all B1 Butcher suspects! The communities can then help YOU by keeping an eye on these people’s movements! * WHAT is the intention of Government to make N$30 million available to pay water. This is not the solution. The solution is to reduce benefiting institutions or offices from the water supply. What we pay is distributed among them e.g municipalities, NamWater and GRN.* ARE cars with Zambian registration number plates allowed to operate as taxis in Namibia, because that’s what is going on at Katima? – GMS * THE lack of social workers will persist as long as the Government does not realise the importance of a healthy mind. Social workers are as important as medical doctors are to the community. Media and social worker educate our leaders please.* HELP! The furniture shops are overcharging us with their imposed insurance on our purchases. I bought an article for N$2 300 at a certain store, but ended up paying a total of $9 300. They said it is because of the insurance. Another store absolutely refused to accept my insurance with Mutual and Federal. I am charged for what I am already paying.* THE people in charge of the RCC company, please do something about the very narrow road linking Tsumeb to Otavi. It is too narrow and especially when a two trucks approach each other from opposite directions, mirrors sometimes collide on those sharp curves near Tsumeb, which are similar to Formula One chicanes. Passing lanes will do fine, please RCC. – Rhino * A LECTURER at the University of Namibia is an enemy of progress for the institution. On October 23 for the second time I saw kicking and breaking the door of the main hall after it was repaired from the same actions October 6. He said it’s because students had to write a test but the hall was locked. Was breaking the door the only solution for him? Did he book the hall anyway? What kind of a leader and parent is he? Why does the university need people like him? Let the university investigate this. Let him pay for his damage.* I FIND it strange that people are complaining about not being able to afford water at N$25 per household per month, yet shebeens all over the country and in the poorest suburbs are thriving! * THE City of Windhoek must also drop the prices of its plots. It’s too expensive, almost as if they are buying it from someone, while in reality it’s natural and belongs to all. They only have to control it so that we can all have a place (land) to live on. Currently the poor are shut out as they can’t afford it.