SMSss for Monday 17 January 2011

SMS Of The Day
n DRUGS and alcohol are destroying our nation. SYL, NYC, Nanso, our President, Father of the Nation, MPs, Cabinet Ministers, NGOs, churches, community and trade union leaders, we need you urgently to support Governor C Swartbooi. because our nation is going down the drain.

Food for thought*AT Independence the founding President wanted people to have lots of children to populate Namibia. After 20 years we sit with massive youth unemployment. Swapo, be careful what you wish for!- Pro family planning*PRESIDENT Pohamba has highlighted speeding as the main contributing factor towards accidents on our roads. Can all ministers and MPS sign a pledge that they will not speed nor will they allow their drivers to exceed the legal speed limit? At present they speed and are not even stopped. What does the law say?Education and Schools*I TAKE my hat off to mr Shipingana a teacher at Okafitu Kakamba primary school for teaching our kids well.Our kids are now able to speak and write English, even put on plays because of you. Keep it up John.- Happiest parent*MINISTER Abraham Iyambo please do something about IOL which is a big sucking insect. No refund after terminating the course. IOL cannot stop deducting money from your salary though you stopped their course. We want to see Zimbabwean colleges/university in Namibia for our people to uplift their educational qualifications. Do something please.*MINISTER Iyambo please be informed that the syllabus of English has some scientific shortcomings and is overloaded with too many unnecessary topics. The recent World Bank report recommended that curricula focus on knowledge and skills required by the economic sector. It further stated that Curricula were over loaded with too many subjects and lacked clear standards- Teacher, Oshikoto.*MINISTER of Education why is it only grade 10s who are allowed to repeat – what about us grade 12s? It’s really not fair.*MINISTER of Education, please note that the root cause of high failure rate for grade 10 and 12 is due to discrimination in marking certain learners. There is no fairness in the marking of compositions and letters. Please reform the whole system of marking with more progressive markers for all learners irrespective of their skin colour and place of origin, be it a village or town.*DR A Iyambo: please don’t mess with our hard-working children who passed their Grade 9 in 2010 by mixing them with your unproductive Grade 10 of 2010. Please get the retired teachers back and let them teach the 2010 grade 10 failures from 13h00 to 18h00 for our 2011 Grade 10 new entries to have a chance of performing again! Please do not mix education with politics; Namibia will not forgive you!- Abuelo*NAMIBIANS! Something is seriously wrong with our minds. How can we hail a decision for Grade 10s to repeat just because we want to get the children off the streets? Ultimately those children will go to the streets with no skills. Few children benefit from repetition. It is a waste!*NATIONAL exams, Grade 12. Whoever is at the helm of releasing Examination Results for Gr 12 her/his performance is unacceptable. The final results for Gr 12 are always released very late. Everybody involved is under extreme pressure unnecessarily. Learners and parents are forced to drive at high speed in order to get examination results from schools where learners were and then rush to registration centres before closing date. Institutions of higher learning are affected negatively as they have to start late with their training programmes. We note that Gr 12 learners are less than Gr 10s therefore they do not need the whole 1/4 of the year to mark exam papers (3 months). We are appealing to Drs Iyambo and Namwandi to improve this area.- D Amupolo*I AM a district education officer and my duty station is about 60 km outside my hometown; I would like to ask the Minister of Education Abraham Iyambo why I am not benefiting from the bush allowance if I am falling under the teacher category?Bouquets and Brickbats*NBC. Thank you for bombarding this nation with Mormon Tabernacle hymnology. When will we listen to choirs from different cultural groups from this nation?*SELMA Shipanga’s article ‘Let’s be Responsible’ in Friday’s paper should have been on the front page! Well done Selma! You should be a motivation speaker at all the high schools in Namibia.Conservation*THE government should put very stiff sentences on poachers. Wildlife conservation is close to our hearts and the law should be more serious when dealing with the trespassers. The tourism sector contributes much to our GDP. Let’s conserve nature and improve human livelihood.- JeremyLost and Found*MISS Kotze, Yolandi, I found your ID, medical aid fund card and your ATM card and your membership cards for different stores. Contact Stanislaus at 0814668639.*I FOSIA M. Shavuka lost my birth certificate last year in town (Windhoek).i If found please call or sms me at 0816591482Sporting*IT is Nestor Tobias vs Anita Tjombe – let the game begin!State of the Nation*IN response to S McCarthy of Walvis Bay: It is worrisome. The signs are visible that we are moving towards autocracy. Where in the world have you seen so many police roadblocks in a country in peace time. Even the legality of permanent police roadblocks is questionable. This is clear intimidation and suppression of freedom of movement. Has the government not failed in its economic policy which has caused so much unemployment and it is now recruiting hundreds of policemen to curb dissatisfaction of the masses and to enforce its draconian laws? Where on earth have you seen a police force in a ‘peaceful’ country which is ratio-wise more than its population? Have we not kissed freedom goodbye?- EWAFrom the Regions*MTC, Council, Governor responsible for these villages namely Amilema and Amukulungundju, we the residents request you to help us and put up an MTC network. There is no network here and we are surrounded by bushes, snakes and all types of reptiles. Just imagine a bite by a snake and no network and Omuthiya Hospital is 35km away. Please attend to our urgent request!*MAYOR of Keetmanshoop town, as a resident of Keetmanshoop staying in Tseiblaagte township, from the safety point of view I’m concerned about the speeding on the main road in front of W. K. Rover community hall as there is no speed bumps to reduce this reckless and unnecessary speeding. There have been numerous incidents already so please act fast nd make it a priority before lives are lost.- H I Winstaan.State of Africa*SHAME on the Angolan government on calling on a dictator who lost elections in a democratic way, Laurent Gbagbo, to remain in power instead of calling him to step down and pave the way for Ouattara who won the elections.- BaloyiHealth and Hospitals*DR Kamwi (Ministry of Health) must Olivia Ananias from Omahanene, Oshakati, with the baby who has hydrocephalus really have to beg government to be assisted with this child with a special health condition? Is it not the responsibility of the Health Ministry to immediately attend to this citizen?- Mekupi, Oshakati*TO the health officials, what does it mean by exclusively breast feeding’? Breastfeeding only without any other food? Not even giving water to the baby? That will never be possible especially for us the working mothers.*WHY are Engela and Eenhana hospitals in the Ohangwena region the only ones providing the pregnant women with accommodation? To me this is unhealthy: why can’t these women wait at home until the last month of their pregnancy? Because most of them leave their home even while four to five months pregnant and stay there for the rest of the months. I think this should come to an end and these women be at their home doing some household job until time of delivery.- NdasunyeDemocracy and Leaders*IF only the speech by the Karas Governor could be put on some sort of documentary, then people would understand why he deserves the respect he’s earning; he identified loopholes and emphasized that leadership is action and not position.*CITIZEN Nahas is free to celebrate mediocracy of number 5 for President Pohamba. As for me it is number one or nothing, and therefore Dudley’s cartoon stands.*THE name Swapo is good but many of its leaders are money mongers. Look at the councillor who sold the land to the Chinese. But not Chinese anymore because they are given Namibian citizenship by them.*PRESIDENT President Pohamba must learn from besieged leaders otherwise other Tunisia’s are imminent.*THE black Merc with GRN 45 is always seen all over Windhoek including schools, shopping centres and Khomasdal. Are all these trips official or abuse?*PM Angula says in his letter that appeared on January 14 that ‘such a rating shall encourage tourists (and investors) to choose Nam as their destination’. When last did he travel through our border posts by car? Tourists LOATHE our side of the border because of poor and unfriendly service; dirty, hot conditions and neglected buildings.*THE office of the PM needs to give a sense of direction in order to shape a dysfunctional public service. Absenteeism; laziness; dubious sick leave and poor work ethics is a big problem. The office of the PM is urged to help stamp out this evil practice.Consumer*LIKE Nammilk’s products, some of Hartlief’s meat products have no ingredient specifications. Am allergic to soya which is a popular emulsifier. Which ‘plant proteins’ or emulsifier do you use? Allergy kills and I may not be alone.- KKSuggestion box*THE recent spate of accidents cast doubt on the licensing system in Namibia. It also highlights the need to take drastic actions such as suspending and even revoking them. Driving is not a right but a privilege and can be taken away. That message should be loud and clear.
*WHY can’t Gwen Lister if possible and if there are funds available open The Namibian’s own radio station where the masses can express themselves in an open line like programme. Since the so-called Swapo-led government has infringed one of the most fundamental principles of democracy; that is freedom of speech, for their own selfish political gain.Responses from the Ministry of Education to recent SMS messages:*I was moved out of the hostel because I have HIV. Is this just in Putuavanga or in the whole Namibia? And I feel very bad, Ministry of Education are we not welcome at some places?*The Ministry of Education does not discriminate against people with HIV. Please call the Public Relations Office at (061) 2933366 for assistance.*To the Ministry of Education! I just want to find out if you score under 14 points is there no room for them to repeat Grade 10?*All schools have been informed that learners who obtained points between 0 and 13 be allowed to repeat. Learners who obtained 14 to 19 points will also be allowed to repeat, but it is up to the learners, because some may opt to repeat only one or a few of the subjects through NAMCOL. Learners who scored points between 20 to 22 should opt for NAMCOL, because if they repeat Grade 10 at a formal school, they will forfeit the grades obtained in the 2010 JSC examinations. Learners who achieved the required points of 23 or above, but failed English, should be allowed to progress to Grade 11.*Minister of Education must tell us what to do with people who are 18 years old and failed grade 10. Why all these years were people repeating? Is it because of elections?*Learners who are 18 years and older are allowed to repeat Grade 10.*I’m shocked to hear that kids who fail cannot go back to the hostel anymore. Where should they stay when some of us are just here because of work and have families here. This is happening in Omaheke region. Please Minister help.*All schools have been informed that hostel accommodation should be made available to Grade 10 learners who have been allowed to repeat and had previously stayed in the hostel.*A certain college’s advert in Windhoek reads, ‘Why repeat Grade 10? Students with 15 points and above can enrol for Grade 11. Reg fee 100.00.’ It sounds amazing, but can we entrust our students to them?*A Grade 10 learner who did not meet the minimum requirements of 23 points in the JSC examinations CANNOT proceed to Grade 11. ONLY learners who have obtained 23 points and above can proceed to Grade 11.*After 20 years of independence the Swapo government is till hiring teachers from other countries, but you have your own Zim graduates who are jobless.*The Regional Education Offices have been instructed to employ Namibian teachers trained in Zimbabwe, who have met all the requirements.Please contact the Public Relations Office at (061) 2933366 if you have any further questions.