State accused of ignoring poor

AN adult literacy teacher and her students have accused Government of not caring for the poor.

Dressed in blue overalls with three of her students in tow, Elise Simon marched into the offices of The Namibian last Sunday afternoon to have the story of their frustrations printed in the newspaper the next morning. When told it was too late to take down the story and that an interview could be arranged for the following day, the 23-year-old broke into a passionate rant for at least an hour, and vented her frustrations on The Namibian, accusing it of also not having compassion for the poor.She threatened to sleep at the paper’s offices in protest until their grievances had been accepted as story material for the next day.The four had marched from Katutura to the newspaper offices to convey their daily problems across to The Namibian’s readers and the authorities Simon, who said she is an adult literacy promoter employed by the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, complained that not only was her salary low, but it was often late by three to six months.She teaches literacy four days a week (for N$700 in monthly wages) at Ongulumbashe, one of the shack settlements in northern Katutura.In the course of her ranting and raving, Simon disclosed she was HIV positive and an orphan.Her experience with State hospitals was to be given the Panado painkiller and a medicine called nalidic acid to those having been diagnosed with sexually transmitted disease.No proper care was given to those who were infected with the virus, Simon shouted, at times banging her fist on the desk closest to her.”But relatives of senior Government officials and you well-paid people can always go to private hospitals and get the best treatment!” she said refusing to move from the newsroom.Having cooled down the following day, Simon told a reporter that she had been refused anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) because her CD4 count is above 370, though she claimed to know of someone with a CD4 count of more than 400 who was still admitted to the programme.She alleged the person was a relative of senior Government officials.The Government’s ARV treatment is offered to people with a CD4 count of 200.The CD4 count is used to measure the strength of the immune system.A low count indicates that AIDS has weakened the system.Among the frustrations that Simon and her students listed was that the literacy certificates they received were unable to guarantee them even the most basic employment, such as cleaning.Simon said she and her students had been hugely frustrated, to the extent that they were thinking of punishing their political leaders by abstaining from the upcoming elections.A spokesperson at the Ministry of Basic Education said she would look into the complaints relating to her Ministry.When told it was too late to take down the story and that an interview could be arranged for the following day, the 23-year-old broke into a passionate rant for at least an hour, and vented her frustrations on The Namibian, accusing it of also not having compassion for the poor.She threatened to sleep at the paper’s offices in protest until their grievances had been accepted as story material for the next day.The four had marched from Katutura to the newspaper offices to convey their daily problems across to The Namibian’s readers and the authorities Simon, who said she is an adult literacy promoter employed by the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, complained that not only was her salary low, but it was often late by three to six months.She teaches literacy four days a week (for N$700 in monthly wages) at Ongulumbashe, one of the shack settlements in northern Katutura.In the course of her ranting and raving, Simon disclosed she was HIV positive and an orphan.Her experience with State hospitals was to be given the Panado painkiller and a medicine called nalidic acid to those having been diagnosed with sexually transmitted disease.No proper care was given to those who were infected with the virus, Simon shouted, at times banging her fist on the desk closest to her.”But relatives of senior Government officials and you well-paid people can always go to private hospitals and get the best treatment!” she said refusing to move from the newsroom.Having cooled down the following day, Simon told a reporter that she had been refused anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) because her CD4 count is above 370, though she claimed to know of someone with a CD4 count of more than 400 who was still admitted to the programme.She alleged the person was a relative of senior Government officials.The Government’s ARV treatment is offered to people with a CD4 count of 200.The CD4 count is used to measure the strength of the immune system.A low count indicates that AIDS has weakened the system.Among the frustrations that Simon and her students listed was that the literacy certificates they received were unable to guarantee them even the most basic employment, such as cleaning.Simon said she and her students had been hugely frustrated, to the extent that they were thinking of punishing their political leaders by abstaining from the upcoming elections.A spokesperson at the Ministry of Basic Education said she would look into the complaints relating to her Ministry.