SMS Of The Day : Tuesday

* DEAR Prime Minister, Good Day! Please can your office initiate national policy discussions on matters that are relevant to the development of Namibia and, hence will allow constructive debates and hearings by all. Therefore, I proposes the following policy issues for discussions:

* The relevance of the National Council in the 21st Century * The need of one Chamber of Parliament – that includes either to increase the number of MPs from 72 to 130 (to include 3-4 representatives from each region) and to abolish the National Council.* The Constitutional Amendments.* Executive Mayor System for big towns.* Challenges for municipalities.* A new Education System.* Challenges facing the country.* The History of Namibia. Nothing to hide, just to initiate discussions for all of us who are outside the confines of the two chambers, something to which we too can contribute.Food for thought* SADC does not belong to the people who have been elected to run the affairs of the region, this being the respective individual governments. What happened in Lusaka and in Tanzania earlier on is a shame – that these heads of state can travel and spend taxpayers’ money to go and show their solidarity with Mugabe, when the people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Remember that you are presidents to serve the people and not protect yourselves when one of you no longer has support and busy with human rights abuse. – SADC citizen* DEAR Unam management, what is the current ratio of Namibian professional staff to that of foreign experts at your institution? Why is Unam relying more on foreign experts who receive higher salaries than local ones? Please use your graduates, give them scholarships to study further and see how much this will save you. – Tuna* RE: Cheap labour from Ukraine being used instead of Namibians. Is it due to the fact that too many Namibians are lazy and want high salaries for nothing. And for any reason they will strike.* THERE is a need for a transparent and objective process when it comes to the leasing of town land for the purpose of small scale farming. Mr Brown, you are very right to point out Affirmative Action. Let us set a reasonable price per hectare and advertise the plots. People who are already settled on commercial farms or communal land should not be considered. We are town boys and girls who want to bring our small contribution to Keetmanshoop.Community issues* I DON’T comprehend why the municipal council allows outings to Goreangab dam when the dam is polluted as they claim. In spite of the high level of pollution, some people even consume fish from there! Why not fence it off? – Joe* I AM a Windhoek resident who is concerned about our fire brigade. It is not reacting fast enough to call-outs, especially when shacks burn in the shanty town areas of the city. When any house or shanty room catches fire the emergency services will arrive when everything had burned to ashes. I also have an issue with the City Police who ignore community calls for help even when they are in the surroundings. Sometimes, they just drive away while the residents call for help while they are on duty.From the regions* SINCE his election as Councillor, (Jhonny) Hakaye (allegedly) never visited Okathima in his constituency. He is always at Okalongo. We want him to address the following issues: water, orphans, drought and other problems.* I WONDER why we have councillors at Keetmanshoop. There is no development in our place, no Shoprite, no Ackermans, no park, no entertainment centre, no mall. Are you elected by us to sit and look after the welfare of your loved ones. We want development. There is nothing going on.* OTJIWARONGO municipal officers appoint people without qualifications. They recently appointed a person into a position for which s/he is not qualified. I know that people applied with needed qualifications with diplomas. But, they employed a person who struggled to pass Grade 10. What’s going on? How are we encouraging others to study if educated people don’t get jobs. Mr CEO, could you please explain to us why your institution always prefer people with inferior qualifications? – Nani* IT is said that if Satan is defeated, there will be no evil. Therefore, if our Government does the right thing, there will be no poverty and hunger. Our Government budgets billions of dollars annually, but it seems not to be alleviating poverty and seems to just be going down the drain. Let us study the examples of other developed countries and learn lessons from them. Decentralisation is equal to federalism. The national Budget must address development in all regions and in LAs accordingly. Allow the RCs and LAs their legal and autonomous status without pressure from the MRLGHRD. RCs and LAs are voter centred and is to be judge as such.* WHY is the gravel road that leads to Groot Aub not tarred? The road is dangerous, its damaging our cars’ windscreens. We do not have running water either. I wanna know if we have a counsellor representing us.Correction* I ALMOST got a heart attack when I read in Friday, August 31 edition on page 3 under the heading ‘Burglary at Justice Ministry’ (crime report) that the suspect in a killing in the Omaruru district was Lukas Mburuu and the deceased identified as Stefanus Muhimba. For your information it is the other way round, Lukas Mburuu is the deceased. This is not acceptable for the family and friends of the late Lukas Mburuu. – BU Patoko (The crime report compiled by the Namibian Police and forwarded to us had Lukas Mburuu as the suspect and Stefanus Muhimba as the deceased and we published the report as such. However, if your version is correct, The Namibian unreservedly apologises to the family and friends of the late Lukas Mburuu and also to Stefanus Muhimba for reporting he is dead, while he is alive. – News Editor) Train services* TRANSNAMIB’S Star Line is a joke. It never leaves on time and ends up costing us Namibians a lot. If you can’t leave or arrive on time, why bother?* CAN TransNamib please give us a very good reason why the Omugulu Gwombashe Star only goes to the far north.Herero Mall* AS a Herero, I went to see the much-talked about Herero Mall and came back insulted. How can a place comparable to a pigsty be ‘cool’. The individuals who came up with that idea must rename the place using their surnames. Herero Mall? No, tear it down.* WHY is the Municipality of Windhoek putting the lights off at Herero Mall. Is it to decrease or increase criminal activity or what? How many places where people were killed have been shut down? Politics in general* IS it really Sam Nujoma himself who is pressing for a new term as President? Or is it rather the group of useless cronies and uncritical followers who know that they would not qualify for a job under a leader who would judge them on the output of their work rather than their obedience towards himself as a person? Namibia needs result-oriented managers as leaders not obedient career seekers.* HOW long must taxpayers stomach the rubbish of some GRN officials? Legislation must be passed now so that individuals are directly held accountable and not the taxpayer. These are issues that will help us in our quest to achieve Vision 2030 and not media censorship.* I AM sick and tired of political leaders always crying foul about crime, unemployment, exploitation, etc, when they are addressing society. For God’s sake it’s we the ordinary citizens who are supposed to cry to our leaders, not vice versa, since they have the power and the means to make a difference.* (NSHR chief) Ya Nangoloh, please stop violating the rights of Swapo members and supporters. If we want Dr Nujoma back it is our constitutional right – to elect leaders of our choice. Who do you want to be Swapo’s next presidential candidate and why? And since when are interested in Swapo affairs?* OVER the years (former President) Nujoma has made the masses depend on him for their happiness and prosperity. He decisively never taught them enough to survive without him. Making them guard him instinctively irrespective of their level of intellect, therefore he has nothing to fear, including Ya Nangoloh. For the masses will never forsake him.Congratulations* THE Namibian newspaper turned 22 this year, still telling it like it is. Vocal all the years through thick and thin defeating apartheid. Keep it up! Congratulations.* THE ban against The Namibian newspaper did not and will never affect its readership. It is the only unbiased newspaper. The Hakayes are just wasting their time like those who orchestrated its ban. Viva The Namibian. – NelsonGeneral* I’M a die hard local music supporter and frankly speaking the The Sanlam Music Awards are becoming too predictable. To bring back the thrill to the awards, both Gazza and the Dogg should be eliminated from the competition – period.* GAZZA come on – why do you behave like you are the only musician in the country by trying to boycott NBC-SANLAM Music Awards. Okay man go, Ms Basson-Namundjebo was there in 2006. Were you cheated then?* I WOULD like to ask Dr S Kapolo to arrange a talk on domestic violence focusing on married men in this country, whose rights are violated in many ways by some women. In many cases men are given all the household responsibilities like paying school fees, buying food, water and electricity just to mention a few. Is that a healthy situation? There are also men out there, controlled and harassed by their wives, sometimes even swore at in front of children. So Pastor Kapolo make further research on this issue and advise our women who practice such evil things, including adultery.* PRISONERS should not be treated as if they are in paradise! That’s why crime won’t decrease in our country? Offenders know that they will be in paradise rather than jail. So I’m appealing to the Government to change the treatment of those in jails as it seems to be too luxurious. The Government should reduce prison expenses such as food – these people should not be treated as if they are sick, they should suffer they deserve it. – Lunza* OK Grocer Opuwo and Kunene Pharmacy ladies, we are tired of you begging money from us customers. Please we don’t want it. If there was competition we would have avoided you but we forced to come back to you because of the situation. – Guluva Tsotsi S’gebengu* The need of one Chamber of Parliament – that includes either to increase the number of MPs from 72 to 130 (to include 3-4 representatives from each region) and to abolish the National Council.* The Constitutional Amendments.* Executive Mayor System for big towns.* Challenges for municipalities.* A new Education System.* Challenges facing the country.* The History of Namibia. Nothing to hide, just to initiate discussions for all of us who are outside the confines of the two chambers, something to which we too can contribute.Food for thought * SADC does not belong to the people who have been elected to run the affairs of the region, this being the respective individual governments. What happened in Lusaka and in Tanzania earlier on is a shame – that these heads of state can travel and spend taxpayers’ money to go and show their solidarity with Mugabe, when the people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Remember that you are presidents to serve the people and not protect yourselves when one of you no longer has support and busy with human rights abuse. – SADC citizen * DEAR Unam management, what is the current ratio of Namibian professional staff to that of foreign experts at your institution? Why is Unam relying more on foreign experts who receive higher salaries than local ones? Please use your graduates, give them scholarships to study further and see how much this will save you. – Tuna * RE: Cheap labour from Ukraine being used instead of Namibians. Is it due to the fact that too many Namibians are lazy and want high salaries for nothing. And for any reason they will strike.* THERE is a need for a transparent and objective process when it comes to the leasing of town land for the purpose of small scale farming. Mr Brown, you are very right to point out Affirmative Action. Let us set a reasonable price per hectare and advertise the plots. People who are already settled on commercial farms or communal land should not be considered. We are town boys and girls who want to bring our small contribution to Keetmanshoop.Community issues * I DON’T comprehend why the municipal council allows outings to Goreangab dam when the dam is polluted as they claim. In spite of the high level of pollution, some people even consume fish from there! Why not fence it off? – Joe * I AM a Windhoek resident who is concerned about our fire brigade. It is not reacting fast enough to call-outs, especially when shacks burn in the shanty town areas of the city. When any house or shanty room catches fire the emergency services will arrive when everything had burned to ashes. I also have an issue with the City Police who ignore community calls for help even when they are in the surroundings. Sometimes, they just drive away while the residents call for help while they are on duty.From the regions * SINCE his election as Councillor, (Jhonny) Hakaye (allegedly) never visited Okathima in his constituency. He is always at Okalongo. We want him to address the following issues: water, orphans, drought and other problems.* I WONDER why we have councillors at Keetmanshoop. There is no development in our place, no Shoprite, no Ackermans, no park, no entertainment centre, no mall. Are you elected by us to sit and look after the welfare of your loved ones. We want development. There is nothing going on.* OTJIWARONGO municipal officers appoint people without qualifications. They recently appointed a person into a position for which s/he is not qualified. I know that people applied with needed qualifications with diplomas. But, they employed a person who struggled to pass Grade 10. What’s going on? How are we encouraging others to study if educated people don’t get jobs. Mr CEO, could you please explain to us why your institution always prefer people with inferior qualifications? – Nani * IT is said that if Satan is defeated, there will be no evil. Therefore, if our Government does the right thing, there will be no poverty and hunger. Our Government budgets billions of dollars annually, but it seems not to be alleviating poverty and seems to just be going down the drain. Let us study the examples of other developed countries and learn lessons from them. Decentralisation is equal to federalism. The national Budget must address development in all regions and in LAs accordingly. Allow the RCs and LAs their legal and autonomous status without pressure from the MRLGHRD. RCs and LAs are voter centred and is to be judge as such.* WHY is the gravel road that leads to Groot Aub not tarred? The road is dangerous, its damaging our cars’ windscreens. We do not have running water either. I wanna know if we have a counsellor representing us.Correction * I ALMOST got a heart attack when I read in Friday, August 31 edition on page 3 under the heading ‘Burglary at Justice Ministry’ (crime report) that the suspect in a killing in the Omaruru district was Lukas Mburuu and the deceased identified as Stefanus Muhimba. For your information it is the other way round, Lukas Mburuu is the deceased. This is not acceptable for the family and friends of the late Lukas Mburuu. – BU Patoko (The crime report compiled by the Namibian Police and forwarded to us had Lukas Mburuu as the suspect and Stefanus Muhimba as the deceased and we published the report as such. However, if your version is correct, The Namibian unreservedly apologises to the family and friends of the late Lukas Mburuu and also to Stefanus Muhimba for reporting he is dead, while he is alive. – News Editor) Train services * TRANSNAMIB’S Star Line is a joke. It never leaves on time and ends up costing us Namibians a lot. If you can’t leave or arrive on time, why bother? * CAN TransNamib please give us a very good reason why the Omugulu Gwombashe Star only goes to the far north.Herero Mall * AS a Herero, I went to see the much-talked about Herero Mall and came back insulted. How can a place comparable to a pigsty be ‘cool’. The individuals who came up with that idea must rename the place using their surnames. Herero Mall? No, tear it down.* WHY is the Municipality of Windhoek putting the lights off at Herero Mall. Is it to decrease or increase criminal activity or what? How many places where people were killed have been shut down? Politics in general * IS it really Sam Nujoma himself who is pressing for a new term as President? Or is it rather the group of useless cronies and uncritical followers who know that they would not qualify for a job under a leader who would judge them on the output of their work rather than their obedience towards himself as a person? Namibia needs result-oriented managers as leaders not obedient career seekers.* HOW long must taxpayers stomach the rubbish of some GRN officials? Legislation must be passed now so that individuals are directly held accountable and not the taxpayer. These are issues that will help us in our quest to achieve Vision 2030 and not media censorship.* I AM sick and tired of political leaders always crying foul about crime, unemployment, exploitation, etc, when they are addressing society. For God’s sake it’s we the ordinary citizens who are supposed to cry to our leaders, not vice versa, since they have the power and the means to make a difference.* (NSHR chief) Ya Nangoloh, please stop violating the rights of Swapo members and supporters. If we want Dr Nujoma back it is our constitutional right – to elect leaders of our choice. Who do you want to be Swapo’s next presidential candidate and why? And since when are interested in Swapo affairs? * OVER the years (former President) Nujoma has made the masses depend on him for their happiness and prosperity. He decisively never taught them enough to survive without him. Making them guard him instinctively irrespective of their level of intellect, therefore he has nothing to fear, including Ya Nangoloh. For the masses will never forsake him.Congratulations * THE Namibian newspaper turned 22 this year, still telling it like it is. Vocal all the years through thick and thin defeating apartheid. Keep it up! Congratulations.* THE ban against The Namibian newspaper did not and will never affect its readership. It is the only unbiased newspaper. The Hakayes are just wasting their time like those who orchestrated its ban. Viva The Namibian. – Nelson General * I’M a die hard local music supporter and frankly speaking the The Sanlam Music Awards are becoming too predictable. To bring back the thrill to the awards, both Gazza and the Dogg should be eliminated from the competition – period.* GAZZA come on – why do you behave like you are the only musician in the country by trying to boycott NBC-SANLAM Music Awards. Okay man go, Ms Basson-Namundjebo was there in 2006. Were you cheated then? * I WOULD like to ask Dr S Kapolo to arrange a talk on domestic violence focusing on married men in this country, whose rights are violated in many ways by some women. In many cases men are given all the household responsibilities like paying school fees, buying food, water and electricity just to mention a few. Is that a healthy situation? There are also men out there, controlled and harassed by their wives, sometimes even swore at in front of children. So Pastor Kapolo make further research on this issue and advise our women who practice such evil things, including adultery.* PRISONERS should not be treated as if they are in paradise! That’s why crime won’t decrease in our country? Offenders know that they will be in paradise rather than jail. So I’m appealing to the Government to change the treatment of those in jails as it seems to be too luxurious. The Government should reduce prison expenses such as food – these people should not be treated as if they are sick, they should suffer they deserve it. – Lunza * OK Grocer Opuwo and Kunene Pharmacy ladies, we are tired of you begging money from us customers. Please we don’t want it. If there was competition we would have avoided you but we forced to come back to you because of the situation. – Guluva Tsotsi S’gebengu