Namibian Blog list 2012

A list of Namibian bloggers which I hope to expand with your help.

• Back to basics
• Change your life
• Creating Wealth
• Daves Boring Blog
• Dune Sieben (German)
• End forced Sterilisation
• Frantic Naturalist
• Girl Uncovered
• I present Roxanne
• Making a better Namibia
• Mikeymum
• Namibian DJ|s
• Namibia Facts
• Namibia Welcome
• One Stoned Crow
• The Joys Of My Splintered Life In SMALLTOWN
• Vakwetu Style
• Vieranas Safaris
• the new Der/die/das Namibia/er auf Deutsch
• Sinisterstuf

Thanks

Financial education counselling: counsellor's handbook

The Financial education counselling: counsellor's handbook is a resource for consumer advocates looking to provide free financial education.  The handbook provides practical advice in a way that non-experts can understand and convey.

The Counsellor's Handbook is divided into a number of topic sections, including savings, budgeting, and debt management. It also contains take-home activities that can be given to consumers, as well as activity ideas for counselling sessions.

http://www.consumersinternational.org/media/897062/ci%20financial%20education%20counselling%20handbook%20final.pdf

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss


Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on y our way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't
Because, sometimes they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never foget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

A quote on attitude

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

Dr Seuss - my best friend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ahv_1IS7SiE


This morning I was inspired by a friend's post on the last Dr. Seuss book, Burning Man.

Dr Seuss was one of those sets of books that I can still return to time and time again, and find new pearls of wisdom. The first time I read one of his books it was at the Von Welligh Library in Johannesburg. This was 1976, I had just lost my mother and my father seemed to have abandoned us children.

My grandparents had taken us in and were trying their best to give us a better life. This included moving to Darragh House, the flats belonging to the Anglican Church, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa. This was one of the few "grey areas" in Johannesburg where light skinned coloureds could hope to start a life as "whites".

Thus at the age of six, I was stuck in a small flat, not able to make friends with the neighbours, and missin my parents.

That's when I discovered "The Cat in the Hat". In Dr Seuss I had a new friend who still whispers in my ear:

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."


(Thanks Dave Duarte ;-)
The whole book can be watched at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ahv_1IS7SiE

Children's books available electronically -when can we give them e-readers?

See: Project Gutenberg Children's collection


"African publishers lag in shift to electronic books
Electronic readers are transforming the way people enjoy their books. However, there is very little African published content on the online stores. For a reader looking for a Kenyan book or literature published in Africa, one has to get the ink-and-paper version as few publishers have moved online."

There are programs in place to provide one-laptop-per-child and the latest is getting e-readers to children. One of these is an organisation called Worldreader.org. What is the possibility of Namibia recognising this as a future trend and start planning for it.

I recently completed together with an international team, a study for the University of Washington on "Libraries, Telecenters and Cybercafés: A Comparison of Different Types of Public Access Venues".

It is sad that we neglecting our children's access - I just look at the example of our public library in Windhoek.

Worldreader aims to put a library of books in the hands of families worldwide, using e-reader technology.

Literacy depends on access to written material. E-readers can deliver written material anywhere, quickly and easily. But there is little known about the effect these devices have in classroom settings or in developing countries.

Worldreader.org completed several classroom trials using e-readers to explore the use of digital content in the developing world.

Our working hypotheses are that:

• E-readers will increase access to books due to lower distribution costs and immediate visibility of millions of books available online.
• This will result in a larger number and greater variety of books read, and increased excitement and exchange of ideas around these books.
• The result will be a higher value placed on reading within the classroom, family, and community.
• The results will be specific and measurable, and will, in the long term, increase literacy and opportunity for those involved.

Management coaching: There’s method in the madness | Africa Report

Management coaching: There’s method in the madness | Africa Report

It’s time to tackle the dreaded M word –management. With management coaching, this has never been easier.

By Craig Falck for Africa Report

Managers are not born… They are trained. And mentored. And coached. Management coaching is a new technique that’s gaining popularity around the world because it gives employees the skills they need when they enter higher management positions. After all, these programs are popular for a reason…

Being a manager is more than just delegating and having a “manager” sign on your business card, desk or office door. It’s about being able to handle the company, to mould and develop your team and department, and lead the team to victory. And that’s where management coaches come in. Like any coach in a sport, they will instil certain principles and knowledge in their leader and coach them to be the best that they can be. There are so many things that managers need to know these days and so many tools that they have at their disposal – there’s nothing that they can’t do in the workplace. Unless, of course, they haven’t had the proper training and coaching.

Management coaching is all about identifying your inner manager traits and learning how to use them. We’re talking communication skills that allow you to better communicate your needs and wants in the office; decision making that puts the power in your hands to quickly decide what needs to be done and what can be ignored; concentration that allows you to focus on your goal and make sure that you get there no matter what obstacles stand in your way; drive and determination that you can pass onto others to encourage them to meet their objectives; insight, discretion and understanding that will give you the tools to cope with the office dynamics and personal issues that arise, and a number of other character traits that make for a good manager and leader.

The thing is, as popular as manager coaching is, there are still those that scoff at the idea and call it “foolish” and “mad”. However, these names come from two kinds of people: those who think they know it all, and those who know nothing. You cannot simply slam a form of education or knowledge sharing because you don’t agree with it or because it’s not to your liking. Knowledge is power, and any form of education should be appreciated and exploited. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to handle what your workplace throws at you.

Huddle up, team… it’s time to coach your management skills and turn you from also-ran-boss to game winner in the blink of an eye.

Andreas Guibeb - Experimenting with education in Namibia

Andreas Guibeb
The poor outcome of the matric results of the past year takes me back down memory lane when I had the good fortune to serve as assistant teacher (hulp onderwyser) for a Grade9 class at Ella Du Plessis for a brief period.

I soon realized the huge gap in performances between the top and lowest performing students, especially those who commuted daily from Katatura to attend school in Khomasdal in the hope of a better future. I refused to accept that some kids were stupid whilst others were clever. My challenge was to proof that theory by narrowing that gap. But how...?

Not prejudiced by the dogma of formal teacher training I experimented a lot and tested the tolerance limits of the school principal by abolishing the system of giving individual test marks and replacing it with a test mark for each student equal to the class average test mark for the subject. So every pupil in the class had either a good or horrible test mark for each subject. My point was that the success of everyone in the class was and should be our collective concern. We will only achieve that objective if we all start sharing good studying and learning strategies with everyone and increase the class average by helping the poor performers to up their contribution to the average class performances. I said let's all fake it till we make it and achieve the highest possible average class result, which means that everybody is doing well individually.

I therefore paired pupils to do homework and prepare for tests and taking particular care to pair top performers with under performers. I did this intuitively and without any knowledge of "positive deviancy theory" developed years later by Harvard Professor Jerry and Monique Sternin. With hindsight it reasures me that there was sense to the experiments of the scientist gone mad in the Ella du Plessis School laboratory.

This initiative was however very disturbing (understatement) to the school principal, school administration, the top performers and their parents in the class. The underlying spirit of: "We are in this together and we win when everyone wins" that I was trying to share, militated against the acquired wisdom pervasive in all aspects of our life of: "Each one for him/herself and God help us all". 

So I convened a meeting of parents, the school principle, students and myself where I explained that if the top performers and poor performers studied together both will win. When both win everyone wins. The top performers would gain lifelong friends and the poor performers gained a window into the thinking and study methods of top performers. The poor performers would gain self-esteem they lacked before when they see improved results. Once successful, they will dislike failure forever.

I am greatful to the school principal, parents and pupils for having allowed me to continue that risky experiment, but the rest is history as they say. 
Though I spend only a few months with the class all of them passed matric and gained access to university long after I left the school. The empowering lesson. If allowed, challenged and supported by all stakeholders the learners themselves will come up with more resourcefull and efficient solutions to the most chalenging situations. Because they come up with the solution themselves, it sets them on a lifelong course of success.

I am gratefull to the star pupils of my class at Ella du Plessis who took the exercise to heart and help under performers acquire better study habits and thus raised the test average for all. 

As Shakespeare says,"when the tide rises all boats are lifted". No top performer became worse because of helping others but all under performers became star pupils and realized their full potential. This is literally and figuratively true in all fields of life as today proven by the "positive deviancy theory".

Roux-che Locke: teachers who were part of my life's journey: thank you

Roux-che Locke 

(Facebook status - 18 January 2012)

This is gonna be quite a lengthy piece, so - you are under no obligation to view my status...Anyway,I went to register my Gr. 5 son at his school this week when "Mother-Nature" called... a little boy directs me to the nearest girls'-restroom, and it is here that I am greeted by those smaaaaaaaalllllll miniature toilet-pots - first thought: would my "African-booty" fit on this? But now Mother-Nature is really calling, and I dont' have much of a choice! So, I sit down - as in reaaaaaalllly sit down, in fact, it felt more like I was doing a failed sit-up attempt - knees almost touching my chin: that's how low!! Anyway, I am immediately taken back to almost 30 yrs ago when I started my first school day: Sub A, M.H Greeff Prim: 2 netjies gekamde-bees-gelekte laaaaaaaaaannng vlegseltjies net soos ma dit kon doen, "dressed-2-kill" in my blou skool-rokkie wat so byna onder die knie stop en 2 stokkies-beentjies wat net-net uitsteek (ogh, how I hated this look!!), en my bruin "suitcasey" lekker ge-stock met ma se "bederf" vir die dag...my teacher, Mrs. Strauss (the most beautiful and elegant teacher, and today "aunty Maureen" to me...) Dis hier waar ek my eerste tree na die res van my "shaping-en-moulding" gee, waar ek my karakter ontdek en verder create...Maar wat ek eintlik wil se is dat dit hier is - op hierdie miniature-toiletjie (en neeeeeee, dit was nie so lank wat ek gesit het nie...lol!) dat ek besef watter noble job dit is om onderwyser te wees... So, to aaaaaaaaallllll my teachers who were part of my life's journey: thank you for your valued contribution to who and what I am today. And to my child(ren)'s teachers and those-to-be: thank you for the contribution and impact you will make in his (their) life! En nou is dit tyd om op te staan van hierdie klein miniatuur potjie, want my bene en booty kan dit nie meer hou nie!!

http://www.republikein.com.na/politiek-en-nasionale/tyd-loop-uit-vir-inspraak-in-kommunikasiewet.56567.php

6.07.2007

Tyd loop uit vir inspraak in kommunikasiewet

ROLSPELERS in die telekommunikasiebedryf en ander belangstellendes het nog net tot Dinsdag om insette te lewer oor voorgestelde wysigings aan die land se langverwagte nuwe kommunikasiewet.
Die Namibiese Kommunikasiekommissie (NCC) sal slegs tot 10 Julie bykomende kommentaar ontvang oor 'n konsepwet wat die grondslag vir die volledige liberalisering van die telkommark sal lê.
'n Nasionale slypskool sal vanaf 25 tot 27 Julie plaasvind om finaal vorm aan 'n wet te gee wat deur 'n ewekansige geleentheid vir vrye en gesonde mededinging uiteindelik vir Jan Alleman onder meer die beste moontlike diens en pryse moet verseker.
Die wet sal die NCC ook vervang met 'n veel gevaarliker waghond, die Namibiese Kommunikasieowerheid (NCA).
Die Kabinet het in Maart vanjaar midde 'n hete geveg tussen Telecom, MTC en Cell One oor of die staatsvoorsiener die mobiele foonmark met sy nuwe produk Switch kon betree, hierdie wetgewing wat al agt jaar in aantog is, op die sneltrajek geskuif. Behalwe dat Telecom opdrag gegee is om Switch-kliënte se opvangs intussen tot die dorp waar hulle woon te beperk, is bevel gegee dat die nuwe kommunikasiewet reeds vandeesmaand in die Nasionale Vergadering moet dien.
Hierdie tydvenster is reeds gemis. Ná finalisering sal die wet ook eers weer voor die Kabinet moet dien.
Die Inligtings- en Kommunikasietegnologie-alliansie (ICTA) is 'n forum wie se lede by laat vandeesmaand se finale indaba oor die kommunikasiewet hul stemme na verwagting baie dik kan maak. Volgens mnr. Milton Louw wat die Alliansie bestuur, is daar die volgende twee maande nog twee baie belangrike byeenkomste.
Op 2 en 3 Augustus sal IKT-beleid in die visier inskuif, terwyl 'n konferensie op 13 September halsstarrige probleme met die administrasie van Namibië se domeinnaam op die internet (.na) gaan takel. As deel van die nasionale besit is dit volgens mnr. Louw noodsaaklik dat die land se internetkode in nasionale belang bestuur moet word.
Die ICTA wie se nuusbrief 'n omsendsyfer van byna 1 400 het, het volgens mnr. Louw nuwe lewe gekry ná 'n lang sluimerperiode en verwag om hul individue ledetal, wat verlede jaar op 10 gestaan het, tot in die omgewing van 80 te vermeerder. 'n Totaal van 54 sakeondernemings was verlede jaar deel van hierdie belange- en drukgroep. 
Enigiemand met navrae oor die werk van dié Alliansie is welkom om mnr. Louw by 081 304 3282 te skakel, of hom by milton@iit.com.na te vonkpos. Hul webwerf is www. ictalliance.org.na.
Voorleggings oor die huidige konsepkommunikasiewet, beskikbaar by die NCC (061 222 666), moet in elektroniese en gedrukte formaat wees (vyf afskrifte van elke voorstel is nodig) en dit moet die Kommissie op die laatste teen 10 Julie bereik. Hul kantore is by Robert Mugaberylaan 56.
Die NCC sal na verwagting eersdaags die konsultante aanwys wat aan die spits van die finalisering van die wet sal staan.

Dani Booysen

Nuwe bedeling vir 'dot com dot na'

http://www.republikein.com.na/die-mark/nuwe-bedeling-vir-dot-com-dot-na.24968.php

Nuwe bedeling vir 'dot com dot na'

1.10.2007

DEELNEMERS aan 'n onlangse beraad oor die administrasie van Namibië se domeinnaam op die web, "dot na", het hulself bankvas geskaar agter die noodsaak vir 'n stelsel wat hierdie nasionale bate op 'n veel doeltreffender wyse sal bestuur.
Klagtes oor 'n "diktatoriale, diskriminerende en disfunksionele" status quo - waaroor koppe al vir jare baie hard stamp - het die Alliansie vir Inligtings- en Kommunikasietegnologie (ICTA) genoop om rolspelers bymekaar te roep om 'n padkaart vir ingrypende verandering op te stel.
Volgens mnr. Milton Louw van ICTA sal die eenparige steun wat by hierdie slypskool vir vernuwing gemonster is, die weg baan vir 'n formele aansoek van regeringskant aan die internasionale Internetkorporasie vir Toegedeelde Name en Nommers (ICANN) dat die registrateurskap vir ".na" uit die hande van dr. Eberhard Lisse geneem word. Lede van die alliansie dink dit is hoog tyd om die sterk persoonlike angel uit 'n rompslompstryd te trek wat volgens mnr. Louw veroorsaak dat meer as 70 persent van nuwe webwerwe wat vandag in Namibië geregistreer word, net die "dot com"-naam eerder as Namibië se eie, unieke webkode dra.
Hy het dr. Lisse se bewering dat hy nie genooi is om sy saak te stel nie verwerp.
Volgens mnr. Louw het mnr. Sackey Shanghala, die persoonlike raadgewer van die Minister van Justisie en Prokureur-generaal, me. Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, wat aan die stuur van die finalisering van die land se lank verwagte nuwe wet oor inligting en kommunikasie staan, verseker dat die administrasie van Namibië se domeinnaam vervat sal word in hierdie konsepwet, wat volgens plan nog in die huidige sitting van die parlement ter tafel gelê sal word.
Die voorstel is dat die nuwe kommunikasie-owerheid (NCA), wat deur hierdie wet in die lewe geroep sal word, 'n onafhanklike liggaam sal stig wat die administrasie, registrasie en regulering van "dot na" sal hanteer tot 'n wet op elektroniese transaksies ingestel is. Die plan is dat die publiek lede uit die IKT-bedryf, regslui, akademici en burgerlikes sal nomineer om op hierdie raad te dien.
Die beter diens waarop almal in die proses aandring, kan egter nog jare neem om 'n werklikheid te word.
Terwyl 'n mens volgens mnr. Louw met 'n kredietkaart op die internet binne vyf minute vir sowat N$90 'n nuwe webwerf kan registreer as die kliënt tevrede is met net 'n "dot com", wag aansoekers weke om 'n "dot na"-naam te kry. Dít kos N$565.
Volgens ICANN se reëls word die eerste persoon wat 'n werf met 'n land se toegedeelde kode registreer, outomaties die registrateur. Dr. Lisse het in 1990 op hierdie manier beheer oor die bestuur van "dot na" gekry, wat tans deur die onderneming Ondis en die Namibian Network Information Centre (NA-NiC) op Swakopmund behartig word.
So 'n registrateur kan die prosedure vir die registrasie van nuwe werwe vasstel en aansoeke goed- of afkeur.
Ontevredenes meen heeltemal te veel mag het in die proses in 'n enkele internetman se hande beland.

Dani Booysen

http://www.republikein.com.na/die-mark/namibi-moet-digitaal-verspring.94007.php

25.09.2009

Namibië moet digitaal verspring

NAMIBIË kort blykbaar ’n dringende ingryping in die inligting- en kommunikasietegnologie (IKT) sektor om die steeds groeiende gaping tussen globale tegnologiese vordering en nasionale ontwikkeling te oorbrug. 

Volgens mnr. Milton Louw, skrywer van Smile my Beloved Land, sal sy IKT-aksiegroep bewusmaking in Namibië hoog op die nasionale agenda plaas. Mnr. Louw het onlangs die IKT aksiegroep gestig om Namibiërs aan te spoor om so gou moontlik deel van die digitale rewolusie te word. 

Die aksiegroep wil die Regering as vennoot betrek om op elke vlak bewusmaking te beklemtoon en om die regeringsmandaat te verkry om die publiek oor IKT in te lig. 

Die IKT-aksiegroep wil graag ’n sentrale register in Namibië begin, plaaslike webtuistes help skep en onderhou en mense aanmoedig om by webtuistes sooswww.namlish.com, wat ’n digitale gemeenskap Namibiërs bymekaarbring, aan te sluit en landgenote aan te spoor om ’n digitale nasionale identiteit te skep. 

Mnr. Louw noem dat volslae IKT-infrastruktuur dit moontlik maak om ’n moderne inligtingsamelewing en kennisekonomie te kan aandryf, wat blyk die tendens is wat presterende lande volg. 

Hy noem dat Facebook, in terme van lede, reeds die wêreld se vyfde grootste “land” sou wees. Hy vermeld ook hoe die akteur Ashton Kutcher vir CNN in ’n weddenskap geklop het dat hy ’n miljoen kontakte op Twitter kon kry. 

Hy noem dat veral in lande soos Namibië, Nigerië en Suid-Afrika ’n reusesprong in selfoon-tegnologie plaasgevind het, wat ’n hele ander mark vir IKT-bewusmaking open. ’n Onlangse studie toon dat 80% van die Namibiese bevolking ’n selfoon het, maar net 3.7% gebruik ’n rekenaar met internettoegang. 

“Armoede is dus nie net ’n konsep wat met geld en basiese infrastruktuur verduidelik kan word nie, maar ook deur ’n gebrek aan kennis oor en toegang tot relevante inligtingen kommunikasietegnologie,” sê mnr. Louw.

Hein Scholtz

Urbanomics: A Public Credit Registry for India?

Urbanomics: A Public Credit Registry for India?


One of the fundamental challenges with any credit market is the asymmetry in information between borrowers and lenders. This generates markets failures arising from adverse selection (of borrowers) and moral hazard (among borrowers).

Inadequate information about credit risks posed by borrowers was a significant contributor to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US. Blinded by the spectacular rise in property prices and perverse institutional incentives, coupled with absence of adequate information about borrowers, mortgage lenders threw caution to the wind and indulged in a lending spree.

Closer home, one of the major complaints against micro-finance institutions (MFIs) is the widespread trend of multiple borrowings by poor people. Though unaware of the credit histories of their borrowers, MFI lenders were carried away by the belief in their ability to recover loans and gave loans without proper due diligence. The result was poor people saddled with multiple loans from different MFIs, with atleast some of them being merely used to reschedule or repay older loans.

In this context, a credit history register assumes great importance. Credit reporting systems (CRS) are a widely accepted means to capture current and historical lending and payment information on individual borrowers. Such CRS's enable lenders to accurately assess credit risks and monitor the riskiness of their loan portfolios. The CRS databases are also used by regulators to more effectively monitor and supervise banks and ensure financial stability. In this respect, CRS's form the backbone of a healthy credit market.

At a time when banks do not hold monopoly of credit, and are even being eclipsed by other players, it is important that such credit registries cover the transactions of these institutions. The MFIs are just but one of these large number of lending institutions that dot the credit marketplace. Finally, CRS's will enable effective implementation of the recommendations of the International Regulatory Framework for Banks (Basel III).

The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL), owned by a consortium of banks and financial institutions, is the first and leading credit registry in India. It collects and disseminates the applicant's complete credit record that may be spread over different institutions. It provides information about the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers to only its members. However, its membership and access is strictly on payment basis.

In many respects, such CRS is a classic public good. The social benefit of maintaining a CRS out-weighs its private benefit and cost. Further, fragmented credit bureaus defeat the very purpose of establishing them. A single universal credit registry will generate network effects and attract more institutions. Only governments have the incentives to maintain such registries.

An appropriately structured Public Credit Registry (PCR) can be invaluable in the assessment of credit risks and will enhance banking and financial market supervision. There are many countries with PCRs, run by their central banks or banking regulators.

The troubles faced by the MFIs is a clear indication about the need to have in place a Public Credit Registry of India, where all financial institutions register and share information about their borrowers. The Aadhar number provides an excellent anchor around which credit histories can be located and traced.

Cry The Beloved Country

From the Namibian newspaper 13 January 2012

PEOPLE no longer become ashamed or show sympathy in this country, it seems. They only get angry and aggressive when caught out or when dubious deals are questioned.
Some are so brazen they tell critics to leave them in peace in order to make their money. “It’s not my fault you don’t want to be in business,” is one refrain. “You are just jealous,” is the more common one. The details of the incidents exposed by the media are ignored as even the masses buy into the defence that journalists and other critics are simply envious because young blacks are becoming ‘empowered’ and getting rich in the process.
Two such incidents provided this newspaper with ample fodder for ‘hard news’ over the holiday season, a time generally viewed as a ‘soft news’ period. Seemingly the officials in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the Ministry of Works and Transport regard the reporting and questioning of two tenders as either an irritant or unnecessary and unjustifiable.
Both contracts were discussed and decided just before Christmas, a time when the country literally shuts down for more than a month. And they were regarded as ‘too urgent’ to wait for proper procedure. The agriculture ministry’s Permanent Secretary Andrew Ndishishi pushed through a decision to award a dam construction project to an Italian company called Impregilo at a cost of N$2,8 billion – a good N$800 million more than the lowest bid from a Chinese company also considered suitably qualified.
The Minister of Works and Transport, Erkki Nghimtina, is also said to have insisted that only one company be considered in a N$150 million emergency contract to repair a decrepit railway line. Despite the Tender Board telling the works ministry to find at least two competitors, it came as no surprise that the ministry claims it could find no one else ‘open for business’ except the company it had hand-picked.
The government officials find nothing wrong with the fact that they or their friends own those companies which get government tenders, as is the case with the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Dr Ndeutala Angolo, whose Schoemans Office Systems supplied State House equipment.
It is probably unfair to people like Angolo to mention names because the incestuous government-business relationships have become so commonplace that it is understandable if apparent do-gooders like President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Prime Minister Nahas Angula begin to despair.
It already appears that the general population have resigned themselves to aspects which in many societies would be frowned upon as dubious deals and corrupt systems.
In fact, the situation is so bad there are many Namibians who wish former President Sam Nujoma was back in power, because, they argue, at least under him corruption was ‘well managed’ or at least restricted to a few. This is despite the fact that Nujoma’s mere presence remains the cause of the paralysis that has gripped those he left in charge of the ruling party and the government.
Cry beloved Namibia, cry.

Black Consciousness Revisited

by Benedick M Louw

A QUOTE in Spanish by the revered Cuban patriot, poet and writer Jose Marti (1853-1895) states “La unica manera de ser libre es ser cultos”. When translated into English it means “the only way to be free is to be cultivators”.

Contrary to hasty interpretation thereof, this statement, which by now is a social belief in Cuba, means that in order to be free one needs to produce food to feed yourself or work hard to be able to pursue your happiness whatever trajectory you choose to undertake. In other words it defines absolute independence characterised by a complete psychological, physical but most of all economic liberation from the oppressors.

Underlining the word ‘absolute’ gets one’s attention more in the sense that it calls for complete and total independence vis-à-vis dominance from the oppressor, which in Cuba’s case was principally from Spain.
Now it has resonance for the West, particularly the United States of America.

It’s obvious today that we in Namibia are continuously being led and misled by the former architects of apartheid, particularly the small percentage that owns, dictates and monopolises the economy, sowing divisions or disunity inconspicuously amongst the majority of blacks. This is because it would be unthinkable to repossess the country politically hence the cunning manner of pulling the bargaining ropes with the state and economically sabotaging the majority of the people, namely blacks.

In simple terms, 21 years after independence the majority of blacks clearly do not hold absolute power, being economic ownership, leaving the status quo of apartheid architects still unchanged and unchallenged. It would be foolish or naïve to suggest that a few black elitists do not gain from this fundamentally manipulative neo-colonial manoeuvre.

In his book The Dialectics of Ideological Resistance to White Supremacy, author Robert Fatton dissects the pertinent issues of Class, Blackness and Economics in a very eloquent approach. At the Black Renaissance Convention organised in 1974, Foszia Fisher and Harold Nxasana presented a paper entitled “The Labour Situation in South Africa” which expressed the point of the radical wing of Black Consciousness on the class nature of the blacks.

They argued that white supremacy was not simply the result of military conquest; it also depended on co-opting a black minority into the structure and superstructure of the white system.

This co-option permitted the systematic exploitation of black labour without the permanent use of force.
In this sense, some blacks became auxiliaries of the white system and also participated in the exploitation of fellow blacks. Namibia is a prime example in respect of this rather abyssmal chain of events as evident today.
The ongoing tender tussle of the Neckartal dam is a case in point, which bears all the distinguished hallmarks of black elites at work.

These elites lack the logic, insight, and courage that would have made them leaders of the black revolution. They are blinded by their material egoism and they hardly dare to conceive the idea of black liberation, for this idea was the very negation of their existential condition. Furthermore, since their only social base of power – outside white support – resided in the intensification of tribalism, they actively contribute to the fragmentation of black resistance.

In Namibia nothing is more likely to cause more argument and debate than the ‘land issue’. Land has become synonymous with this situation where less than 10 percent of the people control nearly half the land, while a further 65 percent of the population lives off 41 percent of the total area.

The fact that the former 10 percent are white and largely derived from European settlers, adds racial and political dimensions to the issue.” (Society and Governance – Namibia’s Land Issue)

Kazenambo Kazenambo, alias KK, Minister of Youth and Sport’s recent rhetoric regarding white arrogance sent shockwaves throughout the corridors of white owned businesses and straight into the living rooms of most, whether it be in urban areas or in the luxury of their farm establishments or industries.

These overdue sentiments silently enjoyed praise and still echo in the minds of black youth nation-wide, not to mention youth leaders, the majority still crippled by the manacles of apartheid and the continued experience of being oppressed and economically disadvantaged.

It is the elitist class that is sowing seeds of confusion and division amongst our people. It is the elitist class, created by the very oppressor which has joined hands with the oppressor in suppressing the legitimate aspirations of the masses of the people and they collect crumbs from the master’s table for this dirty work.

To draw parallels to this fact is the undisputed partnership between white capitalists and some few BEE elites discreetly establishing empires, whereas the latter in the name of BEE affirmative policies and with capital funds of their former slave masters through unscrupulous and dubious means seek what is known as ‘tenderpreneurship.

This act of self-enrichment of a few to the disadvantage of the masses is fundamentally unconstitutional, morally backward and ought to be shamed where and when it shows its face.

Such a severe condemnation of the tribal elites was an example of part of an incisive criticism of the whole policy of separate development, which in turn led to radical criticisms of the whole capitalist system.
The linkages between tribal elites, separate development, and capitalist exploitation were identified in Black Consciousness literature and thoroughly condemned:

“Let blacks take full notice of the fact that the Transkei and other homelands are there not for our benefit but to maintain the chains that bind us into perpetual servitude by keeping us divided and involving us in useless and meaningless political exercises so as to keep our eyes away from the pot from which the racial poison is being brewed.

They are there to ensure that the blacks never attain what they aspire for - their liberation.
They are there to maintain the capitalist system of this country by keeping (the black man) starving and ignorant so that he can continue being a tool in the white man’s farm, mine or industry for the production of wealth for the exclusive benefit of the white imperialist.”

Despite liberal claims to the contrary, foreign capital did not contribute to the overall development of black Namibia; instead it enriched the white population and propped up a new black class of pseudo-capitalists.
It’s obvious today that despite the success stories of numerous well drafted policies and well intended regulations, we have dismally failed regarding the effective implementation of these fundamental policies, which putting it candidly, are collecting dust and serve as mere white elephants, archived in the deep office corners of legislators, remaining idle until Kingdom comes.

In the words of Nkwame Nkrumah: “In the era of neocolonialism, under-development is still attributed, not to exploitation but to inferiority, and racial undertones remain closely interwoven with the class struggle”.

Benedick M Louw
Karas Region

Milton Louw - Future Namibia : Autorenportrait BoD - Books on Demand

Milton Louw - Future Namibia : Autorenportrait BoD - Books on Demand: “Why did I write this book?” “In this book I hope to objectively evaluate Namibia’s economic problems in terms of Namibia’s realities. ... Namibia’s economic problems have both proximate and ultimate causes, too. The solution must eliminate its proximate causes which are multiple and complex. They include: a hugely expanding rural population that is moving to the urban areas; illiteracy – especially in regards Information Technology; lack of adequate schooling and medical care facilities; and their constantly escalating states of poverty. ..."

The Dogg making racial jokes on Facebook

Facebook and social online media is today becoming a method of sharing our ideas with friends and relatives from all around the world, and all around our country too. It allows us to share our ideas, photos and private comments with each other and we know that our friends often think in the same wey that we do - that is after all why we are friends. Many of us do not think that our comments or posts should be considered public, or often consider that people we might not know can read our posts and judge us accoring to these comments.


Last night, 5 January 2012, I was rather saddened to read a post by one of our leading artists who has over 29,000 people following him on Facebook. The Dogg posted the following at around 20h00 on his fan page:

"A MULE IS A CROSS BREED OF A DONKEY AND A HORSE.....SO A BLACK PERSON AND A WHITE PERSON OFFSPRING IS ALSO A MULE SINCE IS CROSS BREED?....HAHAHAHAHAH"  

This is obviously a racial slur and can lead to a charge of racism. What was worse, was that as it was posted by the star many of his fans felt they too could comment and make even more outrageous comments making fun of other people whose parents were from different cultures or mixed races. It was particularly sad that these fans (many of them still youth and possibly born frees) did not realise their comments were  racist and to be strongly condemned - even possibly having a criminal charges laid against them (and The Dogg).

I wish to urge our artists, and our fellow Namibians, to be careful of the things they write on facebook or any other social media. Not only are your comments racist and hurtful, but can, and should, lead to criminal charges of racism.

I hope that our people who make use of these tools think twice before making such comments, or even participating in such activities.

Martin Morocky (born 31 March 1983), known by his stage name as The Dogg is a Namibian multi-award winning musician, producer and actor. He's one of the most outstanding artists in Namibia and is considered one of the pioneers of Namibia's kwaito genre.

Future Namibia - On Sale Now

"Future Namibia" is a book written by Milton Louw covering various PEST (Political, economic, social and technological) issues facing Namibia.

About the author
Milton Louw is a Namibian born socio-political entrepreneur. He has traveled extensively promoting Namibia as an investment destination.

His publications, email newsletters and more recently his blogs are read by entrepreneurs from all sizes of businesses. His research on managing a country as a business using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools has been received by a wide audience of business, academics and other social entrepreneurs.

Future Namibia Mission Statement
"Develop the tools and systems to assist the management of Namibia (government, civil society and private sector) in providing access to services and technologies to allow maximum quality of life to all who live here."

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