Making A Better World - Milton Louw

First printed in Consumer News Namibia magazine - Jan 2013 edition As I spend most of my year living on a guest farm, I very rarely have to buy anything other than my sins of cigarettes and alcohol. I have for some time been complaining about the prices of these items, but accept this as a burden I must bear for using them. This past week however, I had to make purchases for the farm shop. Great was my concern when I could not work out the unit prices. By this I mean the items were not marked per litre or per kilogramme but only showed a price for the item whether it was packed in 200g, 375 litre or even more ridiculously, per 180g. Now how must I compare the prices between products if they are all packed in different sizes? I believe, consumers can gain major benefits when unit prices are provided and are easy to notice, read and use. If a shop owner can show this together with an item’s selling price, it will increase price transparency and competition. But without pressure ...

First printed in The Namibian - 24 Jan 2013 Micro lending is a fast-growing sector and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) has invited the public to comment on the industry. Micro-lending refers to loans under N$50 000 which must be repaid over a maximum period of 60 months to the micro-lender, usually in instalments. According to Namfisa, micro-lenders are often unkindly referred to as ‘loan sharks’, but they consider it to be unfair to say the micro-lenders are always in the wrong when it comes to misunderstandings with their customers. They further point out that “while it’s true that micro-lenders’ interest rates are higher than bank rates, this is because they provide funds over a shorter period, and at greater risk of ‘bad debts’ if their customers fail to pay.” The industry has grown rapidly and there are now almost 400 registered micro-lenders across the country supplying close to N$2 billion. Around half of this is supplied via pay-day lende...

The Namibian - 16 Jan 2013 Home ownership is a problem in Namibia. According to estimates by the Minister of Regional, Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Honourable Jerry Ekandjo in 2011 “..there is a backlog of about 300,000 houses and that 70 per cent of the population cannot access decent residential properties mainly due to issues of availability and affordability. This alarming situation calls for radical policy measures to restore the housing market.” As a consumer activist it is not sufficient that I only state the obvious problems facing Namibians, but that I also apply myself to proposing solutions to these identified economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights. Thus I would like to share two ideas, the first to help reduce the household rental burden and the second to increase home ownership. Lastly, I suggest a policy of purposefully creating mixed income neighbourhoods. Subsidised rental housing In earlier days most large employers provided subs...

At the start of every calendar year, we take the opportunity to look at the past year and decide which things we wish to change. We then call these promises we make to ourselves “resolutions” because we promise to stop doing a negative habit in the future. For 2013, I want you to not only think of your bad habits you want to change, but also add a new “good habit”. For the year ahead, promise yourself to “Mind Your Own Business”. On the one side, this advice means that you should not poke your nose into the affairs of others or to put it better, “If it is not your business, do not make it your burden”. The second meaning is for you to look after your money affairs wisely – as if YOU are your own business. It is this second meaning that I wish you to take to heart this year. Many of us are very hard working and conscientious towards our employee and make doubly sure that we look after the “boss’s money”. It is this same attitude we need to have towards our own money. Star...

Recently I received letters from to consumer regarding their experiences with pricing of items. “I wished to buy some material and was looking at various options in the Chinese shops in the area. I noticed a sign for material that was normally marked for N$ 29.00 was on special at N 19.00. As the pattern as agreeable to me, I proceeded to buy around 10 metres. When I came to the till, the shopkeeper rang up the purchase at the price of N$ 29.00 rather than the advertised discount price. I immediately brought his attention to this fact and insisted he ring up the total at the advertised lower price. I was shocked when the shopkeeper started shouting at me, and even physically assaulted me while chasing me from the shop. During the scuffle, I received a push and landed quite hard on the sidewalk. I reported the incident to the Police but they were only interested in the physical assault and could do nothing about the pricing difference between what was advertised and what was being c...

What is e-commerce? Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, is the buying and selling of product or service over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on such technologies as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. For the consumer, e-commerce manes greater access to products, the ability to compare prices between products and services and save money on the cost of physically visiting the place of business. The topic of e-commerce and its impact on countries such as Namibia have been researched since the late 1990s and found that the greatest impact on whether a country (and its entrepreneurs and consumers) will benefit is largely dependent on the attitude of government and its legislature. In short the following are identified as the government...

It was recently reported in the newspaper that the City of Windhoek is modernising the urban transport plan. This is long overdue and I hope that it will be done as speedily as possible, and in consultation with consumers. In this article I wish to look at the broader concept of transport in the country, and propose certain areas which local authorities, and transport institutions should look at when developing their plans to the benefit of consumers. Taxis Namibia has a predominantly public taxi system compared to a private (radio taxi) system. This means that in most towns a consumer can take a taxi with other customers and be dropped at any destination they request. The biggest problem in local taxis seems to be the lack of indications potential customers can give to indicate where they wish to go. A customer can stand anywhere and hope to get a taxi to take any point they wish. In fact, I often see customers standing on the wrong side of the road to the direction they ...

Neuss: Silvester-Lunch bei Neussern in Namibia