Last week Wednesday, my first consumer column for New Era
appeared and I was very pleased when a fiend indicated that he had seen my
column. I was however very quickly deflated when he added that he had glanced
through the article but was not actually sure what it was about. After some
light questioning, I realised in fact that he had only read the heading and
perhaps the first paragraph.
This led me to question (for at least five minutes anyway),
why do I bother writing about consumer issues if not even my friends were
reading it? Immediately though my common sense returned and reminded me that I
am, and always will be, a consumer activist. This led me to the topic of
today’s column, namely “What is a consumer activist?”
A consumer activist according to the dictionary meaning is “a
person whose job is to protect the rights of customers, for example by giving
advice, testing products, or trying to improve laws relating to the sale of
goods.” This does explain what I do as an activist, except it is a non-paying
job. That’s right, I do not get paid for trying to improve the laws relating to
consumer affairs - in fact I do not even get paid for this weekly column. So
what then motivates me and other like-minded individuals to propose boycotts,
petition the government, write in the media and organise consumer interest
groups on Facebook and elsewhere?
Personally speaking I consider the active role I play in
consumer activism as a continuation of the active role I played in political
activism during the Apartheid era in this country. There were “silly” laws
during Apartheid such as black and coloured people were not allowed to buy
white bread. That’s right. Not only were the people of this country prohibited
from owning a business if they were not white, they were also prevented from
buying white bread.
Since Independence, many Namibians have commented on the
fact that the political struggle has been won but the economic struggle is not
yet complete. Many of these same people are often times only referring to the
ability of black business to enter the business environment and then be given
opportunities that were denied to them under Apartheid. However, most of us
forget to add that not only were the entrepreneurs and business people part of
the struggle, but the consumer as a section of the population also played a
crucial role.
The international consumer was roped into the struggle
through getting the consumer to challenge the social order and help to change
it through consumption choices which questioned their morality and indirect
support of companies that did business with the Apartheid regimes in southern
Africa.
After Independence however, many of our leaders in both
politics and business have ensured that the laws have changed to accommodate
the rising black business community and the employees in need of special
regulations. There has also been a move to create new legislation through
Affirmative Action (AA), Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), and now the New
Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) BUT nothing has come about in
creating consumer protection laws to protect consumer from unscrupulous
business practices, misleading advertising and profiteers (for example rent
prices running out of control).
This is why I am a Consumer Activist - because I have the
means and the talents to ensure the business practices and laws keep in mind
the consumer - who is often the most ill-informed and least appreciated section
of the community.
Milton Louw is the IT Project Coordinator at
the Electoral Commission of Namibia. This column is written in his personal
capacity as a consumer activist and the views expressed in this column are his
own.
