Making A Better World - Milton Louw

Computers are wonderful tools for taking the boring work and doing it with complaining. However, we must realize that no computer can replace the human trigger of compassion, love or understanding of another human being. Rachel (not her real name) has a small business selling various indigenous products ranging from ingredients of traditional beer to the homemade beer, cloth for traditional dresses to the complete customer ordered dress, etc. Her monthly income ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 a month. Last month she had an unexpected bonus when a musical group ordered dresses valued at over 200,000. Being a shrewd businesswoman she invested 50,000 in paying her rent for 8 eight months in advance as well as stocking up her food so she will only need to replenish at the end of February next year. After all she has learnt the hard way what happens during Januworry. Her company has continued making its usual income and she feels quite secure in her present position and is even thinking of...

The “sub-prime mortgage crisis” in America in the period 2007 – 2010 was felt all around the world. Common wisdom tells us this was caused by banks and other financial institutions giving loans to high risk borrowers who could not repay the money. This message has been shared around the world and all of us agree that people with poor credit records should not be given loans as they cause a danger to all of us when they cannot repay. The proverb seems to be “Poor people were reckless and stupid, and banks got greedy.” This is also the case in Namibia where the poor (read previously disadvantaged), have found it harder to borrow and thus end up renting property rather than getting an approved loan to purchase their property. But what if this “common wisdom” is wrong? According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (USA) the 2007 crash did not occur because people with low credit borrowed to buy houses they could not afford. Rather it occurred because the wealthy and mi...

Windhoek has recently had an explosion of drug abuse of crystal methamphetamine which is known on the street as "tik" or "eat-some-more". The drug can be bought in almost any neighbourhood in Windhoek and it is found at any time of the day or night. It is normally sold in the form of a rock at a cost of N$ 100.00 each. This rock is broken into smaller pieces and then smoked from a "gun" which is made from a small metal pipe with a copper filter inside on which the tik is placed and has sellotape wrapped around the stem. Over the past twelve years I have been living and working with people who use this drug on a regular basis. My first experience of the drug was while staying in Ausspannplatz in what is ironically now part of the National Police Headquarters. The drug was readily available and most of the prostitution happening was for the express purpose of buying tik and alcohol. What is most striking is that before the first hit the user acts reas...