There is a ringing in my ears

(First appeared in New Era 5 August 2015)

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell got the first telephone to work and uttered the words “Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you”. He as the inventor realised early on the intrusion a telephone could be and refused to have a telephone in his own study. The past few weeks I have been getting very frustrated with this invention and the intrusion it is having on my privacy. It all started when MTC started sending me SMSs about a competition that I could participate in to win if I first gave them three of my hard earned dollars.
Come on. That is gambling. If I, and all the other entrants must pay a participation fee, but only one of us actually wins a share of the money we all contributed, then this means that not only is it a gamble, but also a money earner for MTC. Upon enquiry with MTC, I was informed that I should send an SMS to request them to not send me any further SMSs about the competition. Yep, that’s right. I have to spend three dollars to get off the list of people who receive the message. This whole process by MTC is wrong and I consider it an invasion of my privacy. Further, as a company they are making use of my data for a purpose that I did not agree to.
Let us look first at the invasion of my privacy. The Constitution of Namibia clearly states that “No person shall be subject to interference with the privacy of their homes, correspondence or communications save as in accordance with law and as necessary in a democratic society….” Sending me an unsolicited message on my cellular phone is a clear interference with my communications. As an aggrieved person you and I are allowed under the constitution to approach the Ombudsman to provide us with legal assistance or advice as we require. I am approaching the Ombudsman in this regard and will keep you updated in later columns.
Secondly, let us look at the fact that MTC is using the fact that they know my number, as I am a client of their service, and now using it for a purpose for which I have not granted them the right. This is considered unsolicited advertising or SPAM. The most widely recognised form of spam is email spam, the term is also applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, social spam, television advertising and file sharing spam.
In the United States, a law called the “Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003” was passed. Under this law, (and similar laws elsewhere), companies are required to be provide a clear and free method of unsubscribing from such messages. It further allows for the establishment of national do not call/ sms / email list that allows consumers to register their details and be protected from unsolicited advertising. Of course, the law also allows for fines and penalties for companies that do not adhere to these regulations.
Some readers might feel that I am making a mountain out of a molehill by insisting that companies like MTC and others should be prevented from sending us junk mail via our telephones. I would however remind you that our telephones are a communication method that not only allows outward communication, but also is often used for inward communication relating to families and friends. Take an example of the grandmother who cannot read at night getting an unsolicited advert in the middle of the night. She will have to wait till morning to know what is in the message and meanwhile she fears the worse news until then.

Great Expectations

(First appeared in New Era 29 July 2015)

(Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that was published in 1861 and tells the story of an orphan named Pip)
This coming week it will be my first wedding anniversary. Traditionally, (since the Middle Ages), each wedding anniversary requires a specific gift depending on the number of years you are married. For example, the tenth wedding anniversary is tin or aluminium celebrating ideas and symbols while the fifteenth anniversary gift is traditionally crystal.
The first wedding anniversary is traditionally symbolised as being paper while in modern times we also give gifts of clocks. I have spent some time considering the various gift ideas from money, photographs, books, stationary, event tickets, love letters, calendars and poems. After much consideration, I decided what I will by my loving supportive wife for her anniversary. But back to the consumer issue at the heart of this decision making. One of the ideas is to purchase a coupon for a service or product that your loved one can take up at their own time. For example, a coupon for a day being spoilt at a wellness/spa/beauty parlour counts as a paper gift.
This got me to thinking what would happen if the gift I purchased as a promissory note, does not meet the expectations I have of the gift I wish the give the other person? After all, as the customer who purchased the gift I too have an expectation of the service of product even though I am not the intended recipient.
Under the present legal environment (or rather of legal environment), there would be very little recourse to me if the expected, and advertised, service does not meet my expectations. Obviously expectations can be very subjective as they are based on my personal expectations, but should there not be a recourse to at least the minimum expectation any reasonable person would expect?
In the proposed draft consumer protection law, it is proposed that a consumer can sue under the principle of “tort”. A tort, in our common law jurisdiction, refers to a civil wrong that unfairly causes someone else to suffer loss or harm resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. This person who commits the act is known as the tortfeasor. This harm or loss is not limited to physical injuries and can include emotional, economic or reputational injury as well as violations of privacy, property or constitutional rights. In general torts can refer to carried topics such as motor vehicle accidents, false imprisonment, defamation, product liability, copyright infringement and environmental pollution. As a consumer, this will lessen the burden of proof required when instituting an action against a supplier of products or services.
The proposed Consumer Protection Commission will also be able to handle “class action” lawsuits where consumer protection organisations can bring claims on behalf of consumers. (A class action is a type of lawsuit where one or several person can sue on behalf of a larger group of persons, who are then referred to as “the class”.) This will help consumer activists as class action allow for two factors important in consumer protection, namely that 1) the issues being brought to court or government agency are common to all members of the class; and 2) the persons affected are too many and this will make it impractical to bring all of them before the court to testify.
This bring me back to the question of whether I will have legal recourse if the beauty parlour coupon does not meet my (or the recipients) expectations. After all, they do offer beauty treatment?

Man of the house

(First appeared in New Era 22 July 2015)

The past few weeks I have been traveling around the country for work and not spent as much time at home (or on writing this column) as I would like to. The cultural perception of the Namibian family is such that the “man of the house” is expected to earn the income even if it means traveling long distances from home, while the wife is expected to raise the children, earn an income and still be there to “spoil” her husband when he returns from his work far from home.

This week I was reminded of how much men in general take for granted the rights of privilege and put forward the argument of “it is my right as a man”. This happened when my baby, Captain Adorable, spoke his first words. Yes, you guessed it. His first word was “Mamma”. So much for forcing him to say “Dadda” to someone who is so often out!

In Namibia, we have quite a few “rights of privilege”: from the white person born before Independence who cannot understand why a black person does not stand up for themselves; to men who assert that they are the man of the house and get upset when the woman insists upon her rights too; to the shopkeepers who have the attitude of you should be glad I am here to provide you with products to purchase.

By the time you the reader have read this far, you must be questioning who I have not yet annoyed with my column this week. This is not my intention at all. Rather it is to have us question, and get the understanding between what is a right, and what is a privilege. Hopefully, by the end of this column you will also be able to distinguish between the two, and know when sometimes it is abused as a right of privilege.

Rights are defined as something belonging to you as an individual and these cannot be taken away from you. For example, in Namibia you have the right to freedom of speech and expression and this is guaranteed in the Constitution. A privilege on the other hand is something that is owned by another person or entity who then gives you the ability to do something. An example of a privilege is the owning of a drivers licence. The government is the entity which grants you the privilege of driving, but this can be taken away from you if you do not adhere to certain rules and regulations.

Taking this point further to discuss consumer protection we must continue to fight for our rights to be recognised. You have a) The right to basic goods and services that guarantee survival; b) The right to be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of services that are hazardous to health and life; c) The right to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising or labelling; c) The right to choose products and services at competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality; d) The right to express consumer interests in the making and execution of government policy; e) The right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services; f) The right to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be an informed consumer and g) The right to live and work in an environment which permits a life of dignity and well-being.

These are your consumer rights and must be recognised by the government through legislation which will enshrine your rights, and protect you from having them taken away from you.

As a well-known consumer activist I often find my personal consumer issues being sorted out very quickly because the store or service provider is scared of how I will portray this issue in the newspaper. This is unfair to the rest of the consumers because I am now reaping the reward of “rights of privilege” whereas this should be a right for all.

It’s just another winter’s tale

(First appeared in New Era 24 June 2015)

The past week I was forced to pay an extended visit to my bed to get rid of the flu. In my family, my Mother believes in quite a few “home remedies” including Boegoe Brandy, Jamaica Ginger and of course the trusted vaporub and med-lemon. Some of these remedies are also known as “Hollandse medisyne” (Dutch medicines) and can be found in most supermarkets. There are “cures” for stomach aches, headaches, burping children and even chasing away evil spirits. Yes, one of the medicines are used in drawing a cross on the forehead of a child when you have no idea what else to try – and this chases away the evil! Some of us may ridicule these “cures”, but ask any parent whose child has the hiccups whether putting a piece of paper on their forehead helps?
While being in bed I came across an insert in one of our daily papers for the services of a witchdoctor. Normally I would refer to a person giving advice handed down from our forefathers as a traditional healer, but in this case the advert was for a witchdoctor, or how else could he also offer cures for being lovesick? I looked through several of our newspapers and found one paper that had thirty-two (32) classified adverts for traditional healers. A typical advert reads: “Dr Mwita: Bring back lost lovers, bad-luck, witchcraft protection, men power, employment, pregnancy, remove tokolosh. Money in your account in 20 minutes to get rich.”
When reading these adverts I realised that the people placing these adverts must obviously get clients otherwise why would they continue to place the adverts at their expense every day. Secondly, it does not seem to worry them that the issues they offer to resolve are not medicinal, but rather emotional. Lastly, most readers would question why these same traditional healers are offering to make you rich but are themselves not endowed with much riches themselves.
As a consumer activist, my conscience is prickled by this dilemma: “What recourse would a client have if after they have paid for the services of the traditional healer, they do not receive their monies worth in product or service? The Ministry of Health and Social Services is working with traditional healers and trying to cut out the obvious jokers or scammers, but this will only work if there is a set of criteria for these practitioners as well as a method of punishing those who abuse their position.
Having grown up in a western Christian culture, I must also ask of myself is there a major difference in going to a building, praying for what I desire and then paying money into the collection plate? What recourse do I have if my prayers are not answered? How far may a religious organisation go in promising me certain rewards (on earth) and when can I demand my money back if these are not kept?
While most welfare organisations and churches are doing a good job in Namibia, unfortunately, some have not. They have abused their mandate or become a vehicle for an individual who is seen as the driving force or even “responsible for the success of the organisation”. This leads to the next question, “How do we distinguish between a good and bad Non-governmental organisation?”

The following questions provide us with a litmus test:  a) Are their financial statements open for scrutiny? b) What percentage of their budget is spent on salaries and perks for the organisations employees?  c) What part of the budget is contributed by governments, directly or indirectly? d) How many of the NGO's operatives are in the field, catering to the needs of the NGO's constituents? e) Which part of the budget is spent on furthering the aims of the NGO and on implementing its programmes?

I suggest that we have Non-Government Organisation law. In this law we should be address the issues of mandate and good governance, and the mechanisms in the case of abuse. It should include a restraint on creation of new, frequently unnecessary, NGOs (that are mostly more helpful to the creators of the NGO than the people they are designed to serve).

Investing in education pays the best interest

(First appeared in New Era 17 June 2015)

The past few weeks have been very hectic in the Shaanika-Louw household as Captain Adorable starts on the journey of “real foods”. Waking up at night to soothe a crying child brings reality to a parent on what we do in the hope of giving our child the best opportunity in life.
Regardless of how young our children are, all parents worry about the day the child is going to be grown up enough to leave the nest. This is why we take out study insurance policies etc. as we consider whether we, as the parents, will be able to give our children that “right start” to life with a quality education.
The Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development is in the final stages of submitting the Consumer Protection Policy and Act to Cabinet before it goes to the legal drafters for submission as a Bill to Parliament. The technical committee responsible for the process must be commended for looking at a principle-based approach rather than a rule-based regulation environment for Namibia.
Without going into too much legalese, this means that under the proposed Namibia Consumer Protection Act, the regulator will work on the “ex post” application principle. In other words, the regulatory principle is applied against specific conduct of a regulated entity ONLY AFTER the conduct has occurred. This is in comparison to a “ex ante” determination principle where the regulator must state exactly what the regulated entity must, or must not, do to comply with the rules before the business engages in the conduct.
Lying in the dark after the Captain has fallen back to sleep allows me to reflect on what exactly the consumer protection environment will mean – not only for me and mine, but also for you and yours in this country. For most of my life I have been engaged in the teaching profession, first as an IT Junior Lecturer and later as a distance tutor at a local education institution offering Cambridge University qualifications.
This very important industry (yes it is a business) has mushroomed in the past few years with the only regulations seeming to come from the Namibian Qualifications Authority (NQA). The NQA has the responsibility of evaluating the educational institution, and more specifically the actual courses the institution provides. In other words, the education institution you send your child to might be accredited, but the actual course your child is following might not be a recognised NQA qualification.
Under our present laws there is very little that a parent can do once their child has completed course and they find out that it is not recognised in the work environment. After all, we all expect that once our child has received a quality (expensive) education that this will allow them to get a good paying position that they may be able to care for themselves. If this happens to you, you have very little recourse to the law as Namibia still adheres to the principle of “buyer beware” or in Latin, “Caveat Emptor”.
Under the proposed new consumer law, the regulator will be able to take action against such educational institutions which mislead the consumer as to the specifics of the course or area of study being NQA recognised compared to just being a “NQA registered” institution. This will be done not only through a complaint resolution given by a consumer, but also formal investigation and the civil investigative demand (CID).
Plainly put, under the new proposed law, the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) will be able to research and identify seller(s) that violate the principles of the law, and undertake formal investigation on behalf of a group of consumers experiencing similar problems. If the CPC finds that there has been a violation of the law, they will be able to enforce the appropriate remedial action as well as penalties for the violation. This penalty or fine might also include refunding of consumers monies, even if that specific consumer was not one of the consumer who originally brought the complaint.
Knowing this law is on its way will certain make my sleep come a little easier, that is if Captain Adorable allows it.

Making the poor consumer pay for the privilege of the rich

(First appeared in New Era 3 June 2015)

In 2006, I was privileged to attend the public meetings at Parliament in Windhoek to address the high cost of finance (especially bank finance) in the country.  The late Hon. Reinhard (Kalla) Gertze, Member of Parliament, had proposed an investigation into the financial institutions through public hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration. (This Parliamentary Committee was then under the chairpersonship of our present President, Dr. Hage Geingob.)They held public hearings on bank charges and regulations and one of the submissions, by a banking institution, outlined why interest is charged.
In their submission, the bank explained that in the beginning of banking, interest was used to offset the risk of providing the credit to the borrower. There are four risks (hazards), namely a) The costs incurred by the bank while providing the loan had to be repaid; b) Inflation means the lender will be able to buy less for the money as time passes; c) Scarcity – in other words once it is lent to a borrower at a specific rate, it cannot be used for another loan; and d) That the borrower cannot pay back the loan. Further, the bank indicated that of these four, the only real difference the government can make is in reducing the risk of borrower’s inability to repay.
This topic has been written about before in my newspaper columns and blogs and the reader is encouraged to learn more about credit risk and how to minimise their perceived risk, as this the amount of interest they would be paying on their loans.
This week however, I was reminded about the topic of interest for an entirely different reason. I was reading an article wherein one of our municipalities was quoted as stating the varying prices for pre-paid and post-paid electricity is. What had me sit up and take notice was that the prepaid electricity was at least one-third more expensive that the post-paid price per unit.
Let me repeat that again: If I give my money for electricity that I will use in future, I have to pay a lot more that the customer who has already used the electricity and only has to pay some thirty days or more after using it. Somewhere this flies totally in the face of the market economic rules that I have been taught.
In my limited understanding, a bank or service provider would like to get the money from your pocket into theirs as soon as possible. If they can get you to purchase the service before you even use it, it means they have money for something they have not yet created. If however, they give you the service or product on credit, it means that they have already spent the money on creating that product and now have to wait to recoup their investment. Thus any properly run business would give you the same product for cheaper IF you paid for it before usage as they would be having the money before they have to spent it in creating the product.
Now why are municipalities (and cellular providers) charging you the consumer more for a product which by free market definition should be sold to you for cheaper because you are paying for it before the product was actually consumed? This opportunity cost being lost due to post-paid accounts is not seen in their bill, but rather in the bill of the poor consumer - who has no choice in having a prepaid meter - and is being made to bear the cost.
If we in Namibia are to talk about being “pro-poor”, we have to recognise that these business practices by private and public business are deliberately making the lower-income consumers pay more because of their ignorance.  In my mind it is even worse because the product or service being sold is easily manipulated by the seller to increase their profits without any interference or agreement by the consumer.

We are all pirates

(First appeared in New Era 27 May 2015)

In the past few decades, most consumer have started to question the high prices paid for “branded” products and have shown their willingness  to but similarly branded products made in developing countries for much cheaper prices. In addition, with new technologies, many consumers are using the Internet and file-sharing services to get hold of digital products such as music and movies that would previously have to be bought but are now “shared” – with no costs to the consumer. Some consumers especially question products made by for example vehicle manufacturers and compare their prices to pirate products that seem to do the same job for a much lower price.
The World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, states that, “systems to protect intellectual property rights, currently in place across the world, have many loopholes that are being exploited by those producing fake goods, especially of well-known international brands. Counterfeit and pirate goods have huge negative economic and social impacts on any country and should be addressed collectively to stop or minimize losses.”
In Namibia recently there has been complaints by musicians and other artists that their copyrighted products have been copied or used without their permission. They have in their sights not only individual consumers, but also radio stations and the proliferation of jukeboxes throughout the country. They feel, quite correctly, that they have invested their time and money in producing a product (music, etc.) and other people are making money without giving them their fair share or reward for what is their Intellectual Property.
One of the main arguments for the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) is that without the financial incentive, artists and businesses would not invest in producing new products. In fact many businesses state that they would not invest in Research and Development (R&D) if they were not ensured IP protection.
While agreeing with WIPO and our local musicians, there is also a need to look at when a “pirate” or “generic” product can be of use to the consumer’s bottom line.
Let us first look at branded clothing products. Upon investigation it was realised that many international firms that started out as manufacturers have become marketing or branding firms. Quite a few such have in fact no production or manufacturing facilities at all but only look for products that they can associate their name with and have consumers purchase these products as being “originals”. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit clothes manufacturing facilities across Southern Africa to see how these factories work and the products they manufacture. Imagine my surprise to find that the same factory is often the manufacturer for products that are branded differently. For example, one factory made socks and t-shirts that were practically the same in design and product quality and were branded for Edgars and Pep Stores respectively. Of course, when investigating the selling price, it was found that one store had a much higher selling price. Of course the companies involved explain that they have different customer types as well as the availability of credit at the upmarket store. While these arguments do make financial sense, the consumer is never informed that the different products originate from the same factory.
Another example that is starting to gain momentum for discussion is the high price of medicinal products that receive IP protection and provide huge profits to international pharmaceutical companies. In a sense, the high prices are justified for the amount of research costs, but does that imply that a poor consumer who cannot afford this price should be allowed to die? Many developing countries are looking at the high cost of medicine and introducing generic products (non-branded) at much lower prices to ensure each citizen has the right to quality medical care. It is necessary for Namibia to also start balancing the need for Intellectual Protection against the needs of its people.

If you want to make enemies, try to change something

(First appeared in New Era 20 May 2015)

This week, I take a quote from Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) who was the 28th President of the United States of America (1913-1921). He held a PhD in Political Science and was the President of Princeton University (1902-1910). He wrote various books including a textbook used in colleges in which he argued that government should not be deemed evil and advocated the use of government to” allay social ills and advance society's welfare”.
The past week it was my privilege to have my ten year-old stepson staying with us during the school holidays. At one point, I was playing a game involving Star Trek characters and he asked what that was. I tried to explain but found that the generation gap of what we had watched on television was too broad. Nevertheless, it was good to again watch an episode together and hear the words “To boldly go where no man has gone before”.
The present Housing Crisis (yes it is a Crisis with a capital letters), needs bold actions to address the plight of the landless. No citizen can truly feel the rewards of Independence, without being able to state, “there is my home - it belongs to me”.
Let us look at some bold measures that could be enacted to help the Namibian consumer achieve that dream.
1. Create a National Mortgage Association. The NMA should provide banks with state money to finance home mortgages. This will raise levels of home ownership and the availability of affordable housing. The state should also regulate that at least 55% of these mortgages should be allocated to low- and moderate-income housing.
2. Rental income should be taxed. In many countries rental income is taxed on a progressive basis and helps to cap the greed of landlords. In Tanzania for example, rental income is taxed at 31.45% 0 definitely a barrier to capitalistic tendencies in the market.
3. Have higher property taxes for home owners with more than one property. This should also put a dampener on the view that individuals can become rich through renting at exhorbitant prices.
4. The lands register should be investigated and all companies (close corporations, etc.) should be taxed at a higher rate on residential properties if this is not their place of business. In other words, companies that own property for the purpose of residential leasing should be taxed higher to reduce the undue pressure on house prices.
5. Introduce a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) that will tax non-residents when they sell a property. This will help to reduce the number of foreign investors who see the Housing Crisis as an opportunity to make money through speculation of property. This can also be expanded to include companies owning property to reduce speculation by businesses in the home market. Namibia has the lowest rate of 0% compared with 25% and 40% in Botswana and South Africa respectively.
6. Remove price increasing legislative effects in the housing market. At present too many industries receive “infant protection” and other measures to allow them to increase their selling price without meeting competitiveness in the market. If, on the one hand we argue for a free market economy in housing, why do we introduce statutory false selling prices by giving infant protection to industries such as cement manufacturing? The prices in Namibia for many of the materials used in housing are high because of legislation within Namibia and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Creating jobs that do not allow the working population to own property will only continue the history of an indentured labour.
7. Establish a Rent Control Board. I have written about this in last week’s column and hope the readers have looked at the arguments put forth. The rent control should peg the amount of rent charged to the bond repayment such a property would have to repay.

The bottom line issue of the Housing Crisis remains: Without home ownership, a citizen feels like a foreigner in their own country.

A man’s home is his castle and fortress

(First appeared in New Era 13 May 2015)

The saying “A man’s home is his castle” is an old English proverb and is often attributed to Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), an English jurist, member of parliament and writer, who used this principle to state that no one may enter a person’s home without permission.

The past two years I have been renting a double story flat in a complex close to the Social Security Commission. As my family has expanded to include a wife and baby I have had to start looking for a free-standing house or at least a flat without stairs as we fear our baby will be a little rough with his new walking ring. As I was looking through the various rental options, I once again realised that the price of rentals in Windhoek is going through the roof. This led me to look once again at the issue of rent control and its applicability in the Namibian situation.
The idea to enforce rent control is in place in at least 40 countries across the world. The idea of rent control is to promulgate laws or regulations that sets renting prices on residential housing as a price ceiling for certain types of accommodation. Generally speaking such laws dictate the frequency and degree of rent increases and is commonly indicated at a level less than the rate of inflation.
The arguments for rent control are a) a moral ground that housing is a human right which supersedes the property rights of a house owner. In this argument, the income a landlord may receive from a property should for example be no higher than 20% of a bond repayment for a house of this value; b) price control also gives the tenant the right to insist upon certain improvements being done on a minimum standard without the landlord being able to improperly adjust with higher rentals fees; and c) most importantly, the social dynamics of rent control (or to use the term correctly “rent stabilisation”), is an important one for consumer protection as the laws or regulations provide assurance to the consumer that they can maintain stability in their housing situation.
At present, there is a tendency among some landlords to insist upon an increase of 10% and sometimes higher from renters and they inform the renter to either pay this increased amount or move.
It has become painfully obvious that the main problem is not that rentals are increasing, but rather that the shortage of housing has led to there being many more people looking to rent than the number of houses available on the market. The local authorities have caused this problem through the slow speed of serviced land being available for new housing which has put a lot of pressure on potential home owners who now need to rent as there is no other option available.  Thus the market is being skewed by the supply and demand equation that stipulates that prices will go up and where there is more demand than what can currently be supplied.
Thus looking at rent control and applying it in certain areas will help to keep the market in check, but in reality it is a solution that also has its downside. Most free market believers will point out that controlling rent leads to a reduction in the quantity and quality of houses available. While this argument is valid once all other factors are equal, we must realise that this could be short-term strategy to ensure that greed tendencies do not lead to the further impoverishment of our consumer especially in the lower and middle income families.
Perhaps a new debate should take place to talk not about land (as in farmlands) but rather a discussion of how to increase the availability of housing (a man’s castle) to more of our people.

We are in an African standoff

(First appeared in New Era 6 May 2015)

Today’s column is a play of words on the saying “It is a Mexican standoff”. A Mexican standoff refers to when two or more opponents have their guns drawn and unless there is an agreement to stop, all parties will die regardless of who pulls the trigger first. This remains unresolved until some outside event makes it possible to resolve it. It is used in today’s column to symbolise the stand-off on issues of land and specifically access to urban land.
The past week I was working in Onyaanya constituency of the Oshikoto region.  Unfortunately there were no suitable accommodation establishments that had place for the period within the immediate vicinity and I had to book into a guest house just outside Ondangwa. As it was a long weekend, I managed to take time in the evening to do some “window shopping” in the towns of Ondangwa and Ongwediva. I must add that I was glad that my employer had not paid my salary by the end of the month and I was actually glad (not really) as it was definitely tempting to go on a real shopping spree. I found almost all the retailers that you will find in Windhoek and even some that had not yet made it to the capital city.
The bad news was that more and more of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) belonging to Namibians ae being displaced to make space for these multinational (mostly South African) companies. While appreciating the convenience of having a large range of well-priced goods within the modern mall environment, it is worrying that the only employment being created is for low-level front-end jobs and that more of our indigenous entrepreneurs are going out of business.
The same issue, foreign ownership, comes up in discussions of how property developers in the housing market are only catering for up-market, high-income earners and neglecting the indigenous low-income earners.
It would really be a good initiative for our local authorities to insist upon “Inclusionary Zoning”. This term (which was coined in America) refers to local authority and other planning regulations that require a given share of new construction to be affordable by people with low to moderate incomes. For example, the local authority or the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Rural Development can insist within the purchase deed that 10% -30% of new houses and townhouse complex space be allocated to lower-income earners. The term specifically uses the word “inclusionary” to indicate that the policy is aimed at countering “exclusionary zoning” whose aim is to exclude low-cost housing from certain areas in a local authority.
While investigating this use of local authority regulations to provide a wider range of housing options I was immediately impressed by the two issues that will be addressed such policies. Firstly, the apartheid past has caused certain areas to still be markedly different based on the skin colour of the inhabitants and is considered one of the racial divides we need to address in an Independent Namibia. Secondly, the free market (or as our constitution states – mixed economy), has been driven by profits and these are obviously at the high end of the market where top dollar can be charged and profits are the primary purpose.
The biggest benefits include, but are not limited to a) the creation of income-integrated communities, b) reduced bussing and commuter costs borne by the local authorities as they must presently provide subsidised travel for low-income earners who provide the home work force in high income areas; c) equality in access to schooling and other government services across communities; and d) perhaps most importantly speed up the process of reconciliation by eroding the apartheid land usage policies based on colour.
I must end this column with a reminder that what started me on this route of thinking was the shopping malls mushrooming all over the country that are not catering for our SME’s. The Government of Namibia must implement a policy of inclusionary zoning that will force property developers to include an SME park area within their complex. This will encourage entrepreneurship and decrease the feeling of “loss of participation in the economy” experienced among the people.

Too Good To Be True

(First appeared in New Era 18 April 2015)

The heading of today’s column was originally from the title of the essay “Siquila too good to be true” by Thomas Lupton in 1580. The term “too good to be true” expresses the unconvinced view that something that seems fine must have something wrong with it.
The past week I was looking at various options, I came across a number of businesses that promised me various levels of income and most of them indicated that it would be “easy”. I researched different businesses from online selling, private blog networks, Tupperware sales, Herbalife and even looking at becoming a Golden Products agent. Each of these businesses had very low entries into the business and was built on a multi-level marketing strategy (MLM). A Multi-Level Marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit. This recruited sales force is referred to as the participant's "downline", and can provide multiple levels of compensation.
The selling point for each business was that I would make a lot more money if I recruit people who would also sell the companies products and I would make a percentage commission on their sales. To put it a little broadly, I would make more money if I have more people recruited, and they were doing the actual sales.
As a consumers we always dream of having more money to spend and we need to differentiate between a legitimate business opportunity and a business opportunity that “is too good to be true” and which will lead to you losing your money.
One of the most harmful scams that happens to people is when such a scheme turns out in fact to be a pyramid scheme. For you to be sure you do not get caught – and lose your money – is to learn how to identify a pyramid scheme and which regulatory authority you can contact if you believe you might be involved in such a scheme.
So what is a pyramid scheme? Any multi-level marketing company must have a product or service that they sell to a client. Normally a business that has a product you personally can, and wish to, use makes for an easy product to sell onwards to clients. If a company is selling overpriced and difficult to sell products you should already be wary of the business. As a consumer (and potential entrepreneur) you will have to purchase a minimum amount of product from the company which you in turn must sell for you to make money. Once you purchase enough of the product to qualify for commissions you will start to realise it is difficult to resell the inventory.
At this point you will learn that recruiting others to become agents or distributors is the only way to have a chance of recovering the money you invested. The person or company that recruited you will start to pressure you to increase your sales through getting others to become distributors. This emphasis on “recruiting your downline” is an indicative sign that you are dealing with a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme can only survive if there is a constant flow of new consumers to buy in the bottom or entry level.
So, how can you protect your hard money? The following questions should help you to check if the company meets the pyramid profile. Does the opportunity offer a large monthly income for very little work or even simply for working from home? Does it require you to put some of your own money into then business by buying a product or service? Does the company insist you pay a membership fee? Is there a strong emphasis on how much money you will make according to the number of people your recruit? Is the commission structure very complex?  Does it sound too good to be true? If so, it probably is.
If you believe that an opportunity might be a pyramid scheme you can contact the Bank of Namibia which is continuously refining the provisions relating to illegal financial schemes also known as pyramid schemes.

Home is where the heart is

(First appeared in New Era 15 April 2015)

The heading of todays’ column is a quote from Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23 – August 25, AD 79), a Roman better known as Pliny the Elder. He was amongst others an author, naturalist, and philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire. He is also well-known for the quote, “There is always something new out of Africa.” (Source: Wikipedia)

As a newlywed couple, my wife and I have started looking at a house to purchase as the present place we call home is a rental and is not putting any long-term value on our balance sheet. The cost of housing is already well-known and most of us have heard the cry of “Affirmative Repositioning” which seems to imply that land for housing must be made available for all Namibians. However, regardless of whether you purchase an existing house, or get a serviced erf from the local authority, you must still be aware of the hidden costs in the purchase of a property.
Most buyers are not aware of these hidden costs which include costs to transfer the title deed onto your name, registration of the bond, service connection costs to your property and most importantly your loan repayment that could increase due to interest hikes. As part of our homework into purchasing our ideal home, I have tried to define these hidden costs. To provide an indication of what these costs can be, I have used a house purchased for N$ 1 million in the example and placed the estimated hidden cost in brackets where possible.
(a) Transfer Costs – this is the legal cost of having the house registered in your own name and includes deeds office fees (N$ 300); Stamp Duty (N$ 4,000); Transfer Duty calculated as a percentage of the property value (N$ 4,000); Transfer Fee (N$ 10,000); Admin fees (N$ 400) and VAT at 15% (1,560). Total Transfer Cost = N$20,260.
(b) Bank Charges – most commercial lenders charge a bond initiation fee as well as a bank administration fee. These are charged up front and added to your account. Once the property is registered in your name, (and this might happen even before you move in), your monthly repayment will start.
(c) Service connection costs – most local authorities and other suppliers of water, electricity and telephone expect a deposit before the connection is made and then charge monthly according to usage. Usage can fluctuate and be unexpectedly high during periods of personal problems and cannot always be accurately reflected on a statement due to “usage guessing”.
(d) Property Rates – this is a monthly fee charged by the local authority based on the municipality estimated market value of the property. This rate tends to increase by 8% per year and is presently N$ 0.000914 times the site value and N$ 0.000471 times the improvement value in Windhoek. Thus a property with erf valued at N$ 300,000 and improvement value of N$ 700,000 would have a monthly rate of N$ 603.90 or N$ 7,246.80 per year. (NOTE: Before buying a property, ensure that all previous service charges on the property are paid in full.)
(e) Monthly levies – these are only applicable if you are buying in a complex (sectional title). You will need to pay a monthly levy for shared services in the complex and these can be costly.
(f) Maintenance of your home – there are always thing that break and need to be fixed. Even if you rent out your property, remember that certain items are still your responsibility to maintain.
(g) Insurance – you will need homeowners insurance that will cover any unforeseen circumstance such as your house burning down, etc. In addition, the bank will probably also require you to take out life insurance that will cover the rest of your bond owed in the event of your death.
If you can budget properly and identify all these hidden costs to ensure no surprise, you will enjoy your home for many years.
As for my wife and I, we have decided to go back to the drawing board and find an additional form of income to increase our ability to own a home.

Nothing can be said to be certain, except Death and Taxes

(First appeared in New Era 8 April 2015)

This weeks’ column heading comes from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin, to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789. The full quote is “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Last week I read with great joy that the pensioners would from now on be receiving an amount of N$ 1,000 per month. This news was provided by our President and confirmed by the Minister of Finance. If you remember dear reader, I wrote in the Consumer column of 28 January 2015, “.. would it also not be a sign of a mature country to provide sufficiently for our elderly with a state pension of at least N$ 1,200 per month? If we give this a little thought, perhaps we too can honour our mothers and fathers that our days on earth might be long.” It appears our political leaders have heard the voices of the masses and have shown their respect too for our elderly.
The 31st of March typically indicates the end of the financial year for government for government and the start of a new contract period for people like myself who work on an annual basis with a government department or institution. This brought me to the payment of personal taxes as I have to receive my Pay As You Earn (PAYE) slips and submit to the Ministry of Finance. This personal tax is after all the money that the Government earns and allows them to provide for bigger pension pay-outs for our elderly.
As consumers and taxpayers not all of us have the ability and expertise to always fill in our tax forms to the best possible advantage and thus receive the “tax breaks” enjoyed by some. For some taxpayers there even periods of time that they were unemployed and did not perhaps fill inn their tax returns.
I would like to propose to the newly appointed Minister of Finance that the government introduces a tax amnesty. A tax amnesty is a limited time opportunity for taxpayers (or a specified group of taxpayers) to pay a defined amount in exchange for which they receive forgiveness of a tax liability relating to a previous tax period without fear of criminal prosecution. In terms of an amnesty, I propose that the Minister give ALL Namibians an amnesty for all previous years that tax returns have not been submitted on condition that all outstanding returns are completed – especially for the period ending 28 February 2015 – before a set date. For example in this year, amnesty could be given until 30 June 2015.
An amnesty will allow the government to collect as much tax revenue as possible in a very short period of time. Typically all taxpayers should submit their returns before the amnesty closing date and in return the government can reduce penalties or even waive all penalties completely. This will allow taxpayers an opportunity to pay any outstanding taxes with fewer penalties (or no penalties) than might otherwise apply. For a taxpayer to qualify for the amnesty, they must pay the entire amount of taxes due by the program’s deadline.
Having spoken to many consumers, especially in the lower income brackets, it was noted that many did not have a lot of knowledge of taxes and simply accepted that the tax deducted by the employer (if they have a job) is done correctly. In quite a few cases it was found that taxpayers have not done the necessary paperwork and submitted their tax returns as expected.
Thus an amnesty must go hand-in-hand with a taxpayer education programme to assist in ensuring they too can benefit from the process. Taxpayers not only benefit through the services such as roads, etc. that the government provide, but can also benefit through tax returns if they qualify and know how to go about filling in the forms correctly.

Mother knows Breast

(First appeared in New Era 1 April 2015)

The past week has seen me working in Swakopmund again. As luck would have it, my wife and son could also join me at the coast so that we could spend some of the weekend – especially Easter weekend - together. After all, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. This proverb means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring.
One night we visited the Tug Restaurant near to the jetty for dinner. The place was reasonably busy and my wife and I enjoyed the excellent food that was served by a gracious waitress that timed each of our three courses perfectly. At one point my four month old son needed his “meal” and informed us in a rather melodious cry that he would wait no further. The restaurant had no problem with my wife sitting in our corner and breastfeeding him under a cover. None of the other patrons seemed disturbed either and I felt pleased that he was able to complete his meal without any disturbance.
This is definitely the type of service we expect from restaurants and I am glad to see that the breastfeeding was a “non-issue”.
Namibia as a country has a very positive culture towards breastfeeding and our health professionals are encouraging mothers to breastfeed until at least six months of age. For the first three months it is suggested the child only gets breast milk and even water is discouraged. Only if a mother has a medical condition will the state clinics make available baby formula (for free).  At first, this sounds like a cost saving measure but after careful investigation it also turns out to have very solid science behind the advice.
“Breast milk is best for your baby, and the benefits of breastfeeding extend well beyond basic nutrition. In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness.”
During my first marriage, the wife and I were very “career-orientated”. This meant that we took the children off the breast early to allow the mother to return to work as soon as possible. Looking back, it seems we could have done a little bit more to ensure the long-term health (both physical and mental) of our children. In the recent past, researchers have found a correlation between children’s susceptibility to diseases, their ability to deal with vaccines and the foods that they start eating before six months of age.
Doing a little bit of research I came across the following universally accepted advice: 1) If you can, breastfeed for at least a year.  2) Minimise sugar and junk food as sugar weakens the immune system. 3) Minimise chemical exposures from the food your child eats. Eating organic fruits vegetables, etc, means a good way to help insure a healthier body and brain. 4) Use Omega-3 oil supplements (which breast milk is full of).  5) Make sure your infant gets enough Vitamin A as this can limit vaccine reactions.
As consumers (and all busy with the rat race), we have very little awareness of what we actually put into our mouths to ensure a healthy body and brain. More often than not, we get side-tracked in the importance of earning a living that we forget to invest in living a life rather than just earning.
That is why it is important for the consumer movement to stay vigilant on the foods that we buy – whether raw or processed – to ensure the long-term health of each of us. Wherever business puts in additives or genetically modifies or foodstuffs, keep in mind that it is being done for a profit motive – not necessarily to ensure the longevity of their consumers.

In Flagrante Delicto

(First appeared in New Era 25 March 2015)

This week’s column heading comes from the Medieval Latin word “In flagrante delicto” meaning “while the crime is burning”. This refers to being caught in the very act of wrongdoing. Today it most often refers to being caught in an act of sexual misconduct.
The past few months have seen a large number of celebrities, as well as a few local ladies, find themselves in hot water as their ex-lovers have posted nude pictures or other sexually explicit material over the social networks. This type of behaviour is referred to as “revenge porn” and even has websites where such material is welcomed. Namibia also joined this distasteful practice when a tertiary student posted a video of his ex-girlfriend recently online.
I have five daughters who grown up around me and had to from time to time remind them that certain behaviour is not “lady-like”. Being in the field of information technology and having access to many of the ICT tools early on, led me to seek a better understanding of how these tools will impact on our lives and more practically, how we should protect our privacy in this new world. One of the first “accidents” to happen with me and digital cameras was when one of my daughters took a picture of one of the other daughters doing their hair with rollers.. It was not any worse than seeing a picture of your daughter in a bikini, but seeing them take pictures with rollers in their hair was shocking. You see, in my Cape Coloured culture, it is considered extremely impolite to be seen with rollers in your hair on the street.
Now this picture had been taken during some foolish playing around and they did not realise that digital cameras automatically upload pictures on the camera roll to a PC when plugged in. This meant they probably were charging their camera in my PC and thus inadvertently sent me a picture of them with rollers in the hair. I immediately made an effort to speak to each of them on the dangers of the digital world, and even more harshly about having anything on film that would make their father blush. Hopefully they have taken this to heart because once you have made those naughty pictures or videos there is unfortunately no way you can “unboil the egg”.
It is thus for me doubly disturbing to see revenge porn become part of the culture of our land of the brave.  First, it is disturbing because this is a gross violation of privacy and shaming of a woman’s sexuality and secondly, because this could happen to me and my family as well. Revenge porn has become a new crime which still needs the legal framework to criminalise it. This can take several years, and in the meantime you can lay charges using existing laws regarding privacy, but they still leave much to be desired – and the pictures will be out there anyway.
So while we wait for consumer protection legislation, data privacy laws and criminalising of revenge porn, here is what you can do to protect yourself from becoming a victim. If you still feel the need to send sexy or nude pictures or even make a sex video, protect yourself by taking the following steps: 1) Keep your face hidden from the camera. The pictures are for special person and they do not need to see your face as they know who it is. Maybe even put on a mask if need be. Remember, if your better half actually does leak your pictures, it will be hard to prove that it was you in the pictures; 2) Use smartphone applications such as Snapchat. These photo-sharing apps allow users to set up a time limit for how long their pictures can be viewed before they are deleted from the receiver’s device and the apps servers. (The time can be set for between 1 to 10 seconds.); and 3) make sure your pictures do not have anything identifying features such as a birthmark, a tattoo, self-made clothes or unique features in your home that will give away your identity.
Smile of the Week
The organisers of Independence Day celebrations for making sure there were tents over all the seating areas of the arena to protect the citizens from the rain.
Frown of the Week
Taxi drivers who are choosy and picky when it is raining. If it was not that I was so happy for the rain, I would boycott you when the sun is shining.

Consumer Protection Law is on the table

(First appeared in New Era 18 March 2015)

Two weeks ago I was contacted by a consumer complaining about a freezer that they purchased a freezer and it is already broken after a few weeks. The customer was very upset as the store wished to come and fix the broken freezer and not replace it. Unfortunately for the client there is no consumer act in place and the store has the right to fix the freezer rather than replace it. The problem for this consumers was the misunderstanding between the term “warranty” and “guarantee”.  Most of us would expect that when we purchase a product, the warranty – or the written guarantee - issued by the manufacturer of a product will include a provision to replace the product within a specified period of time. The problem comes when we do not read the fine print when doing the purchase. In this consumers case the warranty issued by the manufacturer promised to repair or replace it if necessary within a specified period of time. The store was thus correct in first offering to have the freezer repaired and only if that did not fix the problem, will they replace the freezer. Unfortunately the Consumer Court cannot do anything to assist the consumer and she will have to accept that the “new freezer” is now a “fixed freezer”.

The good news is that consumers in Namibia will soon have recourse through a Consumer Protection Bureau that will be established under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In addition, a Consumer Advisory Board will be established with “at least half of the members to be individuals with recognised experience or expertise in advocating for consumers, studying issues related to consumer protection, or with demonstrated commitment to regulation of marketplace activity in the interests of consumers”. The draft law has been shared with consumer advocates, business associations and other regulatory organisations for their inputs at a two day workshop.

The law also goes hand in hand with a National Consumer Policy which has six objectives, namely 1) to create market transactions that strive to obtain a fair balance of power between sellers and consumers; 2) protect vulnerable consumers from marketplace conduct that takes advantage of unsophisticated, less educated or infirm consumers; 3) provide an incentive for honesty and fair dealing by all sellers; 4) promote efficiency and transparency in the Namibian economy and marketplace, thus increasing economic development; 5) ensure accessible, transparent and efficient redress for consumers; and 6) promote consumer participation in decision-making processes concerning the regulation of the marketplace in the interests of consumers. The law is based on “UDAAP”, meaning prohibition against unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices.

By “unfairness”, it refers to when an unfair balance occurs between the rights of the consumer and the rights of the seller. It also will allow for more control of the transaction by the consumer. The “deceptive” refers to sellers who are misleading consumers about the actual price of goods or the actual discount amount, advertising products not intending to be sold as advertised, representing that goods are of a certain origin or brand when they are not, and similar conduct are all considered deceptive sales practices. “Abusive acts or practices” are based on the seller taking unreasonable advantage of a consumers’ ignorance, vulnerability or dependence on the seller.

All these ideas laid out in the policy and draft law are to be welcomed in assisting Namibian consumers to be protected in the marketplace. I just hope that the Ministry and then the Parliament will act in good speed in getting the law into practice.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

(First appeared in New Era 4 March 2015)

This week I must start my column with feedback from last week when I wrote about the chickens supplied by Namibian Poultry Industries. The company contacted me through their marketing company and invited me to visit their business and get more information regarding the processes used in bringing chicken to the market. Unfortunately, I have to travel out of the country for work and will only be able to take up their offer after the 10th of March. But be assured, dear loyal reader, I will write about it once I have visited the facility and bring you a more informed column in this regard.

The past few months I have seen a greater awareness of consumer protection from not only companies but also the government regulators in various sectors. I must congratulate the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) for their speedy reaction to the MTC N$2 data saga as well as their prompt intervention with the NBC and DSTV regarding the digital television switch over. I am not sure what the eventual result will be regarding the digital decoders and the NBC channel on the DSTV decoders, but I certainly hope both companies come to an agreement to ensure that all Namibians have access to the national broadcaster and our own localised news items. On a personal note I must add that I am not an avid television viewer, but since getting married and having a new-born in the house, I too have become a little addicted to watching the little black box.

One of the consumer issues I have been watching the past few weeks is the drop in oil prices and what the impact will be for our pockets. In early January, the forecast was that consumers could expect a breather as the lower oil prices have led to a decrease in petrol prices which should lead to price drops in other sectors of the economy. This was borne out with our local maize supplier announcing that the price of maize meal would drop by a few percentage points in February. This hope was however soon dashed as they announced late last week that the maize price would be going up by 17% due to the present drought conditions in the country. (The price increase will happen in March 2015.)

Looking into the crystal ball I foresee that more and more prices will increase in the short to medium term as the rain forecasts still indicate another year of drought.

I wish to encourage all consumers to get ready for a tough year ahead and you should look at ways that you can reduce your monthly budget items. In our household, we are already investigating more ways to use our waste water for example in our home garden. The wife and I are looking at a small home (box) garden with some of our favourite spices as well as planting onions in recycled plastic bottle containers. These measures will not make a huge impact, but will allow us to still indulge in some of “niceties” we like to buy.

The budget speech in South Africa also indicate we can expect increases in “sin” taxes for alcohol and cigarettes and I am looking forward to hear how our own budget speech will further impact on the pocket of the consumer. Seeing as the drought is almost certain, I predict the government having to subsidise meat and other agricultural products which will see their prices increase steadily over the next twelve months.

I would thus advise all consumer to avoid big debt purchases such as vehicles, furniture, etc. which cause an increase in debt levels - the Bank of Namibia also agrees and has increased the interest rate accordingly.

Savings is the big word in consumer advice for the next few months if we want to still have a big, traditional Christmas holiday we can afford.

A prophet is not honoured in his own country

(First appeared in New Era 11 March 2015)

Today’s column heading comes from the Bible and is referenced in Mathew 13:57 – Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family."

The past week I was fortunate to visit Botswana for work-related activities. During my visit I was fortunate to visit various tourism establishments as well as the major shopping malls around the capital of Gaborone. This was also an opportunity to discuss with colleagues the differences between our two countries, as well as the “areas of quality” which we wish we had from our neighbour. The first topic was of course the cleanliness of our country and especially of Windhoek as the capital. The second, and surprising topic to me, was the respect our neighbours have for the service industry in Namibia. As this is one of the main reasons for this type of Consumer Court column, it was very intriguing to find out how they experience our service industry. The common variable among the compliments was the time it took to receive food at restaurants. In Namibia we tend to get a little bit irrational if our meals are not at our tables within 20 minutes of an order while in certain establishments in Gaborone it sometimes took as much as one hour.

All of us there agreed that we wished there was more Consumer Protection in our countries and we discussed our colleagues in South Africa with quite a bit of envy. It was therefore very gladdening to my heart to receive an envelope with an invitation for the Ministry of Trade and Industry to attend a “Workshop on the Development of a Legal Framework for Consumer Protection in Namibia”

The workshop, which will be attended by key stakeholders, will be setting the “parameters of the legal and policy content for Namibia’s current efforts. The participants will also consider the structure and substance of the Draft Policy and Legislation to ensure coherence between the draft framework and the consumer environment in Namibia.”

Looking through the agenda for the two day workshop, I am glad to see that the Ministry is looking at all aspects proposed by consumer activists of the past nine years. However, when reading the invitation letter I noticed that invitation letter had a BIG mistake in its layout. It seems some administrative error had crept in between the signing of the letter and the photocopies that were prepared for individual participants. The first page was correctly addressed to each participant, but the second page repeated the last two sentences of the previous page. This “copy and paste” exercise will hopefully not be the manner in which we are approaching the consumer protection act.

After all, to quote myself from a column written on 28 February 2013: “…Three years ago, on March 15 2010 (World Consumer Day), the then Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Hage Geingob, promised in a speech read on his behalf that a Consumer Protection Act will be submitted to Parliament within one year. Since then Dr Geingob has moved on to become Prime Minister and is poised to become our next President in 2015. With Consumer Day again being celebrated on March 15 this year, there is however still no sign of the promised Consumer Protection Act (CPA).”
Hopefully this proposed workshop will see us bringing the legislation to light within the foreseeable future.

For your information, consumer organisations have decided to make helping consumers choose healthy diets the theme of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on March 15.

SMILE of the WEEK
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our President, H.E. Pohamba, on being honoured with the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. Not only has he been honoured as a leader abroad, but our own people have to recognised and thank him for his leadership at the helm of our beloved land.

ONION of the WEEK
“I am writing this just to ask if, as I am a consumer, is it correct to pay N$1.00 for a trolley as practiced by Checkers if you are shopping in Checkers?” This is not good customer service and the consumer should show their displeasure by shopping elsewhere.

Fee-fi-fo-fum – I smell the brine of an Englishman

(First appeared in New Era 25 February 2015)

THE column heading is taken from the classic fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. The correct saying is: Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he live, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

In our house, it has become common for us to check the ingredients of the packaged foods we purchase. This is especially important as our baby is breastfeeding and certain foods could cause him an irritation or worse. Believe me, when I say that my wife and I are looking forward to the three-month period when she can once again eat sushi and other “forbidden” foods. The most common forbidden products have been rare or undercooked meats including fish, meat and chicken. The past week, I received a video of slaughtered and de-feathered whole chickens being injected with a solution before freezing and felt I had to investigate further.

I posted the link onto the Namibia Consumer Protection Group on Facebook to get some comments from other consumers. This is the information I received from two contributors:

“It is called brine injection, and it is used mainly on frozen products like fish and chicken and not only to add mass and volume but to extend/improve shelf life as well but this is too extreme as there are certain limitations on how much brine is allowed in a certain product. That chicken is ballooning. The same is done here with our own chickens at NPI but not sure how much percentage is brine!”

“The brining process is done by injecting via multiple needles a brine solution (mild salt solution) of anything between 20 and 25 percent of the actual weight of the chicken before freezing it extremely quickly to prevent this water or brine from escaping the meat. For this, you pay the same price as for the chicken and they then get rich of the weight of the brine solution only because it is of absolute minimal cost… All frozen chicken suppliers do this, even here in Namibia.. It is a rip off for which the consumer must pay!”

I called the telephone number of Namibian Poultry Industries (NPI) and was put through to the Quality Assurance Department. The woman who answered, spoke in Afrikaans and then became very rude when I asked more information about the “brine or water” and the percentage injected in their chickens. She informed me that I was misinformed as it was not brine water, and I should look on their packaging for this information. I explained that my Afrikaans was not that good, but that I was inquiring on whether brine and / or water were injected and what these percentages were. She then put the telephone down and I could hear conversations in the background. After about five minutes the telephone was put down in my ear. Talk about customer service?

My question, in relation to what we as a family are eating, and indirectly what my child is ingesting through breast milk, did not seem to be that much to ask. Obviously, more investigation was needed.

So what is brine? Brine is water strongly impregnated with salt and it can also refer to soaking or preserving in salty water. Soaking your meats (such as lean meat, chicken and turkey) makes the meat juicier and more flavourful.

No customer can complain that ensuring the chicken is juicier and more flavourful is in the benefit of the customer, but is that what the customer is expecting when they purchase the chicken. Surely, with the high prices we pay for chicken we should expect that we are buying chicken and not something that adds flavour – and more importantly decreases the amount of chicken we are buying for our hard-earned dollars?

The end result of this investigation is that my family will be decreasing our intake of “protected Namibian chicken” for the traditional Wambo chicken. Not only is it cheaper on our pocket, but also will decrease the “hidden salt” that we put into our bodies without our knowledge.

And let us be honest, I have now learnt how to brine, and can make a juicier, tastier traditional Wambo chicken than before.
Thank You Namibian Poultries.

A rose by any other name - electronic signatures

(First appeared in New Era 18 February 2015)

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is a reference from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is trying to convince Romeo Montague that it does not matter what his surname is even though her family and his are enemies.

The past weekend it was once again Valentine’s. The day is named after Saint Valentine and little is known other than his name and that he was martyred and buried at a cemetery in the north of Rome on that day. In modern times, it has become a business bonus and extremely commercialised. I even noted a large banking concern had teddy bears and hearts in their expansive foyer as if it was Xmas.

On Valentine’s Day it is tradition to give the one you love a present and also possibly a card with a special message and your signature. Some of us are so unsure about whether our love will be returned that we give a card signed ‘Secret Admirer’.

Your signature is a hand-written (possible stylised) version of your name and is often used to confirm your identity. This unique signature is a very powerful thing. Think about it: It has the power to transfer money from your bank account, to show your undying love on a Valentine card and to vote new laws into place. A signature can turn any piece of paper into a legally binding promise that can be upheld – in other words the bridge connecting a promise made and that the promise is kept.

Presently in Namibia there is no substitute for the original signature on a document. You could fax or email a copy of the document you signed but this will not hold up in a court of law. In plain terms it means that as long as your signature is genuine and the document original, the document is legally binding.

As technology has advanced, it has brought us easier ways for businesses and consumers to communicate and has resulted in most of our documents to shift from snail’s mail (posted letters) to electronic mail (email). In many countries the digital signature is now taking the place of hand-written ones.

In Namibia, we are expecting the government to pass an Electronic Transactions Bill that will catch up to the rest of the world. The Deputy Prime Minister, Libertina Amathila, reported in November 2004 that “… the working committee responsible for putting together the country’s first bill to govern and regulate use of electronic communications and transactions in Namibia says it will soon complete a draft to be presented to Cabinet by year-end.”

Amathila said the legal certainty to be established by such a law is to ensure that one’s rights are protected and that a person can have legal recourse in instances of misuse or criminal intent. The Bill aims to recognise electronic writing, signatures and records which will carry evidential weight, subject to certain conditions, in any legal proceedings.

The law might be ten years in the preparation, but like so many things in the world, Namibia takes long to implement but by the time we do we can learn from the mistakes of others. This leap-frogging means that by the time the Electronic Transactions Bill becomes a law it will include not only the long-awaited electronic signatures but should also clearly spell out what is considered criminal and civilly liable on all forms of social media. (For example cyber bullying, libel or slander as well as extortion and fraud.)

But let us look at what an electronic signature is and what it means for you as a consumer. An electronic signature, or e-signature, is an electronic means that indicates that you accept the contents of an electronic message and more broadly could be used to indicate that you who claim to have written the message is who you claim to be. The most common way to do this is to include your verified electronic signature in all emails and other form of electronic communication.

This will enable all of us, whether consumer, business or government, to easier and faster conclude transactions with one another in a trustworthy manner.

The only danger is that as we make our transactions more dependent on technology, we will have to be even more wary that it is not abused and our identities are not stolen. After all, I want be sure that the gift or card I received on Valentine’s Day is really from my wife. I would really not like to explain the present that I received and thanked my wife for, when it comes from someone else.

Equality does not mean justice

(First appeared in New Era 4 February 2015)

THE birth of our son has brought us a lot of pleasure, but also added to our responsibilities, and worries for what the future will bring. At the same time my father is reaching pensionable age and I have been assisting him in ensuring his financial security. This has meant looking at both the financial services that we must put in place for our children, as well as examining the services that my father had planned. These include how we manage banking, pension funds, savings accounts, medical and hospital cover as well as purchasing larger items like a motor vehicle and a house on credit. All these products and services are meant to ensure that we can sleep more peacefully at night because we have the knowledge and ability to access them.

The question remains though at the back of my head, “What if these services were not available to me?” And the even larger question looms, “What about my fellow consumers who struggle to get the same access to allow them to sleep peacefully at night?”

The issue of access to financial services and products is referred to as “financial inclusion”. This term is often used by the Bank of Namibia, Namfisa, Ministry of Finance and the Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) to encourage the providers of these services to widen the net to allow more “inclusion”.  When looking at financial inclusion, I prefer to define what services consumers are being excluded from so that we can identify what should be addressed. Very often the exclusion of consumers to financial services include: a) insufficient income; b) high risk of non-payment; c) discrimination (on the basis of race, marital status, etc.); d) lack of information – both by the clients and by the service providers; e) weak contract enforcement by the courts; f) product features – use of technical terms for example that are not fully understood; and g) price barriers due to market imperfections.

Thus financial inclusion means minimising or removing financial exclusion arising from market or government failures. Some supporters of financial inclusion want to see a situation where banks do not even charge a fee when a client deposits money for safe-keeping.
However, one of our regular readers who is a financial advisor warns of the expectations that these services should be provided at no cost. “Although technology has advanced so much that we can reduce costs significantly, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Costs will just be claimed somewhere else.”

Financial service providers use the issues mentioned to design their products and services and this (unfortunately) leads to the best services and products being offered to the more well-off clients. The people who need these services are thus being penalised twice – on the availability of the service and the extra high cost they must pay to make use of the service. The financial providers however insist that all clients have equal access to their services.

When all is said and done, peace of mind is essential to all Namibians. We as the consumers, and government and service providers need to take ownership and have justness in solutions for all consumers. After all is said and done, we cannot continue with the belief that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Honour thou Elders that thou days may be long

(First appeared in New Era 28 January 2015)

The past week my father called me from South Africa to come and assist him with his pension pay-outs he has to receive now that he has turned 65. My father was born during the apartheid era (in Walvis Bay) and had completed his schooling in the Cape Province of South Africa. After school and a few years I the private sector, he had chosen the army as a career and was enlisted in the South Africa Coloured Corps. This was his job and not just the normal two years stint (conscription) that was expected of every citizen. He spent several years serving in the army, including doing duty in the northern parts of the then South West Africa.

When I grew of age (being 18), there were many arguments in our house as I was an active member of the student organisations protesting against the South African occupation of Namibia. Having been born in Windhoek, I feel I am a citizen of Namibia even though my father felt he was on the side of the South Africans.

After Independence, it took a few years for the arguments about politics to eventually also accept reconciliation as a reality. For me the turning point was in 2004 when my father was declared disabled and unfit to continue employment. It was at that time that the Bible’s commandment of “Honour thou Mother and thou Father that thou days may be long” really struck me.

At that time in 2004, my father was fighting the banking system that refused to accept his disability and were threatening to auction his house as he was not able pay his mortgage. This despite the fact that he had an insurance policy (taken out by the bank) that was supposed to cover him in the eventuality of death or disability. The bank in question insisted that his disability was a “previous condition” and thus not covered by the policy. After a year-long battle with me at his side, we were able force the bank (yes, we had to force them to meet their obligation) to accept the medical reports of experts and have the insurance policy pay off his mortgage.

This lesson of what businesses do to avoid giving satisfaction to their customers (and thus making more profits) is what led me to becoming the consumer activist I am today.

As consumers we have started to have culture of “consumer social responsibility” towards our elderly as we willingly allow pensioners, pregnant women and people with disabilities to be served first when there are queues.

I would like to see our businesses in Namibia also take this attitude and provide their corporate social responsibility through discounted prices for the elderly, and not only on groceries, but also public transport, electricity, water and telecommunications. Would it not be wonderful if our elderly could receive up to 50% discount on their water and electricity and perhaps even completed amnesty from paying rates and taxes to the local authorities? It would be gladdening to my heart (and, according to the Bible, add years to my life) if the government owned enterprises would also provide a minimum number f credits or products and services to the elderly as a way of honouring for their many years of service to our beautiful, peaceful country? These state-owned enterprises and agencies include MTC, Telecom, Namwater, Nampower and even the local supplier of Coca-Cola, Namibia Beverages to name but a few.

On this topic, would it also not be a sign of a mature country to provide sufficiently for our elderly with a state pension of at least N$ 1,200 per month? If we give this a little thought, perhaps we too can honour our mothers and fathers that our days on earth might be long.

#MTC pay back the money

(This first appeared in the New Era of 14 January 2015)

THERE is a quote I like to use when giving consumers advice, “He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.” This advice is normally given before the festive season to remind others (and my own family) that no matter how tempting the advertisement is of a product, always ask yourself whether the product has any use in your life.

I can show you more than a cupboard full of things that I have bought over the years that I have never used. This advice is of course only usable if you are the one doing the buying – sometimes you receive a gift and you smile and say thank you without knowing whether you will ever use the gift in question. I still have a Bart Simpson tie that I will never wear.

When I became a consumer activist I noticed how consumers are misled through advertising (or the savvier word “promotion”) to purchase something they do not need and then have no recourse to getting their money refunded. This has led to many countries introducing a “cooling-off period” – a period of time during which the consumer may cancel a purchase. In this way the purchase of (especially) expensive items like houses and vehicles can be cancelled if the buyer becomes aware that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. This is also often the case when in the shop and the salesperson convinces you of the product they are selling rather than of the product you need.

Last month I did not buy SuperAweh airtime from MTC as I usually do when at work. My week of special phone call prices had expired but then I received a message from MTC that I was being charged N$2.00 for “future data usage”. I do not need data for my cellular as I have a laptop and unlimited 4G access and I thought this is rather presumptuous. I was rather angry, as “I had just bought what I do not need” and was stealing from myself.

Rather than steal from myself, I activated the SuperAweh package and thought nothing more about it. A week later, MTC sent another SMS informing me that my SuperAweh would expire and I should renew it. However, this expiry happened at midnight of the day indicated and, lo and behold, I found myself stealing another N$2.00 from myself at exactly 2 seconds past midnight.

Upon enquiry on social media I became aware that I was not the only consumer stealing from themselves. The worst case was a company that owned a fleet of cars that were using tracking devices over the cellular network. These devices were installed securely within the vehicles and this was done purposefully to prevent thieves from being able to remove the devices.

This company with a fleet of over 50 trackers now find themselves stealing over a N$100.00 a day for data usage – because MTC has made it the responsibility of the user to opt out of the promotion.

The regulator, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), received numerous consumer complaints during this period and reacted very quickly. In the press release CRAN clearly states that “the mandatory imposition of this promotional tariff and placing an obligation on the consumer to cancel the participation in a promotion, which the consumer has not initially subscribed to, is not in line with the provisions of Section 79 of the Communications Act and can therefore not be supported by CRAN”.

Aha! I was not buying something I did not need, but rather MTC was charging me for a service I did not need.