Why is the consumer protection law taking so long to implement in Namibia?

Namibians discuss the Competition Act
The Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) held a consumer awareness week in the capital from 24 to 27 September 2012. The week centred around two issues, namely the competitiveness of Namibia and the need for a consumer protection law. The participants included ministries, government institutions, non-government organisations, the media and members of the public.

In the one-day workshop entitled consumer protection, an absolute necessity in Namibia, various aspects of a consumer protection law for Namibia were discussed. The conclusion of the workshop was that everyone agreed a law is necessary and everyone agrees with what should be included.

So what has been the delay in tabling a bill to Parliament?
The Ministry of Trade Industry's Consumer Protection Division had to decide where Consumer Protection should be housed. In other words, should it stay in the Ministry, be a new Commission or be a division of the NaCC.

THAT's Right! The only decision that needs to be made is by whom should the law be regulated.

The Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) made it clear that this is not sufficient reason to delay the law and fully supports the proposal that the competition law should be a division of the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC).

For your information, the rest of the article covers what is consumer protection, and what are your rights as a consumer.

What is consumer protection?
Consumer protection consists of various laws and institutions that are designed to:

1. Ensure the rights of consumers
2. Ensure fair trade competition
3. Provide free flow of information in the marketplace

These laws are designed to prevent businesses that are out to defraud consumers, or prevent businesses taking advantages over their competitors (to the disadvantage of consumers) and should also provide protection for those consumers that are disadvantaged or unable to take care of themselves.

Consumer Protection Laws are thus a form of government regulation which aim to protect the rights of people who spend their money in buying goods and services. For example, the laws may require businesses to provide money-back guarantees or not allow false advertising.

Consumer protection is very closely linked to the idea of "consumer rights" (see the consumer charter later) and to the formation of consumer organisations which can help consumers make better choices or get help with consumer complaints.

Consumer protection laws in some countries deal with a wide range of issues including credit repair, debt repair, product safety, service and sales contracts, bill collector regulation, pricing, utility turnoffs, consolidation, personal loans that may lead to bankruptcy.


What are your consumer rights?
The consumer organisations, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as all the government institutions agree on the following rights of Namibians consumers:

• The right to basic goods and services which guarantee survival.  This includes Food,Water, Electricity, Telephone and Internet access.
• The right to be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of services that are hazardous to health and life. 
• The right to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising or labelling. 
• The right to choose products and services at competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality. 
• The right to express consumer interests in the making and execution of government policy.
• The right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services. 
• The right to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be an informed consumer. 
• The right to live and work in an environment which is neither threatening nor dangerous and which permits a life of dignity and well-being.

Creating an Information Bank for Namibian consumers

My name is Milton Louw and I am a social entrepreneur that has been developing a central register of data for Namibia since 1993. As a student of computer science and statistics I was interested in developing an economic modeling system to assist my country through the first years after Independence in 1990. At present, this personal data register includes over 1 million records, or over half the population. This comes from public information such as electoral rolls, land registers, etc. and is freely available.

In 1999, I started a partnership with Creditreform Düsseldorf Frormann KG to develop a proposal for an integrated central register of personal and business data that would assist Government and the financial services industry provide better services to the people and businesses. The collection of data has continued over the 12 year period and we have met with various government officials to explain the benefits. However, the understanding of how to implement the technology has been lacking. (The business register has been our main focus and consists of over 11,000 businesses.)

Since 2010, I have read with interest the work the World Economic Forum (WEF), has been doing in regards of personal data and its impact in the world today. The WEF, has started discussing personal data as a new asset class and in its most recent report: “Rethinking Personal Data: Strengthening Trust” they suggest four main steps to be taken, namely:

1. Engage in a structured, robust dialogue to restore trust in the personal data ecosystem. The debate needs to focus on achieving consensus on some of the key tensions, including securing and protecting data, developing accountability systems, and agreeing on rules for the trusted and permissioned flow of data for different contexts. Central to this dialogue is the inclusion of individuals, who play an increasingly important role as both data subjects and as data creators.
2. Develop and agree on principles to encourage the trusted flow of personal data. The simple slogan of “think globally, act locally” can help frame these principles (i.e. shared principles can help all the actors aim towards the same outcomes, even if their approaches for how to get there differ).
3. Develop new models of governance for collective action. Regulators, organizations and individuals can play complementary roles in establishing accountability systems, enforcement mechanisms, rights and permissions.
4. Establish “living labs”. Given the complex social, commercial, technical and regulatory uncertainties and interdependencies, an environment which can provide stakeholders with the ability to test and learn in real time (and at scale) needs to be established. These labs can provide a safe context for more fully understanding the system dynamics and collectively identifying shared opportunities, risks and the means for effective collaboration.

I would like to offer my databases and experiences in Namibia to a research organisation or team, to use in establishing a “living lab” on a country-wide scale.

http://milton-louw.blogspot.com/2012/05/lets-put-namibia-on-forefront-of.html

Can entrepreneurship be taught?

Permission to reprint from Anthony Farr

For decades, entrepreneurship has been viewed as something risky and mysterious that only a few lucky mavericks could master. This perception has been fuelled by a public reverence for successful individuals, who seem to have had no formal training to which their entrepreneurial success could be attributed. Some educational institutions have also shunned or quashed entrepreneurship as a non-discipline, something unteachable and incongruous with traditional discipline-based courses.

Whilst the significance of entrepreneurship for a country’s economy is rarely disputed, the much-debated question is whether entrepreneurship is an elusive and exclusive “talent” that is inherent in some, or whether it can be taught and therefore extended to a wider segment of the population who will contribute to the growth of its economy. But I believe that entrepreneurship can be taught and that it is a process that begins with rethinking its definition.

Redefining entrepreneurship

“Our perception of entrepreneurship has to echo that of innovation and entrepreneurship” writes author, Peter Drucker, in his assertion that entrepreneurship is not magic; it’s not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. “It is a discipline and like any discipline, it can be learned.” The first step is to realise that entrepreneurship is much more than starting a business. It is an innovation and opportunity driven attitude and mindset that is applicable across all areas of activity.

It therefore cannot be oversimplified or categorised as a subject to be done. The application of this understanding is especially crucial when it comes to instilling an entrepreneurial ethos at school level.

The role of educators

Education, its methodologies and content, life orientation tasks, camps, projects, role models etc, should activate an awareness of opportunities and be holistic. They have to be built into every school activity and not planned as another subject on the curriculum.

In this information age, schools should create endless opportunities for activating information through developing children’s ability to have insights which are then converted into permanent habits.

The role of curriculum designers and teachers cannot be stressed enough: Curriculum designers should be paying attention to cultivating, encouraging, and activating the mindsets that are required as prerequisites for business start-up, whilst teachers should develop cross-cutting methodologies that are used in all subjects that then become the creative vehicles for developing entrepreneurial attitudes.

This way, by the time pupils leave school they are prepared to participate entrepreneurially in anything they do. However, this is not an education that remains in the classroom. Parents would be well advised to look for opportunities to foster creativity and new projects with their children.

The role of government

According to Kristie Seawright, Executive director of the Global Economic Monitor, in order for entrepreneurship training to be productive in low-income countries, it needs to be complimented by beneficial government policies, infrastructure, and other basic requirements.

The first stage of instilling entrepreneurship as a culture is by rewarding it socially and financially by society. Whilst the social reward comes from each and everyone one of us celebrating and encouraging entrepreneurial individuals, the financial reward is primarily the government’s responsibility.

In many ways government controls the balance of a country’s risk reward equation, which is a key component in incentivising entrepreneurial activity. A key first action that government must take is to de-stigmatise financial failure. Bankruptcy related laws need to be amended to ensure that one business failure does not mean the end of a person’s career, but rather becomes a learning opportunity for future entrepreneurial success.

Yet there are two sides to this equation and government would be well advised to leverage the rewards on offer for entrepreneurial endeavour – a quick win would be by means of greater taxation concessions for start-up companies.

It is crucial for a developing country such as ours to stimulate and embrace an entrepreneurial spirit to achieve the much-required economic transformation and a stronger presence in the global economy.

There are no lucky individuals who magically acquire entrepreneurial success, just as there are no predictable traits that will give them a competitive entrepreneurial edge. There is no consistent profile of an entrepreneurial individual. Some are extroverted, others the opposite. The only common thread found across entrepreneurs is a deep desire for achievement and a discontent with the current status of a particular context.

In much the same way that a consistent proportion of the population across different countries excels at mathematics, it is likely that a similar proportion of the population are entrepreneurs. It is believed that this proportion is approximately 20%. In South Africa the actual level of entrepeneurship currently sits at 5% which leaves us with a deficit of 15%.

We need to understand why this deficit exists and attempt to unleash the latent entrepreneurial activity that should exist within that 15% .

These individuals do not need to be taught entrepreneurship as much as opened up to the possibility and then to be encouraged to exercise their natural ability in this area.

This does not exclude the remaining 80% of the population group where the question of nurture vs nature and whether entrepreneurship can be taught becomes even more amplified.

Not everyone can be an entrepreneur; however, it is imperative that the skills and attitudes of an entrepreneurial mindset are adopted more widely in response to the increased rate of change in society.

Inheritance Tracing Agency

Inheritance Tracing Agency is a wholly owned Namibian Company, managed and operated by Namibians. Established in 2010, ITA specializes in finding beneficiaries and unknown heirs as well as the re-unification of assets, by providing pro-active search services to individuals, companies and the legal entities in Namibia

According to the founder Andreas Hamutenya, The Company’s services promote consumer education and serves as a consumer protector. Clients can buy these financial products and services without hesitation knowing that they will actually benefit from such products in events of re-location or even death. Financial institutions are also benefiting in terms of administration costs reduction as these institutions won’t be dealing with the issue of making follow ups on where-about of untraceable clients. By seeking out sources of misplaced assets in situations where heirs can not be identified or located, the company boosts awareness, confidence and trust among the general public with regard to financial products and services, and hence creating, enhancing and developing the Namibian financial sector and the whole economy at large. 

ITA also helps Insurance companies trace clients who have stopped paying their premiums without any notifications. On successful trace, such clients are notified or reminded of their insurance policies and help bring them on board again. This will help insurance companies minimize lapses, and also increase revenue as more money will be flowing in from these traced clients. Taking proactive steps, demonstrates a commitment to corporate governance and social responsibility, reinforcing customer perceptions of financial institutions’ brands, says Andreas.

In Namibian, it’s estimated that millions of Dollars in life insurance and other types of financial payouts goes unclaimed each year due to lost or unknown policies. Insurance companies may not even be aware of members’ deaths, and find it difficult to track down beneficiaries.  In response to this problem of unclaimed benefits, the company has launched a registry database where members of the public can register the names of financial institutions that have their financial assets. The main aim of the database is to ensure that members’ efforts to secure their families’ futures don’t go to waste. This provides members and their beneficiaries’ peace of mind, ensuring that members’ financial legacies are not lost due to simple human error, passage of time, re locations, buyouts, natural disaster, or lack of communication. Your life insurance company, bank or pension fund administrator’s name will always be located somewhere for your designated beneficiaries to find it.

 

The database will allow registering categories of accounts such as life insurance, safe deposit boxes, annuities, investment/bank accounts or even simply stating the lawyer holding onto their WILLS, or people appointed as their EXECUTORS/ESTATE ADMINISTRATORS, or just any inheritable assets on the database. Members’ information will be protected with physical and digital safeguards similar to those employed by banks to secure online banking transactions.

Member information is further secured by the fact that ITA does not ask for bank account numbers or insurance policy numbers, bank balances/values or types of investments or policies. With only a name of the clients' financial institution, a thief cannot penetrate these two institutions without proper identification. In other words, any information to be gained by breaching ITA security measures would be useless for purposes of identity theft or other types of theft or fraud.  Further information SMS ‘’info’’ to 95559 or email: info@ita.com.na visit www.ita.com.na Telephone (061) 225186.

I will put you in your place

Don't ever mistake 

my silence for ignorance,

my calmness for acceptance

or my kindness for weakness

Had an opportunity to realise again that some people take my kindness for weakness.

Just because I am always taking life as fun, does not mean I do not have serious side. When I say NO, it means NO, even when I say it with a smile.

I had to learn that people only say and do what I allow them to. I might not walk around looking angry all the time, but I will put you in your place when I feel disrespected - and I will do it with a smile.