A Consumer Christmas Wish List

During the Xmas period it is considered part of the festive season to give and receive presents. I remember as a young boy writing a letter to Father Xmas and asking for the gifts(s) I hoped to find under the tree. Many times I was disappointed and had to do with small gift and more often than not, practical things like socks or other clothing articles were part of my “presents”.

For this Xmas season I have made a wish list of things I would like to see for the Namibian consumer.

Friendly Customer Service

Many employees in government and private business are not aware of the saying, (or simply ignore it), “The customer is king”. While it is understandable that the salaries are never enough and personal problems are worrying you, please make an effort to greet your customer and provide the most helpful service you can. Not only will you make me happier, but it will also lead to me doing more business with your company – which will lead to more profit and hopefully better salaries.

More affordable banking choices
Banks provide an important service. If you as a consumer wish to grow, you need the credit provided by the bank. My wish is that banks work at innovative ways to make the services more affordable.

Buying “Made in Namibia”

Buying products made in Namibia or preferring to use services provided by local companies’ means more profits for local owners who will create more jobs and these consumers in turn buy more in an ever increasing cycle of growth. Buying local is not only good for you; it’s good for all of us.

Understandable Pricing

The prices on products in the shops are often difficult to compare. The same product is packed in different sizes and makes comparison difficult. I would like to see the shops provide the price of all products broken down into the price per kilogram, litre or some other unit that will allow me to make comparisons between products of different sizes.

Consumer Law

The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Justice, Namibian Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) and the Namibian Competition Commission have made presentations on consumer protection frameworks during the past few years. I wish for a comprehensive legal draft on consumer protection to be tabled in Parliament (soon).

Affordable Housing for all

The demand for housing is not being met by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) or the assistance programmes created by local authorities. Preventing foreigners from buying properties in urban areas is not going to greatly influence the prices or provide more erven for first time buyers. I wish for better town planning which will purposefully create mixed economy housing. By this I mean having lower income housing areas close to (and between) high income housing. For example affordable housing areas on the east side of Windhoek close to Klein Windhoek, Avis and Ludwigsdorp. This will not bring down the cost of housing in these areas, but will certainly bring down the cost of transport and other costs for the workers who have to work in these areas if they live closer.

Away with January Blues

Of all my wishes, this is the one where you have to be good consumer to get your gift. No matter what the temptation is, do not spend more than you can afford. Save some money and remember that after Xmas there are many bargains to be had for cheaper when consumers are no longer “in the spirit of buying”. If you can spend according to your budget you will have money left in January.

Lastly, I wish for all consumers to remember some good advice given to me by my grandfather, “Never buy food, clothes or petrol on credit. Never use now and pay later. You will not appreciate what you bought if it is old when you have to pay for it.”

What is the information you need when taking a bank loan?

Before you take a loan (or other financial product) you have the right to receive all the necessary information that will allow you to make an informed financial decision.
If you are taking a loan, you should know the answers to the following questions before agreeing to the loan.

• What is the size of the loan amount you are borrowing?
• What is the loan term? This is how long it is going to take to repay the loan.
• What is the interest rate? This is the percentage of the total loan amount charged for using the loan amount. It is normally charged on a monthly basis.
• What are the fees on this loan? These are normally once-off payments or administrative costs such as a loan processing fee.
• Do I have to take out insurance with this loan? If you take out loan insurance it will pay back your loan if something bad happens to you. This will protect your family and guarantee the bank gets its money back.
• How much is the loan payment? This is the amount of money you have to pay at regular intervals to repay the loan.
• What is the repayment schedule? This is the frequency with which you need to pay. Normally a bank loan is repaid on a monthly basis.
• Do I need collateral? This is a guarantee in the form of assets such as property that the lender can take if you fail to pay the loan.
• What happens if I pay late? If you do not repay on or before the dates agreed, the bank may charge a penalty. It can be that penalties in the form of a fee or increased interest charges are added to your payment for each day you are late. 
• What are the consequences of default? If you should stop repaying the loan completely, the bank will take your collateral and will register you with the credit bureau.

Remember, the relationship with your bank is a life time one. The longer the bank knows you, (and the more your bank gets to trust you because you keep your commitments), the easier it becomes to get preferred rates and charges that will provide you with even cheaper credit.

History of credit in Namibia

Credit is a word with various meanings. These include praise, recognition or acknowledgement and that is why the list of names at the end of a movie is called credits. It can also refer to reputation or character, but most often we use it to refer to a product or service that is provided now and paid for in the future.
Most of us use credit to purchase a house, a car, clothes and sometimes even groceries. If we take on too much credit, we find it difficult to get out of the cycle of indebtedness. In Namibia, indebtedness has become one of our biggest problems and needs to be tackled sooner rather than later.

In this week’s column, I investigate the history of credit in Namibia under German colonial rule and see if we can learn any lessons from the past.

The credit system evolved in the early 1840s and started to destroy the economic structures of many Namibian communities. It is recorded in the history books that around this time Jonker Afrikaner incurred heavy debts with the trader Morris. It is speculated that Jonker’s raids on the Ovambanderu in 1846 was a direct response from Morris on him to pay his debts.

By the late 1890s, the German Administration had realised the extent of the problem and the administration decreed that “no person could be sued for credit”. Pressure from the business community forced the administration to suspend the regulation on 22 February 1899.

Increases in trading activity also brought problems for Samuel Maharero. The traders expected his help in collecting their debts and held him personally responsible if debts were not paid. These rising debts led to the “sale” of land, and traders such as Gustav Voigts, Fritz Wecke, Ludwig Conradt and John William Wallace of Okombahe were paid in this way. It is recorded that the missionaries Diehl and Viehe sharply attacked Samuel Maharero for “selling” the Okakango locale, north of Okahandja, to settle his debts.

This made it necessary for the District Chief of Okahandja, Zürn to relieve the pressure on Samuel Maharero by declaring that “while Samuel himself still has unpaid debts, he could not accept responsibility for the debts of others”.

This increase in trading activities on credit (and the method of debt collection) drew attention to the more serious problem of the “land issue”, which conflicts with the notion of a “settler colony”.

By 1903, a Credit Commission appointed by the German Government to study the problem of credit and look into how indigenous people should settle their debts to the traders completes its recommendations. Theodor Leutwein, (the “Kaiserlicher Landeshauptmann” or Governor) issued a proclamation in July 1903 that enacted the long awaited credit regulations. The credit regulations outlawed the sale of “tribal” (communal) land to curb abuses. Recognising that the regulations would restrict their ability to collect debts, the traders used even harsher methods to collect outstanding debts before the regulations came into law.
In early 1904, just before the Ovaherero uprising, Gustav Sonnenberg held discussions with Chief David Kambazembi on the growing indebtedness of the Ovaherero. The uprising had several causes including the loss of control and ownership of traditional land, moneylending by traders, increasing debts, cases of rape, the sale of alcohol, and threats to Samuel Maharero’s life.

In history we can see that the business and financial practices under colonial rule led to the people of the country becoming disqualified from the economic opportunities of their own country. Our modern struggle for Independence will only be complete when the business and financial practices become a qualifying force to enable Namibians to participate in the economic opportunities of the ‘Land of the Brave’.

Growing trend of mobile phone spam in Namibia

A consumer recently sent a copy of an SMS that offered the consumer a chance to make money from filling in forms and directed them to a website. The email reads:
“Earn Extra income. Get paid up to N$3 750 per form. No computer needed. Very profitable. Visit www.mynamcash.com to get started.”  The short message was sent from the short service number 5001.
Once a consumer uses the website link, (which sounded Namibian) they were redirected to a website in South Africa. In addition, the page created a pop-up window which offered a free computer programme download. This is a typical example of spam being used to get more of your personal details which the website owners can sell to other spammers and they use your network of contacts to further spread their message.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to make money. These types of messages are mobile phone messaging spam that is aimed at getting you interested in something for nothing before making your money disappear.

What is SPAM?

SPAM stands for Salted Pork and Meat (or as we know it in Namibia – bully beef), and is now commonly used to refer to uninvited messages or advertising sent out in bulk. While the most widely recognised form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging 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 networking spam, social spam, television advertising and file sharing network spam.

The aim of the SPAM is to get you — the consumer — to react to the information message and then be drawn into making a purchase, giving your personal information or even becoming involved in an attempt to defraud you of your money.

How do I stop SMS spam?

The cellular providers in Namibia do not have a regulatory body as yet. In South Africa commercial SMS messaging is regulated by the industry organisation WASPA (Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association). Membership of WASPA was made mandatory in 2005 by the mobile operators and TV stations for any company doing value added services in South Africa. They also provide a list of approved SMS providers and allow consumers to complain via their website or telephonically.

The Namibian cellphone companies allow businesses to send SMS messages to users using the short service number (for example 727 or 5001). Businesses using this service can determine how much they wish to charge if a consumer uses this number to send in a reply. The cellphone companies charge the costs of a normal SMS, and a further 50 percent of the costs being charged to the consumer. When a company wishes to rent a short service number they are informed that they should get permission from the consumer to send to their number, but no official procedure seems to be in place to manage consumer complaints.
As a consumer it is your responsibility to protect your cell phone number by being careful who gets your number. One of the biggest sources of SMS spam is number gathering carried out by Internet sites offering “free” ring tone downloads. In order to simplify the download, users must provide their phones’ numbers. This information is then used to send frequent advertising messages to the phone.

It must be noted that companies can collect your number to send you messages you might want to receive, for example your account payment reminders or promotional offers. You should check whether they keep your information private and do not share it with other businesses.

Another consumer scam

While investigating this issue, the cellphone companies wished to remind consumers to be careful when answering missed calls or CallMe requests from a number you do not recognise. Some consumers have been fooled into phoning back and the party answering has transferred their call or some other trick to keep them on the line. When the consumer gets their account, they find this was a premium number and they have been charged a lot of money for this call back.

Namibian Telephone Numbering Plan

Your telephone number belongs to you. This is a basic accepted principle by any consumer. After all, who would dial your number unless they wanted to speak to you?

It should therefore mean that you can keep your number even if you change your provider from Leo to MTC or even from a mobile company like MTC to your home telephone. The idea that your number belongs to you is called number portability and the method of implementing this is through a National Telephone Numbering Plan.

As a consumer, you have an attachment to your number. After all, you give out on your CV, to your friends and family and to creditors. If you change your telephone service provider, you will have to face the inconvenience of learning the new number, changing your documents and making sure everyone knows your new number. This inconvenience has a financial cost and could be important in forcing you to stay with your service provider, even if you are unhappy with the service, or can get a better deal from another provider.
Being able to change your provider without changing your number gives you, as the consumer, the power and the right to choose the telephone service provider that makes you happy with it price, service and products.

Since 2002, most countries around the world have opened their telecommunications markets to competition (that include a national numbering plan), which has accelerated the deployment of telecommunications services more quickly and cost-effectively than past monopolies have achieved. For example, the European Union (EU) Universal Service and Users’ Rights Directive (2002/22/EC), Article 30 — effective since July 2003 — imposes on all EU member states the following obligations:
“Member states shall ensure that all subscribers of publicly available telephone services, including mobile services, who so request can retain their number(s) independently of the undertaking providing the service:
• In the case of geographic numbers, at a specific location; and
• In the case of non-geographic numbers, at any location.”

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) is mandated to establishing a numbering plan and to require mobile number portability by 2013. According to a recent advertisement, Cran is looking for sufficient information to justify the implementation of number portability taking into account consumer needs, ensuring fair competition in the market and economic feasibility.

Cran will have to establish a numbering policy that provides a legal, legislative, and regulatory basis for competition. Then Cran must decide on numbering and dialing schemes, services, technologies, and billing and tariff methods that support its chosen numbering policy. Lastly, it must also establish a fair, neutral office for numbering administration.

From discussions with Cran and industry representatives, it is obvious that certain telephone providers would prefer not to have a numbering plan implemented. The argument being put forward is that the plan has not worked well in some countries because of the costs involved, the implementing agency not being technically capable, etc.

It is understandable that Cran should look at the costs or other issues involved for the providers as they will put these costs on to us as the end user. However, the power granted to the consumer to change providers will force cheaper prices and a better service which is the ultimate reason for the establishment of regulatory authorities that need to “take into account consumer needs”.

As consumers, we often do not have the regulations or protection we need because we lack an adequately funded organisation that will look after our needs and address issues such as the national numbering plan to ensure that government and its regulatory authorities such as Cran, Electricity Control Board, etc do “take into account consumer needs”.

This needs to change.