Consumer Rights are Human Rights

The past week we celebrated the “Old Location Uprising” which coincides with Human Rights on 10 December. On Monday evening there was a discussion on NBC television that was discussing the topic and specifically what was referred to as second and third generation rights. It is important for people to understand these rights and the institutions that are responsible for protection their rights.

Human rights are traditionally divided into two main groups, namely –
• civil and political rights, and
• economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights (also referred to as second and third generation rights).

In Namibia, since Independence, most people can freely exercise and enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms recognised and protected in the Bill of Rights entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia (Chapter3), most of which are civil and political rights. But how many people enjoy or even are aware of their Economic, Social and Consumer rights? ESC rights play an important role in people’s standard of living and should play a greater role in improving people’s opportunities in life.

A literal interpretation of the Constitution would thus let us understand that some, but not all, consumer protection issues are considered rights.

John Nakuta, in his paper, “The justiciability of social, economic and cultural rights in Namibia and the role of the nongovernmental organisations”, argues that ESC rights can be enforced both directly under the Namibian Constitution through Article 144 of the Constitution, which reads as follows:
Unless otherwise provided for by this Constitution or Act of Parliament, the general rules of public international law and international agreements binding upon Namibia under this Constitution shall form part of the law of Namibia.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was ratified by the Namibian Parliament and came into force on 28 February 1995. These internationally recognised rights are:
• The right to work;
• the right to fair conditions of employment;
• the right to form and join trade unions;
• the right to social security;
• the right to protection of the family;
• the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food, clothing, and housing;
• the right to health;
• the right to education; and
• the right to culture.

This means that civil and political rights as well as ESC rights have to be treated in an equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.

The Namibian government as a party to the Covenant, is obliged to take steps to achieve the fulfilment of all the ESC rights recognised and protected under the Covenant. These steps include the adoption of legislation that allows for citizens to have these rights enforced.

Office of the Ombudsman as Consumer protector

One of the institutions created to protect the rights of people in Namibia is the Office of the Ombudsman. According to Wikipedia, an ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between either the state or an organization, and some internal or external constituency, while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests.  It comes from the Old Norse word umboðsmaðr, essentially meaning "representative".  In modern language the ombudsman is an official appointed by the government or parliament with a significant degree of independence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individuals.

In the case of Namibia, the Ombudsman is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission and the function of the Ombudsman is defined under Chapter of the Constitution. In brief, the Ombudsman has the duty to investigate complaints against government institutions or employees; the protection of our living resources and violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Of particular interest for the Namibian consumer is Article 91 (d) that states:
“The Ombudsman functions shall include the following… the duty to investigate complaints concerning practices and actions by persons, enterprises and other private institutions where such complaints allege that violations of fundamental rights and freedoms under this
Constitution have taken place.”

Already the Office of the Ombudsman investigates a variety of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. These have included issues around unfair dismissal, remunerations and salaries, and pension funds. These are all issues of a socio-economic nature, indicating the important role the Ombudsman plays in protecting and enforcing socio-economic rights in Namibia.

Any person in Namibia has the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman, including a problem in respects of consumer protection. I would like to encourage any consumer that has an issue of consumer protection to apply for them to investigate the issue.

My hope is that with the support of the Ombudsman we will be able to speed the process of enacting a law on Consumer Protection.

Competitions of luck not so lucky

(Consumer Column - Namibian Newspaper - 6 December 2012)

I would love to win a car for Xmas, or even just a shopping hamper. It’s that time of the year when each of us hopes and desires are higher than normal. We not only want more money for ourselves, but also that we can buy things for people we care about. Companies understand this of course and are busy doing everything to tempt us to think only of today, not the January we all know is around the corner.

As a consumer we understand that our relationship with business is one of mutual benefit. Nevertheless, we also expect our government to create laws that will not leave us powerless when we want compensation when things go wrong, or at least laws that will prevent outright abuse of us as the people of the country.

As a consumer advocate, and someone who cannot see injustice without at least writing about it, I am worried when the government does not do its job.

Before Independence there were laws governing lotteries, raffle tickets and other games of luck. When it was decided that Namibia would legalise gambling this law had to be revised and updated. Unfortunately, the lawmakers concentrated on casinos and gambling houses and forgot about other games of skill. This has left a loophole which is being abused.

To give an example: You and I can come together and decide to hold a raffle with a car as the prize. We will print tickets and even get a car to be shown at one of the car dealers. Our aim will be to sell tickets to raise N$ 400 000 and the car will be valued at N$ 200 000. Till thus far it sounds like something each of us have participated in the hope of winning. However, once we have collected the money I will ensure you (as my partner) will win the car. I will keep the money we collect and you win the car. This is a really good business idea for you and me, but what about the other people who all bought a ticket? I am sure they would not buy a ticket if they knew they would not win.

Or what about selling scratch cards that promise you cash if you get a certain number of pictures that match? Would you buy a scratch card if you knew that not a single card that was printed actually has a winning combination?
Or how about a competition that you enter by sending an SMS where the promoters promises that the first person to send an SMS is going to win? Surely they would not continue charging people who send in an SMS after the prize has been won?

You as a consumer would think that you are protected against this kind of business venture, right? Wrong. I had the opportunity to discuss the new gambling bill that is being discussed around the country and found out that the present law does not cover this kind of business activity. If you participate in these games of luck (and sometimes the business even suggests it is a game of skill), you have no place to complain. The promoters might be acting unethically, but they are not acting illegally.


The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is in the process of speaking to stakeholders and they need complete this as soon as possible and get this legislation to parliament to make sure that we as the citizens are protected.
So next time you give your hard earned money in the hope you win something, think carefully about whether you actually know you stand a chance of winning in a fair manner.

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’.