I Love My Fatherland

When I started writing this book in 2009, it began as a way of collecting my various commentaries on diverse subjects within Namibia. As I started putting them together, a theme started emerging and I remembered back to the first day of Independence in 1990 when I raised the Namibia flag for the first time over our capital Windhoek. I swore to myself that day: that I would do everything from my side to make this the best country to live in. This has led me to look at what is the Oath of Allegiance for Namibia. The only one I have found is the one prescribed for foreign nationals wishing to become Namibians in the Namibian Citizenship Act.

Thus I have formulated my own:

I…………, ID Number …….., presently residing ……… in the……… District of the …… Region, do hereby declare on oath that I will be faithful to the Republic of Namibia, observe its laws, promote all that which will advance it and oppose all that may harm it.

So Help Me God.

The singing of the National Anthem and the above oath has given me a lot of strength each morning as I prepared this second edition, and I hope I will continue to sing the anthem in the morning and re-affirm my oath as often as is necessary.

I noted that in this process I sing to my motherland, but have no mention of fatherland. As a matter of biology, this is my fathers-land and South Africa is my mothers-land.

This got me thinking: I should sing to my motherland and work for a better fatherland. It has always been part of our human culture that a father has been out to work, while the mother works at home. Perhaps in Namibia, we have become a motherland and our people have forgotten we have a fatherland and that father expects you to work.

Namibia our Fatherland, we must have the right to work. Our fathers must be able to provide for their children. Our children must know that there is an aim for their efforts at school: It is to get a meaningful work that will contribute to the well-being of Namibia and all who reside in it.

I want this in our Constitution, and while we are at it, there are a couple more things….

Storage Space:

Namibians are Miserable

The Namibian - 7 March 2013

What does it mean to be miserable? The dictionary defines miserable as “causing extreme discomfort or unhappiness for example in a miserable situation”.  This past week Namibia was ranked as the 7^th most Miserable Country in the World. This rating is based upon the misery index, a crude economic measure created by Arthur Orkum, that sums up a country's unemployment and inflation rates to assess conditions on the ground (the higher the number, the more miserable a country is). The reasoning: most citizens understand the pain of a high jobless rate and the soaring price of goods.

Our Misery index score is 57, based upon our Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) of 5.8% per year and our unemployment rate of 51.2%. The findings further state that Namibia is “heavily dependent of the its mineral resources, Namibia exports a lot of diamonds, uranium, and gold. However, the mining sector employs only 3 per cent of the country's labour force. Since there isn't much else going on, almost half of Namibia's workers are without jobs. Income inequality is absurd here—even though the country boasts a high GDP per capita, Namibia has the highest GINI coefficients: 70.7%.”

When I first saw this article my national pride immediately made me rubbish the story. My reaction was, “how can westerners call us miserable?”. I also prepared all the arguments about statistics being flawed etc., before calming myself down.

I then resorted to understanding what the author was writing. Yes, it’s true that our consumer prices are increasing above our salary increases and yes, our unemployment is reaching alarming rates. This means to me that if I am working, I am able to afford less and less each year, and I must support my extended family who are not finding employment.  A miserable situation indeed.

This must be a wake-up call to Namibia. Whenever we lose rankings in competitiveness or business confidence, the NCCI and business person are quick to point out that they are finding it harder to make a profit and government must be careful. However, when the Misery Index is discussed, nobody discusses the issues creating our ranking, but rather point fingers at the way the index was created.

This index has focussed on where our misery stems from namely employment problems (too few jobs paying too little) and our consumer prices that are going higher and higher.

Please note, I wrote Namibians are Miserable – not “Namibia is a miserable place to stay”.

BTW: The Gini coefficient is a number between 0 and 1, where 0 corresponds with perfect equality (where everyone has the same income) and 1 corresponds with perfect inequality (where one person has all the income—and everyone else has zero income). Here Namibia tops the list at number 1 (in the world) with a GINI coefficient of 70.7 . We top the list of income inequality and that is a fact we cannot argue against.

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A few weeks ago I wrote about price labelling and the need to have prices shown on the shelf that are measured in understandable units such as litres and kilograms. During the past week I was fortunate to travel around the country taking tourists to places such as Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Okahandja. While visiting the towns I took the opportunity to visit the most common shopping places. I noticed with some joy that there are a few shops who already label their products for the convenience of the consumer. I must commend Shoprite on having almost all their products labelled with the unit price clearly indicated, while Pick & Pay has around half of their products labelled – it is perhaps just laziness at the IT department to fill in all the fields correctly in their central system as the labels already have place to indicate the unit price?

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When I receive exceptional service I must share it with you the reader. Last week I had to purchase baby milk formula no. 2 and there was none available in Usakos or Karibib. When I inquired at the OK in Karibib, the owner came to assist me. Upon finding there was none of the no. 2, he offered that I take the no. 3 formula and return it (even if we used a little bit over the weekend) for the right formula on Monday when the order was to be delivered. Thank you. I appreciate your efforts.

Hage Geingob must keep his promises

The Namibian - 28 Feb 2013

It is not the minerals of Namibia on the south west coast of Africa that makes the country special. No. It is the tolerance of its people. After more than a century of colonial rule and racial segregation it is a role model of cultural assimilation while maintaining multiculturalism. This interculturalism appreciates the qualities of our various cultures, within a framework of universal human rights. The intercultural social contract practised in Namibia expects us to give authority to not only political and civil rights, but also to give a legal framework for the economic, social and cultural rights of all our people.

To paraphrase Julius Nyerere, we have to “face the basic fact that human values can only be measured in regard to individual human beings. The Government is properly instituted among men not to secure the material or cultural advantages of a few, but to promote the rights and welfare of the many.”

Three years ago, on 15 March 2010 (World Consumer Day), the then Minister of Trade and Industry, Honourable 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 the Right Honourable Prime Minister and is poised to become our next President in 2015. With Consumer Day again being celebrated on 15 March this year, there is however still no sign of the promised Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

This year, the theme of World Consumer Day is “Consumer Justice Now”. As Namibians we must push for our legislature to put in place a CPA as soon as possible as good consumer protection is not only about legislation, but it can also deliver justice, create a fairer society and even save lives. The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP) act as an international reference point of the consumer movement and can be understood to be

·         the right to the satisfaction of basic needs

·         the right to safety

·         the right to be informed

·         the right to choose

·         the right to be heard

·         the right to redress

·         the right to consumer education

·         the right to a healthy environment.

I have made a short list of the main issues I believe should be included in the Consumer Protection legislation:

1. Consumers have the right to cancel a reservation or pre-booking for any goods or services and to cancel any order for any goods or services.
2. Consumers may cancel a fixed-term agreement (of any term) at any time.
3. Suppliers must provide a quote or estimate prior to working on any goods.
4. The rendering of services or the goods required to perform any service must be in a manner and of a quality that persons are generally entitled to expect and be free of any defect.
5. The CPA must impose strict liability on producers, importers, distributors or retailers to supply safe goods and imposes strict liability in respect of product failure, defective and hazardous goods.
6. A mandatory three-month warranty period must be imposed on service providers who install any new or reconditioned part during repair or maintenance work.
7. A consumer is entitled to return unsafe or defective goods, including goods that are not of a good quality.
8. A consumer who is the recipient of unsolicited goods or services is not obliged to pay for such goods or services
9. Consumer must have the right to cancel a transaction or agreement emanating from Direct Marketing.
10. Goods or services must not be promoted in a misleading, fraudulent or deceptive manner.
11. The CPA should also create a “Small Claims Court” for matter under N$ 50,000.00.
12. Lastly, and most importantly, the legislation should create and support national consumer organisations to promote and provide consumer literacy education.

These are issues that have been talked about with the Ministry of Trade and Industry officials and various national forums, but no concrete action has taken place. I hope the Right Honourable Dr Geingob will hear my plea and keep his promise to get our consumer legislation submitted to Parliament as soon as possible.

Understanding Banking

First printed in Consumer News Namibia magazine - Feb 2013 edition

Let me start by repeating the words of a friend who is a banker in Windhoek, “banking is the profession with one of the best marketing departments around. Imagine trying to convince the first customer that their money was safer with the bank than in their own hands, and best of all, which the customer would need to pay fees to deposit and withdraw their own money.”

Even now during the financial crises throughout the world banks are still succeeding in motivating clients to give them their money. Today, most of us feel safe with our money in banks because “we are many and government will not let it fail”. The term “moral hazard” is used to explain why we take these risks.

All over the world people often complain about banks. This ranges from bank fees, interest charged, to repossession of vehicles and homes.

In Namibia this is no different. The late Hon. Reinhard (Kalla) Gertze, Member of Parliament, proposed an investigation into the financial institutions through public hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration. They held public hearings on bank charges and regulations in 2006 in Windhoek. One of the submissions outlined why interest is charged.

Why is interest charged?

In the beginning of banking, interest was used to offset the risk of providing the credit to the borrower. There are four risks (hazards):

• The costs incurred by the bank while providing the loan had to be repaid;
• Inflation means the lender will be able to buy less for the money as time passes;
• Scarcity – in other words once it is lent to a borrower at a specific rate, it cannot be used for another loan;
• That the borrower cannot pay back the loan

Of these four, the only real difference the government can make is in reducing the risk of borrower’s inability to repay.

Being a client of a bank

Banks and their branch network is a convenience. We can put our own money into an account, send money to someone else, and apply for a loan. As consumers, we realise that we need the services of a bank to increase our money. In other words, we need someone else’s money to pay for things like a car or a house, or even start a business.

But there is probably nothing as frustrating waiting in a queue at a bank “waiting for own money”, or dealing with an employee who is rude to us when we need to ask a question. If you are a client of a bank you have five basic rights, as well as five responsibilities.  These should be seen as an agreement between the banks and the Namibian consumer on how we treat one another.

1.                  You have the right to be treated with respect and dignity.

This means every employee of the bank should treat you with dignity and be respectful of your cultural and gender. This also means they may not be abusive when collecting overdue monies.

2.                  You have the right to decide which services or products you want to use.

You need enough information on the banks products to be able to choose the right one for your needs. This means the bank employee may not pressure you into a choosing a product you do not want.

3.                  You have the right to receive clear, truthful and complete information – as well as the time needed to make your decision

The bank must give complete information and answers to all your questions so you can fully understand the terms and conditions of the services and products you choose. The staff member serving you must give enough of their time to ensure you understand the relevant information about the product. This should include information such as total cost of borrowing, cost of transactions, penalty fees (if any), and possible alternatives that might benefit you.

4.                  You have the right to be heard

You are allowed to complain. When a service does not meet your needs, or any of your rights have been violated, you have the right to inform the bank immediately. The bank should have a customer hotline that will allow you to provide them with feedback – and they will benefit from being able to deal with the problem as early as possible.

5.                  You have the right to privacy

Your personal information must be kept confidential between you and the bank employees dealing with your account. No one is allowed to disclose your personal information without your permission.