Bottled water is making huge profits

Up until the late 1970’s there was no bottled water. Only 1976 did the first bottled water appear when the French bottler Perrier made its debut. These days you can hardly enter a shop or restaurant without finding bottled water on its shelves or menu.

The questions we as consumers must ask is: “What is the cost of bottled water?” and “Is it worth the price?”

Water is a human right and most of us have access in our homes, businesses, or schools to water supplied by our municipalities. This water is supplied to us at an average cost of N$ 11.45 per kilolitre – or 12c per 10 litre. That’s right, 12 Namibian cents per ten litres of water or less than 2c per litre.  (Source: City of Windhoek Tariff Booklet 2013/14)

Now let us compare that to the price of bottled water. A bottle of water can cost on average N$ 10.00 per litre in most retail stores in Namibia.

Regular drinking water competes with itself in a bottle, but reviewing the cost difference, you've got to wonder why or how?

Most consumers will tell you that that water in a plastic bottle is healthier and tastes better. According to international reports - with the help of advertisements, bottled water has gone from "reservoir to faddish luxury item to mass commodity.” Bottled H2O is being directly or indirectly sold as: healthy, smart, pure, sexy, clean and simple, it is "the stuff of life." The question we must ask is now is that a scientific fact or something we have come to believe because of the marketing by these bottling companies?  Even more worrying is that it has not been widely reported that in a few countries in the world concerns have been raised about chemicals leeching into the water from the soft plastic material of bottles.

And this brings us to the main concern (besides the high price and thus profit margin for bottling companies) about the bottled water. There is no government regulation about what constitutes mineral or “fresh” water and what are the types of inferences bottling companies can place when advertising or labelling their products. In fact most bottlers of water will admit they are bottling water from the municipal source but are “purifying” and adding taste.

Another concern in this day and age of recycling, is that as consumers we are polluting our environment with these plastic water bottles that are more expensive that tap water even though it may or may not be “better for us”.  According to the Sierra Club (One of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States), “Annually the water bottles themselves take about 1.5 million tons of plastic to manufacture for the global market.”

Did you know plastics come from oil and therefore it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year? Additionally the manufacturing process releases toxins into the environment, such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. Even with current plastic recycling centres, “most used bottles end up in landfills, adding to the landfill crisis."

As a consumer you must ask yourself before you buy your next bottle of water: Am I willing to pay more than 50 000% for a bottle of water that is not regulated and checked for quality while adding to the pollution of the environment?

The Needs of the People

The Consumer News Namibia Magazine prides itself on providing information to the people of Namibia as a free (and freely available) monthly magazine. In our magazine we highlight many issues of interest that affect the daily lives of our readers.  In short, we talk about the needs of the people in the “Land of the Brave”. In the following piece, we explore what are these needs and the rights that go with us being able to fulfil these needs.

The Need for Subsistence

Need:                 Subsistence

Qualities:           physical and mental health

Description:       Every person has the right to basic goods and services which guarantee survival. This includes access to food, water, electricity, telephone, Internet and affordable housing. The state has to ensure the relative stable state of balance between all the different citizens (and their needs) in our population

The Need for Protection

Need:                 Protection

Qualities:           Care, adaptability, autonomy

Description:       Every person has the right to access social security, adequate health facilities and regulation of a safe working environment. This includes personal security, financial security, health and well-being and safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts, as well as the provision of employment opportunities

The Need for Affection

Need:                 Affection (meegevoel)

Qualities:           respect, sense of humour, generosity, sensuality   

Description:       Every person has rights - and the responsibilities that go with these rights. This includes the ability to share with others, take care of the less fortunate in society choose who we are intimate with and ensure our privacy is respected. Our interaction with our natural environment is included in this section

The Need for Understanding

Need:                 Understanding

Qualities:           critical capacity, curiosity, intuition

Description:       The right to education (from the cradle to the grave) allows every citizen to access the information needed to improve their personal lives. This not only refers to primary, secondary or tertiary education, but also financial literacy and other Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights and issues affecting our daily lives. It also includes the access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the ability to use these new technologies.

The Need for Participation

Need:                 Participation

Qualities:           receptiveness, dedication, sense of humour

Description:       The right to participate and voluntary association in non-discriminatory organisations. These refer mostly to civil society and freedom of religion. It also makes reference to voters’ education and political and cultural tolerance. While ensuring freedom of speech and association, it insists upon responsibility and duty of the individual citizen to respect the rights of others

The Need for Leisure

Need:                 leisure

Qualities:           imagination, tranquillity, spontaneity

Description:       The right to relaxation, having fun in places which are intimate or places to be alone. This also refers to encouraging day-dreams or “future dreaming”.

The Need for Creation

Need:                 creation

Qualities:           boldness, inventiveness, curiosity

Description:       Each person has the need to be creative and be provided with the abilities, skills, work or techniques needed to invent, build, deign, compose or interpret the world around us

The Need for Identity

Need:                 identity

Qualities:           sense of belonging, self-esteem, consistency

Description:       A person finds their identity through their language, religion, work, customs, values and norms. Every person must have the right to interpret their own view of these and be allowed to practise their identity without harming others.

The Need for Freedom

Need:                 freedom

Qualities:           autonomy, passion, self-esteem, open-mindedness

Description:       The need for freedom allows equality of rights while ensuring differences of opinion allow us to further develop our personal awareness.

Conclusion

As human beings we have certain needs. In the struggle for freedom we have won certain political and civil rights. These are not yet sufficient to give us the dignity we deserve as sons and daughters of the soil. This is the economic fight we often still hear about. This battle can only be won if each person as an individual not only insists upon their rights, but also recognizes their responsibility to give back their community.

“We have fought for our rights. We now affirm our responsibilities. We acknowledge each of us has a duty to ourselves and our neighbours.”

MYTHS REGARDING WILLS AND DECEASED ESTATES

• Due to freedom of testation you can basically say anything you like in your Will. 
• Your last “Will and Testament” is a contract
• It is the duty of an executor to make funeral arrangements.
• Do signing powers and power of attorney lapse at death?
• Does interest on investments and debt cease at death?
• Do contracts and lawsuits lapse at death?
• Does the executor summarily sell all estate assets?
• Does everyone have a right to inherit?

Most of us are afraid of dying. In our society many people still consider it taboo to discuss issues surrounding their death. However, it is an important part of money management (financial literacy) to be aware of the issues of dying, wills and testaments.

Some of the most commonly beliefs are:

• ·         If you die without a valid Will, your assets are automatically forfeited to the State.
• ·         Everyone has a right to inherit from a parent.
• ·         An oral promise of an inheritance is a valid promise.

These are all myths, and here are some other misunderstood points:

No. You are not allowed to speak from the grave. For example, in your Will you cannot ask the person appointed as your executor to carry out your wishes, if to do so would go against any Acts of Parliament, promulgated regulations or other rules. You may also not make stipulations which are contra bonos mores (contrary to public morals), for example by making your son's inheritance conditional upon his divorcing his wife. You may also not take away the right of a parent of guardianship of his or her biological child.

No. Strictly speaking, a contract is an agreement between two or more persons, whereas a Will is a unilateral (one-sided) declaration of your last wishes. However, the amount you agree to pay the executor in a Will may be regarded as an enforceable contract.

No. However, if he does so, it is in his personal capacity. Only funeral costs (burial or cremation) and the cost of a gravestone (or a niche in a vault, or columbarium) are claims that can be made against the estate. Other costs, for example telephone and travelling costs and the cost of funeral refreshments, cannot be claimed unless you specifically state them in your Will.

Yes. Only the executor may, once he has been appointed by the Master, withdraw funds and sign documents.  (“Signing Powers” and “Power of Attorney” means is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter.)

No. Interest receivable on your savings account and investments ceases only upon withdrawal and closure of the account by the executor. Interest payable on debt, such as mortgage bonds and hire-purchase agreements, ceases only when the debt has been redeemed.

The executor must honour all contracts entered into by the deceased prior to death, unless the contract provides for its lapsing upon death. If the deceased was involved in a civil court case, then, provided court pleadings have been finalised (the legal term is ‘closed’), the case will usually continue. A criminal case against the deceased will, however, automatically lapse.

No. His primary task is to follow the wishes in the Will. He may sell assets only as stipulated in the Will, or at the request of an heir, or where there is insufficient cash available to settle claims.

No. However, a child has a right to maintenance from both parents and, if the surviving parent cannot provide, then the child’s claim lies against the estate of a deceased parent, and enjoys preference over the claims of heirs and legatees. A surviving spouse also has a right to reasonable maintenance. And if you do die without a valid Will, the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act apply, and an executor appointed by the Master will distribute your net estate (assets less liabilities) to those heirs and in the proportions specified in the Act.

If you are older than 18, you have a responsibility to become financially literate by seeking advice from a competent advisor on issues of wills and testaments among others.

Zero Tolerance should be Implemented

Recently the taxi drivers in Namibia have threatened a strike because of the high cost of fines being paid for traffic violation. One of the most common is where the taxi driver stands at an illegal area such as a red or yellow lined street corner or sometime right in the middle of the street. During the interview on television, one of the taxi drivers rightly pointed out that this is often the fault of the passenger who stands at such places. Furthermore, the taxi driver stated that if he does not pick up the passenger (or does not drop them where they say), another taxi will so he is forced to do so if he wants to earn a living.

This is unfortunately so. We as the consumers of this public taxi service are often to blame as we do not consider the obligations or rules of the road. Often the passenger in a taxi will comment how badly other taxi drivers are stopping or hindering the flow of traffic, but when it is their turn to disembark, they do exactly what the previous passenger had done. It is thus with this in mind that there have been calls for traffic fines by given to passengers as well.

While we are discussing this issue, I would like to enquire why the City of Windhoek does not increase their writing of fines for jaywalkers. (Jaywalking is a term originating in the United States and widely used elsewhere that refers to illegal or reckless pedestrian crossing of a roadway. Examples include a pedestrian crossing between intersections without yielding to drivers and starting to cross a crosswalk at a signalized intersection (robot) without waiting for a green indication giving them permission to cross.)

About a year ago I read in the newspapers about the City of Windhoek Traffic Department writing out tickets, but have not seen any more news about this continuing, or even feedback on the numbers of jaywalkers, and how many have paid their sentences.

The main reason Namibia is becoming a land of accidents, violence against woman, baby dumping etc. is because we have become a nation of the lawless. In as far as comparing ourselves with countries throughout the world in terms of crime, we find that our higher crime rates also include a higher disregard for smaller transgressions. Thus our politicians and law enforcement agencies should have a policy of zero tolerance. Think of zero tolerance in the following terms:

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants.

Thus zero tolerance is the concept of giving carte blanche to the police for the inflexible repression of minor offenses.

Can GRN “walk the talk”?

What does this mean for as consumers of the Government of the Republic of Namibia?

• STANDARDS
• INFORMATION
• COURTESY AND HELPFULNESS
• CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION
• ACCOUNTABILITY
• TRANSPARENCY
• NON-DISCRIMINATION
• QUALITY OF SERIVCE
• VALUE FOR MONEY
• ACCESSIBILITY

In Namibia, the Government is one of the biggest single employers and provides services in all sectors of the economy.  Thus it is an important service provider and according to President Hifikepunye Pohamba, "there is a growing international trend for governments, in both developed and developing countries, to focus on the need to provide greater value for money in the delivery of public services. This has led to greater awareness that public services must improve the quality of the service being rendered to the customers: citizens, tourists and visiting businessmen and women. For Namibia to realise Vision 2030, we must "walk to talk" and sharpen our commitment to improve the quality of services delivered to all who live in or visit our country.”

The President was speaking at the launch of the reviewed Namibian Public Service Charter in 2012. The Charter was first launched by the Founding President, Sam Nujoma in 1997 and had nine general principles. After the review, accessibility was added as a principle and thus there are now ten. They are:

STANDARDS

This means each ministry, organisation or state owned enterprise must set, publish and monitor clear standards of service that a public servant should uphold.

INFORMATION

The state organs should provide information about the public services they offer in a prompt straightforward and open manner that is readily understandable to all consumers.

COURTESY AND HELPFULNESS

Each public servant (GRN employee) must provide a courteous and helpful service suitable to the convenience of those entitled to the service.

CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION

Ensuring that there is regular consultation with those who use the services of the public sector and, having taken their views and priorities into account, provide a choice wherever possible to the benefit of the consumer.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Provide details of performance against targets and identifying who is responsible. Such services are being provided by public servants who can be identified readily by their customers as they should be wearing name badges. This is to ensure that public servants are accountable for their actions at all times.

TRANSPARENCY

Disclose how public services are managed together with the cost and performance of specific services which are open to public scrutiny in all actions taken in public office.

NON-DISCRIMINATION

Ensuring that services are available and provided equally and fairly to all.

QUALITY OF SERVICE

Publicize straightforward feedback procedures. Provide where errors have been made, an apology, full explanation and early correction of the error.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Provide efficient, effective and affordable public services.

ACCESSIBILITY

Ensure accessibility to public service by accommodating the service needs of our service users

It is interesting to note that at the launch in 1997, the Founding President stated, “It is also my hope that parastatals and the private sector will follow this example and helps make the delivery of services in Namibia as efficient, cost-effective and consumer-focused as possible.”

Let us hope that will come to pass