🌍 Depression in Namibia and a New Ray of Hope from Flow Neuroscience

Depression is often called the “silent illness,” but in Namibia its impact is loud and devastating. With rising cases and one of the highest suicide rates in Africa, the need for effective, accessible treatment has never been greater. A new innovation from Flow Neuroscience—an at-home brain stimulation headset—may offer hope for thousands of Namibians struggling with depression.

📊 The Reality of Depression in Namibia

• Between 2019 and 2021, Namibia recorded 256,486 patients with mental illness seen by professionals.
• In 2024 alone, over 102,900 mental health cases were reported, alongside 542 suicides.
• Namibia’s suicide rate stands at 9.7 per 100,000 people, among the highest in Africa.
• Experts estimate that nearly 520,000 Namibians live with some form of mental illness.

These numbers reflect not just statistics, but families and communities grappling with loss, stigma, and limited access to care. Rural areas in particular face severe shortages of psychiatrists and psychologists, leaving many without support.

💡 Flow Neuroscience’s Breakthrough

Flow Neuroscience has developed the FL-100 headset, recently cleared by the U.S. FDA for at-home treatment of depression. This device uses transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)—a safe, non-invasive method that delivers mild electrical currents to the brain.

How It Works

• Targets the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region underactive in depression.
• Stimulates neurons to restore balance in mood-regulating pathways.
• Comes with a smartphone app offering behavioral therapy guidance.

Clinical Results

• 77% of users report improvement within 3 weeks.
• 58% achieve remission after 10 weeks.
• Side effects are mild, such as skin irritation or headaches.

🇳🇦 Why This Matters for Namibia

• Accessibility: With limited mental health professionals, a home-based device could bridge the gap.
• Affordability: While U.S. pricing is expected between $500–$800, local partnerships or subsidies could make it viable here.
• Privacy: Stigma around mental illness often prevents people from seeking help. A discreet, at-home solution may encourage treatment.
• Policy relevance: As Namibia debates its Mental Health Bill, integrating innovative tools like Flow could strengthen national health systems.

📝 Final Thoughts

Depression is not just a personal struggle—it is a national health challenge. Namibia’s high suicide rates and rising mental health cases demand urgent action. Flow Neuroscience’s FL-100 headset offers a non-drug, accessible, and evidence-based solution that could complement existing services and empower individuals to take control of their mental health at home.

For Namibia, adopting such innovations could mean fewer lives lost, stronger families, and a healthier, more resilient society. 

Submission on Starlink Licence Application – Namibia Consumer Protection Group

 Dear CRAN Licensing Department,

On behalf of the Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG), I hereby submit our comments regarding the licence application of Starlink, as invited by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).

Introduction

The Namibia Consumer Protection Group is committed to ensuring equitable access to essential services for all Namibians. Connectivity is no longer a luxury; it is a prerequisite for safety, education, and economic participation. Farmers and rural communities, in particular, face persistent challenges with unreliable or unaffordable internet services.

Context

Existing service providers have not adequately addressed the needs of rural consumers, leaving large parts of Namibia underserved. Farmers and agricultural organisations have expressed strong support for Starlink’s entry into the Namibian market, citing its potential to provide reliable connectivity where traditional infrastructure has failed.

Benefits of Starlink

We recognise the following consumer benefits:

• Rural Safety: Improved communication to address farm-related crime and enable digital surveillance systems.

• Modern Agriculture: Connectivity for precision farming technologies, automation, and access to online markets.

• Education and Services: Reliable internet for online education in remote areas and access to veterinary and advisory services.

• Consumer Choice: Starlink offers a direct response to years of unreliable or prohibitively expensive services from existing providers, thereby enhancing competition and consumer empowerment.

Ownership and Regulatory Considerations

While regulatory compliance is essential, ownership requirements must be balanced against the urgent need for rural connectivity. Namibia should consider alternative compliance mechanisms that ensure local participation without delaying service provision. These could include:

• Mandated investment in rural infrastructure and school connectivity.

• Partnerships with Namibian cooperatives, farmer unions, or community organisations.

• Transparent consumer protection frameworks to safeguard affordability and service quality.

Recommendations

We respectfully recommend that CRAN:

1. Grant Starlink a licence subject to clear consumer protection obligations, including affordability and transparency in pricing.

2. Prioritise rural coverage as a licensing condition, ensuring farmers and remote communities are the primary beneficiaries.

3. Encourage community participation in ownership or governance structures, without imposing barriers that delay service provision.

4. Safeguard consumer rights by requiring Starlink to comply with Namibian regulations on data protection, fair competition, and service reliability.

5. Monitor and evaluate impact through CRAN-led reporting mechanisms, ensuring measurable improvements in rural connectivity.

Conclusion

Connectivity is a fundamental consumer right. For Namibia’s farmers, it is a lifeline—supporting safety, modern agricultural practices, education, and access to markets. The Namibia Consumer Protection Group urges CRAN to approve Starlink’s licence application with conditions that protect consumers while enabling rapid deployment of services.

Respectfully submitted,  

Milton Louw  

Director  

Namibia Consumer Protection Group

081 688 1368

Starlink in Namibia: What Consumers Need to Know Before the Big Decision

Over the past few months, Namibia has seen renewed debate about whether Starlink — the satellite internet service developed by Elon Musk — should be allowed to operate legally in our country. As someone who has written extensively about consumer rights, digital equality, and regulatory fairness, I want to break down what this means for ordinary Namibians and why the discussion is more complicated than it looks.

Recent Developments: CRAN, Licensing, and Public Debate

Several important developments have shaped the current Starlink conversation:

• CRAN has ordered Starlink to stop all operations, claiming the company is operating without a required telecommunications licence.

• Equipment has been confiscated, and criminal cases opened against individuals using unlicensed Starlink terminals.

• Starlink has submitted a licence application, but approval is still pending.

• Concerns over ownership rules have emerged, with the Ministry of ICT reviewing whether Starlink meets local-ownership requirements for telecom operators.

• Public participation is coming: CRAN announced that Starlink’s licence application will be published for public review.

These events are not just regulatory formalities — they affect consumers directly.

Why Many Consumers Support Starlink’s Entry

1. Coverage for Rural and Remote Areas

Namibia’s size makes traditional broadband expansion slow and expensive. Starlink’s satellite-based system can reach clinics, farms, tourist lodges, and communities that fibre or towers may never reach.

Technology expert Paul Rowney recently highlighted that Starlink’s low-latency, high-speed service could drastically improve connectivity in rural Namibia.

2. Healthy Competition

Starlink doesn’t necessarily replace local ISPs like MTC or Telecom Namibia — instead, it introduces new competition that may push everyone to improve service quality and prices.

3. Development Boost

Connectivity is a multiplier:

• Remote learning improves

• Tourism operators benefit

• SMEs can operate more efficiently

• Farmers and health facilities can access real-time services

This aligns strongly with themes I’ve championed in previous blogs: digital access drives national progress.

4. No Infrastructure Burden on Government

Starlink uses its own satellite network, meaning Namibia doesn’t have to build new infrastructure to benefit. Rowney even suggested running a two-year trial to measure real impact with minimal risk.

But There Are Valid Concerns

1. Regulatory Fairness

Local ISPs must meet strict rules on taxes, employment, infrastructure and service obligations. Allowing Starlink to bypass these could create unfair competition.

2. Ownership Requirements

Namibian telecom law requires a level of local ownership or participation. Government reviews show Starlink’s proposed structure may not yet meet this requirement.

3. Consumer Legal Risks

Right now, using Starlink equipment is illegal under CRAN regulations. Consumers could face confiscations or cases until licensing is settled.

4. Pricing Sustainability

While early adopters are excited, long-term affordability is still uncertain. Terminal costs and monthly fees could lock out low-income users.

My Position as a Consumer and Citizen

Based on the facts, the best path forward is:

✔ Approve Starlink — with conditions

Regulatory approval should be transparent, fair and include consumer protections.

✔ Implement a trial rollout

A pilot in remote areas would show the real benefits before full national approval.

✔ Educate consumers

CRAN and the Ministry should run an awareness campaign so people understand the legal status and risks.

✔ Encourage partnerships

Local ISPs could partner with Starlink for rural expansion or back-up connectivity.

Why This Matters for Namibia’s Future

My earlier blog posts champion three themes: digital equity, consumer protection, and national development.

The Starlink debate touches all three.

• Digital equity: rural and low-income Namibians deserve reliable internet

• Consumer protection: rules must be clear and fair for everyone

• National development: Namibia’s growth depends on modern digital infrastructure

Approving Starlink responsibly could be a major step toward closing our digital divide.

Final Word

Starlink’s entry into Namibia has the potential to transform connectivity — but only if done right. As the public review process begins, consumers should speak up, ask questions, and demand transparency.

I’ll continue analysing developments as they unfold. For now, the most important thing is that Namibian consumers are informed, aware, and part of the decision-making process.

How Namibia Can Avoid the “Dutch Disease” Trap

Namibia is buzzing with talk of oil, gas, green hydrogen and new mining projects. Yes, the future looks promising. But before we get carried away, we must understand a dangerous economic trap called Dutch disease.

Don’t worry — it’s not a medical problem and it doesn’t involve tulips. It’s simply what happens when a country becomes excited about one big resource and, without realising it, weakens the rest of its economy.

Let me explain it in everyday language.

What is Dutch Disease? (The Milton version)

Imagine you’re selling tomatoes at the market. Then a new stall opens selling diamonds. Suddenly everyone is chasing diamonds.

What happens?

• Prices rise.

• Wages rise.

• The currency becomes stronger.

• Tomato farmers can’t compete.

• Soon, only diamonds matter.

Until the price of diamonds collapses — and then everyone suffers.

That’s Dutch disease.

Namibia is at risk if we don’t prepare properly.

Why Namibia Must Pay Attention

We’ve seen this story across Africa and beyond. A country discovers oil or minerals, gets a burst of cash, and then:

• Agriculture and manufacturing decline

• Small businesses struggle against cheap imports

• Government overspends

• Jobs don’t grow for ordinary people

• When the commodity price drops, the whole economy crashes

Namibia can avoid all this. But we must act early, not when the crisis arrives.

What Namibia Must Do to Protect Itself

1. Save before we spend

If you receive a bonus at work, you don’t use it all in one day. The country must do the same.

Namibia needs a proper, well-governed Sovereign Wealth Fund — not political window dressing, not a quick-cash machine.

It must have strict rules:

• Save most of the resource income

• Only a small, predictable amount goes into the annual budget

• Independent professionals oversee it

• Full public transparency

If we don’t save, we will overspend, push up prices, and weaken our own industries.

2. Keep the Namibia Dollar from becoming too strong

This part needs a clear explanation, especially because Namibia is part of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) with South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.

What does CMA membership mean?

• Our Namibia Dollar is pegged 1:1 to the South African Rand.

• We cannot independently let our currency weaken or strengthen.

• If foreign money pours into Namibia, we can’t simply adjust the exchange rate ourselves.

So what can we do?

How Namibia can still limit real appreciation under the CMA

Even with the fixed peg, we have tools:

• Build foreign reserves through the Bank of Namibia.

• Channel resource revenue abroad via the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

• Avoid excessive government spending, which pushes up local prices and wages.

• Coordinate closely with the South African Reserve Bank on liquidity and capital flows.

In simple terms:

We cannot change the exchange rate — but we can control the pressure that makes prices rise too fast.

If we don’t manage this, agriculture, manufacturing and exporters will struggle, because their products become too expensive compared to imports from South Africa and the rest of the world.

3. Protect and grow the sectors that employ people

Oil and gas do not create enough jobs. If we rely on them alone, unemployment will stay high.

We must strengthen the industries that can employ thousands:

• Farming and agro-processing

• Tourism

• Fisheries and value-addition

• Light manufacturing

• SME services and suppliers linked to big projects

Resource money should help these sectors grow — not destroy them through high local costs.

4. Invest in people, not only in big projects

Infrastructure is important, but skills are even more important.

Use resource income to:

• Improve vocational and technical training

• Support apprenticeships and youth programmes

• Build entrepreneurship pathways

• Train welders, engineers, digital creators, technicians

• Strengthen community colleges and TVET centres

If Namibians lack skills, foreign workers will take the well-paid jobs — and we’ll watch our own wealth pass us by.

5. Fight corruption before it eats the future

Let’s be honest: corruption destroys resource wealth faster than anything else.

We need:

• Transparent contracts

• Public reporting of every payment

• Real procurement oversight

• Strong parliamentary scrutiny

• Independent audits that are published

If we fail here, everything else collapses.

6. Spend wisely — not wildly

Resource income must never be used to inflate the government wage bill or make permanent promises we cannot afford.

Spend on things that last:

• Roads and rail

• Schools and teachers

• Hospitals and clinics

• Water systems and desalination

• Electricity and ports

These are investments, not expenses.

A Simple Action Plan

0–12 months

• Pass a firm, transparent Sovereign Wealth Fund law.

• Publish the rules: what goes in, what comes out.

• Tighten financial controls to reduce waste.

1–3 years

• Build foreign reserves and invest resource flows abroad to ease pressure on the Namibia Dollar.

• Strengthen TVET training and SME support.

• Launch value-addition pilots in mining, agriculture and fisheries.

3–10 years

• Stay disciplined with savings.

• Grow export-ready industries.

• Maintain strict transparency and public reporting.

• Prepare for the day when oil or mineral revenue declines.

  
  

Final Word

Dutch disease is not a fate — it’s a warning.

Namibia has time to choose a better path.

We can be like Norway — steady, wealthy and prepared —

or like nations that got rich fast and poor twice as fast.

If we stay disciplined, transparent and strategic, our natural resources can lift every Namibian, not just a lucky few.

This is our chance. Let’s not waste it.

Why Debt Counselling Must Return to Namibia’s Consumer Credit Bill

Namibia’s new Consumer Credit Bill is a step forward—but not without a stumble.

As someone who’s spent years tracing the impact of credit agreements on ordinary Namibians—from pensioners to young families—I must raise the alarm. The latest draft of the Bill, submitted to the Minister of Finance in October 2025, quietly removed Section 110. That section dealt with debt counselling and prescribed debt. Its absence is not just a technical tweak—it’s a blow to consumer dignity.

What Was Removed—and Why It Matters

Section 110 gave NAMFISA the power to regulate debt counselling services. That meant trained professionals could help over-indebted consumers restructure their debts, avoid court action, and regain financial stability.

Without it:

- There’s no formal pathway for consumers to seek help before legal enforcement begins.

- NAMFISA cannot license or regulate debt counsellors.

- Vulnerable Namibians are left to fend for themselves in a system stacked against them.

Debt Counselling Is Not a Handout—It’s a Lifeline

Namibians are proud and resilient. But resilience should not be mistaken for silence. When a mother in Katutura juggles five microloans to keep food on the table, or a pensioner in Oshakati faces repossession over a misunderstood credit facility, we must ask: where is the system that helps them recover?

Debt counselling is about dignity. It’s about giving people the tools to understand their obligations, negotiate fairly, and avoid the spiral of default and shame.

South Africa recognised this years ago. Their National Credit Act includes debt counselling as a statutory remedy. Why should Namibians be denied the same?

A Simple Fix

We’re not asking for bureaucracy. Just one clause that gives NAMFISA the legal authority to regulate debt counselling. Something like:

“The Consumer Credit Regulators may, in accordance with prescribed standards, establish or accredit debt counselling services to assist consumers who are over-indebted or at risk of default.”

This would allow for a national framework—without waiting for another legislative cycle.

Our Call to Action

As Executive Director of the Namibia Consumer Protection Group, I urge Parliament, the Ministry of Finance, and NAMFISA to reinstate debt counselling in the final version of the Bill.

Let’s not build a credit system that punishes hardship. Let’s build one that rehabilitates, educates, and protects.

Because credit should be a bridge—not a trap.

Have thoughts on this? Drop a comment below or share this post with someone who cares about consumer rights. Let’s make our voices heard.