Okay. Its fine to spout rhetoric and say lets do this or that. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
The Otjimbingwe Research Centre is preparing a localised study to test out certain socio-economic development proposals. I am preparing the Situational Analysis. lets see if I have it in me?
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Namibia and Integration
Most of the Namibian peoples have come to this area leaving behind war or oppression of some sort or the other. They chose this inhospitable place to settle and live peacefully, not only with one another, but also with the natural environment they found themselves in. During periods of oppression they have not had a choice but to react to ensure their continued peace and stability.
After Independence
Today, Namibia is a model that few other countries can emulate. Worldwide, countries struggle with problems of integration. These differences take the form of religion, language, customs or race. In Namibia these differences are recognised, but do not form the basis of either government policy decisions or social interaction.
As Namibians we have a lot to offer the world, and more specifically our neighbours in Southern Africa . We are an “Institute of Integration
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
On tribal integration in Namibia
Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare wrote: Just wondering: is tribal unity the same as national unity in Namibia or Africa? In other words, is our being wambos, kavangos, hereros, damaras, namas, caprivians, basters, coloureds, twanas, afrikaners, germans or english in Namibia more important than being Namibians and our being Namibians more relevant to being Africans: what is your honest opinion?
I start by addressing the words of Albert Einstein, “He who cherishes the values of culture cannot fail to be a pacifist.” I must first address mistakes that I have made in my feeble attempts at contributing to the nationhood of our beloved land during the past twenty odd years. I have thought it unimportant where my family comes from, what their cultures and beliefs were, and often thought these were to be considered and ultimately rejected as part of their living in a past dominated by the racial classification given by the system of Apartheid.
Who I am is not dictated by our external environment, but rather by the internal. As humans we tend to blame our culture, society, government, employers and even our own families for things that goes wrong, but rarely give them credit for “our” achievements.
We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. This is the only explanation of the total lack of information based on cultural affiliations in our census in Namibia. Unfortunately, this attitude of “let’s pretend it is not there” does not make it so.
Even in South Africa, where the Apartheid system was the most formalised, they have recognised the need to keep the information and knowledge of all cultural groups as part of the “rainbow nation”. Discrimination because of race colour or culture is a thing of the past and is replaced by recognition and acceptance of our differences.
We have also outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender, yet still need this categorisation to measure the needed changes that must take place in our country for gender equality. In the same way it is important to note that when a previously marginalised group, such as the San people, have qualified teachers from within their own tribe and culture (Republikein – 14 April 2009).
The lack of recognition of certain groups can have detrimental affects on our country. Look at what has happened to some of our pre-Independence orphans who returned from East Germany. More recently we have seen the SWAPO veterans and orphans also wishing to be recognised as a distinct group with specific needs. In the near future we will see a new group forming of AIDS orphans who have grown up differently with specific disadvantages that need to be addressed to allow them to fully pluck the fruits of our freedom. What culture shall all these groups inherit?
There is a national culture Namibia. Thus we can refer to our language as Namlish with its peculiarities and pronunciations. We are known by our friends and foes on the sport fields as the Brave warriors and the Biltongboere.
In business we refer to the marketing process. It starts with an analysis of the present and then moves to develop a strategy. In marketing it is recognised that to provide the best product for the customer you need to segment the market. Tools such as the Living Standards Measurement are used to focus our marketing efforts. A typical LSM would include age, gender, race or cultural group and income. (Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) household surveys have become an important tool in measuring and understanding poverty in developing countries.)
The people of Namibia are the customer. To serve our people better we must recognise our difference not only in gender or language but also in race. The census in Namibia must measure the race and culture embraced by each resident in future.
The tertiary education institutes in Namibia must then participate in research focussing on cultural, racial, gender, urban-rural economic and livelihood inequalities in Namibia. This ongoing research must continue to ask what the relationship is between the growth and spatial distribution of the public and private economic sectors. It must also encompass the formal and informal economy, the nature of poverty, the characteristics of poor areas, and socio-economic empowerment.
Lastly, we must learn to say "We are Namibian (Wambos, Hereros, Coloureds, etc.) proud to be working to a better future for our family, tribe and country!
I start by addressing the words of Albert Einstein, “He who cherishes the values of culture cannot fail to be a pacifist.” I must first address mistakes that I have made in my feeble attempts at contributing to the nationhood of our beloved land during the past twenty odd years. I have thought it unimportant where my family comes from, what their cultures and beliefs were, and often thought these were to be considered and ultimately rejected as part of their living in a past dominated by the racial classification given by the system of Apartheid.
Who I am is not dictated by our external environment, but rather by the internal. As humans we tend to blame our culture, society, government, employers and even our own families for things that goes wrong, but rarely give them credit for “our” achievements.
We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. This is the only explanation of the total lack of information based on cultural affiliations in our census in Namibia. Unfortunately, this attitude of “let’s pretend it is not there” does not make it so.
Even in South Africa, where the Apartheid system was the most formalised, they have recognised the need to keep the information and knowledge of all cultural groups as part of the “rainbow nation”. Discrimination because of race colour or culture is a thing of the past and is replaced by recognition and acceptance of our differences.
We have also outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender, yet still need this categorisation to measure the needed changes that must take place in our country for gender equality. In the same way it is important to note that when a previously marginalised group, such as the San people, have qualified teachers from within their own tribe and culture (Republikein – 14 April 2009).
The lack of recognition of certain groups can have detrimental affects on our country. Look at what has happened to some of our pre-Independence orphans who returned from East Germany. More recently we have seen the SWAPO veterans and orphans also wishing to be recognised as a distinct group with specific needs. In the near future we will see a new group forming of AIDS orphans who have grown up differently with specific disadvantages that need to be addressed to allow them to fully pluck the fruits of our freedom. What culture shall all these groups inherit?
There is a national culture Namibia. Thus we can refer to our language as Namlish with its peculiarities and pronunciations. We are known by our friends and foes on the sport fields as the Brave warriors and the Biltongboere.
In business we refer to the marketing process. It starts with an analysis of the present and then moves to develop a strategy. In marketing it is recognised that to provide the best product for the customer you need to segment the market. Tools such as the Living Standards Measurement are used to focus our marketing efforts. A typical LSM would include age, gender, race or cultural group and income. (Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) household surveys have become an important tool in measuring and understanding poverty in developing countries.)
The people of Namibia are the customer. To serve our people better we must recognise our difference not only in gender or language but also in race. The census in Namibia must measure the race and culture embraced by each resident in future.
The tertiary education institutes in Namibia must then participate in research focussing on cultural, racial, gender, urban-rural economic and livelihood inequalities in Namibia. This ongoing research must continue to ask what the relationship is between the growth and spatial distribution of the public and private economic sectors. It must also encompass the formal and informal economy, the nature of poverty, the characteristics of poor areas, and socio-economic empowerment.
Lastly, we must learn to say "We are Namibian (Wambos, Hereros, Coloureds, etc.) proud to be working to a better future for our family, tribe and country!
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Legal shielding products a rip off!
A recent article of the Namibian newspaper (July 2010), quotes a study which has found that "Regulators need to up their game". The study "expressed concern about the conduct of the industry and has warned that the reputation of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) will suffer unless they step up supervision." In the study, mention is made of certain insurance companies that make use of misleading advertising when offering products as "free".
This has to be a wake up call to us as consumers.
As a lobby group, we have regularly been contacted by customers who do not receive the service they expected when they bought the products as advertised. A common complaint is about the legal insurance product so widely advertised in our newspapers, radio and television. In these adverts, the consumer is made to believe that a monthly premium will give them access to legal assistance should the need arise. A typical example of how this insurance company works is what happened to Marco H.
Marco was a client of "legal insurance" and was not worried if something should go wrong. One morning, his employer informed him that there were suspicions of theft and the employees had to each take a lie detector test. Marco called his legal insurance company but was told that they do not cover labour issues. he then reluctantly took the lie detector test.
The employer decided to lay criminal charges with the police after the tests and the whole group of employees were taken to the Windhoek central police station and charged. He called his legal insurance company, and was informed they could not assist him in a criminal case.
Luckily for Marco, he was able to call up a friend that could get him bail arranged and he was thus not forced to spend the weekend in jail. On the Monday, he duly went to his legal insurance company at their big headquarters building to get some assistance. After reporting at the reception, he was rather rudely informed that his case did not meet the standards of a claim.
This was definitely a case of misleading advertising if not theft. BUT what can Marco really do? Very little. Even the institutions that are supposed to do something, cannot help.
We once again point out that we need consumer laws, and consumer protection agencies that have teeth to prevent these companies for abusing the Namibian consumer.
Please see attached below a message on the same issue sent to our members last year November.
Kind regards
Milton Louw
Founder
Namibia Consumer Protection Group
_____________________________________________
The cost of taking legal action can be prohibitive. Could you afford to claim compensation if you were injured in an accident, unfairly dismissed from work or had a dispute with a business?
A friend of mine has had legal insurance and believed he was covered. About a month ago, he was accussed of being involved in a theft syndicate at his work. He immediately called his legal insurance company, but was informed they do not cover criminal cases.
He was taken for a polygraph test (is that legal in Namibia), and informed that he had failed the test. This led to him leaving the job that morning to go speak to his legal insurer.
Yeah right. They do not cover the expenses for a labour case either.
WHAT is it with insurance companies that do not want to pay claims? If you complain at NAMFISA they do very little to help.
If I am going to buy legal insurance I expect:
Bail Assistance
• Bail negotiations and applications on members’ behalf
• Depositing of the bail amount/issuing of bail guarantee on behalf of arrested member
Civil Law
• Bank and insurance matters
• Blacklisting
• Building and construction matters
• Contractual disputes
• Debt collection
• Letters of demand
• Litigation
• Personal injury claims, etc
Criminal Law
• Fraud, theft, robbery or assault
• Arrests
• Bail applications
• Consumer issues
• Driving under the influence
• Reckless driving
• Search warrants, etc.
Family Law
• Ante-nuptial contracts
• Custody disputes
• Divorces
• Family violence matters
• Interdicts
• Maintenance disputes, etc.
Labour Law
• Dismissals
• Disciplinary proceedings
• Pension payout disputes
• Restraint of trade agreements
• Retrenchments
• Unpaid wages
• Working conditions
Surely this is not too much to ask?
This has to be a wake up call to us as consumers.
As a lobby group, we have regularly been contacted by customers who do not receive the service they expected when they bought the products as advertised. A common complaint is about the legal insurance product so widely advertised in our newspapers, radio and television. In these adverts, the consumer is made to believe that a monthly premium will give them access to legal assistance should the need arise. A typical example of how this insurance company works is what happened to Marco H.
Marco was a client of "legal insurance" and was not worried if something should go wrong. One morning, his employer informed him that there were suspicions of theft and the employees had to each take a lie detector test. Marco called his legal insurance company but was told that they do not cover labour issues. he then reluctantly took the lie detector test.
The employer decided to lay criminal charges with the police after the tests and the whole group of employees were taken to the Windhoek central police station and charged. He called his legal insurance company, and was informed they could not assist him in a criminal case.
Luckily for Marco, he was able to call up a friend that could get him bail arranged and he was thus not forced to spend the weekend in jail. On the Monday, he duly went to his legal insurance company at their big headquarters building to get some assistance. After reporting at the reception, he was rather rudely informed that his case did not meet the standards of a claim.
This was definitely a case of misleading advertising if not theft. BUT what can Marco really do? Very little. Even the institutions that are supposed to do something, cannot help.
We once again point out that we need consumer laws, and consumer protection agencies that have teeth to prevent these companies for abusing the Namibian consumer.
Please see attached below a message on the same issue sent to our members last year November.
Kind regards
Milton Louw
Founder
Namibia Consumer Protection Group
_____________________________________________
The cost of taking legal action can be prohibitive. Could you afford to claim compensation if you were injured in an accident, unfairly dismissed from work or had a dispute with a business?
A friend of mine has had legal insurance and believed he was covered. About a month ago, he was accussed of being involved in a theft syndicate at his work. He immediately called his legal insurance company, but was informed they do not cover criminal cases.
He was taken for a polygraph test (is that legal in Namibia), and informed that he had failed the test. This led to him leaving the job that morning to go speak to his legal insurer.
Yeah right. They do not cover the expenses for a labour case either.
WHAT is it with insurance companies that do not want to pay claims? If you complain at NAMFISA they do very little to help.
If I am going to buy legal insurance I expect:
Bail Assistance
• Bail negotiations and applications on members’ behalf
• Depositing of the bail amount/issuing of bail guarantee on behalf of arrested member
Civil Law
• Bank and insurance matters
• Blacklisting
• Building and construction matters
• Contractual disputes
• Debt collection
• Letters of demand
• Litigation
• Personal injury claims, etc
Criminal Law
• Fraud, theft, robbery or assault
• Arrests
• Bail applications
• Consumer issues
• Driving under the influence
• Reckless driving
• Search warrants, etc.
Family Law
• Ante-nuptial contracts
• Custody disputes
• Divorces
• Family violence matters
• Interdicts
• Maintenance disputes, etc.
Labour Law
• Dismissals
• Disciplinary proceedings
• Pension payout disputes
• Restraint of trade agreements
• Retrenchments
• Unpaid wages
• Working conditions
Surely this is not too much to ask?
Friday, 28 May 2010
Black Economic Empowerment is needed in Namibia
Black Economic Empowerment is about enlarging participation in the economy of the country. It's a tool to create wealth and opportunity to people who were previously excluded and achieved through partnership between white and black business people.
Namibia has gone through various political changes over the past two centuries. One thing however is always constant. Once the political change occurs, there is a realisation that political independence means very little without economic ownership change. When the English ruled over Southern Africa they had the economic might. The Afrikaner took over and had to create state institutions such as the “Eerste Nasionale Ontwikkelings Korporasie” (ENOK or First National Development Corporation) to allow Afrikaner businessmen to get a share of the economic pie. The also created other institutions that should be supported by their people to become as powerful as the English ones, for example banks and insurance companies (Sanlam, Santam, etc.).
In much the same way, the black people of Namibia need to become participants in the economy. The first efforts were made in the early 1990’s to unite the two chambers of commerce, namely the Windhoek CCI and Windhoek Business Chamber. This resulted in the Namibia National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the predecessor of the present NCCI.
This was one of the most challenging times in my working life. The mistrust of decades had to be plastered over for the sake of the country and our newly created democracy. We succeeded.
BUT, we only plastered over the problem. The black majority is still not participating in the meaningful way promised by the politicians. Or for that matter, the way the previous English and Afrikaner political movements allowed their voters to prosper.
Namibia has gone through various political changes over the past two centuries. One thing however is always constant. Once the political change occurs, there is a realisation that political independence means very little without economic ownership change. When the English ruled over Southern Africa they had the economic might. The Afrikaner took over and had to create state institutions such as the “Eerste Nasionale Ontwikkelings Korporasie” (ENOK or First National Development Corporation) to allow Afrikaner businessmen to get a share of the economic pie. The also created other institutions that should be supported by their people to become as powerful as the English ones, for example banks and insurance companies (Sanlam, Santam, etc.).
In much the same way, the black people of Namibia need to become participants in the economy. The first efforts were made in the early 1990’s to unite the two chambers of commerce, namely the Windhoek CCI and Windhoek Business Chamber. This resulted in the Namibia National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the predecessor of the present NCCI.
This was one of the most challenging times in my working life. The mistrust of decades had to be plastered over for the sake of the country and our newly created democracy. We succeeded.
BUT, we only plastered over the problem. The black majority is still not participating in the meaningful way promised by the politicians. Or for that matter, the way the previous English and Afrikaner political movements allowed their voters to prosper.
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