We need Consumer Protection laws

Since Independence, Namibia’s lawmakers have been preparing laws to make all our citizens equal and to ensure that our rights are protected. They have scrapped discriminatory laws and created laws that give us access to equal opportunities. Thanks to these efforts by our parliament, all of us know exactly what our human rights are.

As part of the efforts of creating equal opportunity for all, the government ministries and institutions have concentrated on bringing laws and regulations that assist in sharing the wealth of the business community amongst the black population. These laws have covered ownership of businesses in various sectors such as farming, mining and fishing as well as lifting of restrictions on certain business areas which excluded the majority of Namibians.

One of the major partners in these efforts has been the chamber of commerce and industry. The NCCI was instrumental in getting one voice for business and has become a partner for development. In exchange, the government has helped the chamber by channeling grants and donor funds, and even gone so far as to purchase them a building in Windhoek for their operations. It is good that Namibia has become a country friendly to business, but what about the protection of the consumer?

We hear about consumer protection but hardly do we ever hear exactly what that means to us as a person. The question you have to ask is, “Who do I need protection from?”

According to Wikipedia - “Consumer protection law or consumer law is considered an area of law that regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell those goods and services.” Unfortunately, Namibia’s lawmakers have failed to create the laws necessary to protect its consumers. This needs to change.

A recent example of this is the decision by NAMFISA to “remove the Consumer Credit Chapter from the Financial Institutions and Markets Bill. The scope of the Consumer Credit Chapter was deemed too wide and necessitates considerably more research in order to develop a comprehensive policy for consumer credit in Namibia.”

The history of this law makes one realise that Namibian consumer is being ignored.

History of the Consumer Credit Chapter

In 2006, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration invited the public, banks and the private sector to discuss what can be done to make banking more affordable for the majority of Namibians. At the meetings, it was agreed by various presenters that we need legislation that will cover competition issues, but just as important would be the need to have consumer credit legislation. The Parliamentary Committee then tasked the Ministry of Finance and its institutions to prepare legislation in this regard.

After 6 years of consultation, meetings, road shows and various legal drafts, NAMFISA has removed the legal provisions which would cover what types of credit agreements would be allowed, the registration of credit providers, rules for the listing in credit bureau and the registration of debt counsellors.

More importantly, they will no longer include the following rights of the consumer:

•  Right to apply for credit
• Protection against discrimination in respect of credit
• Right to reasons for credit being refused
• Right to information in plain and understandable language
• Right to receive documents
• Protection of consumer credit rights 

The laws we need

The laws we need in Namibia have to cover the following issues:

• Product liability - Businesses who make products must be held responsible for the injuries those products cause;
• Unfair Business Practices – These should include looking at leasing of property and the increases in rental prices, the settlement of insurance claims and debt collection when there is a default;
• Guarantees – Forcing sellers to provide a money-back guarantees to consumers if they wish to return a defective product
• Consumer Credit – Regulation of credit bureau (such as ITC and Compuscan), assistance with debt counseling and repairing of credit reports, consolidation of loans and regulating of credit that can lead to bankruptcy
• Small Claims Court - This is a court of law where ordinary people can handle their own cases. It is not necessary to have a lawyer (and their costs) as the forms are meant to be a kind of do-it-yourself where you fill in the blanks. The court has less formal and less complicated rules and procedures than the Magistrates Court
• Privacy Protection –At present the Constitution guarantees only Physical Privacy. The storage of personal and business information (Informational Privacy) must have legislation that will prevent misuse of this information. In addition, the individual in Namibia must be able to access any, and all, information that is stored by the state (public institutions).

Namibian Telephone Numbering Plan

Your telephone number belongs to you. This is a basic accepted principle by any consumer. After all, who would dial your number unless they wanted to speak to you?

It should therefore mean that you can keep your number even if you change your provider from Leo to MTC or even from a mobile company like MTC to your home telephone. The idea that your number belongs to you is called number portability and the method of implementing this is through a National Telephone Numbering Plan.

As a consumer, you have an attachment to your number. After all, you give out on your CV, to your friends and family and to creditors. If you change your telephone service provider, you will have to face the inconvenience of learning the new number, changing your documents and making sure everyone knows your new number. This inconvenience has a financial cost and could be important in forcing you to stay with your service provider, even if you are unhappy with the service, or can get a better deal from another provider.
Being able to change your provider without changing your number gives you, as the consumer, the power and the right to choose the telephone service provider that makes you happy with it price, service and products.

Since 2002, most countries around the world have opened their telecommunications markets to competition (that include a national numbering plan), which has accelerated the deployment of telecommunications services more quickly and cost-effectively than past monopolies have achieved. For example, the European Union (EU) Universal Service and Users’ Rights Directive (2002/22/EC), Article 30 — effective since July 2003 — imposes on all EU member states the following obligations:
“Member states shall ensure that all subscribers of publicly available telephone services, including mobile services, who so request can retain their number(s) independently of the undertaking providing the service:
• In the case of geographic numbers, at a specific location; and
• In the case of non-geographic numbers, at any location.”

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) is mandated to establishing a numbering plan and to require mobile number portability by 2013. According to a recent advertisement, CRAN s looking for sufficient information to justify the implementation of number portability taking into account consumer needs, ensuring fair competition in the market and economic feasibility.
CRAN will have to establish a numbering policy that provides a legal, legislative, and regulatory basis for competition. Then CRAN ust decide on numbering and dialing schemes, services, technologies, and billing and tariff methods that support its chosen numbering policy. Lastly, it must also establish a fair, neutral office for numbering administration.

From discussions with CRAN and industry representatives, it is obvious that certain telephone providers would prefer not to have a numbering plan implemented. The argument being put forward is that the plan has not worked well in some countries because of the costs involved, the implementing agency not being technically capable, etc.

It is understandable that CRAN should look at the costs or other issues involved for the providers as they will put these costs on to us as the end user. However, the power granted to the consumer to change providers will force cheaper prices and a better service which is the ultimate reason for the establishment of regulatory authorities that need to “take into account consumer needs”.

As consumers, we often do not have the regulations or protection we need because we lack an adequately funded organisation that will look after our needs and address issues such as the national numbering plan to ensure that government and its regulatory authorities such as CRAN  Electricity Control Board, etc do “take into account consumer needs”.

This needs to change.

My debt is more than double?

In Namibia, the Consumer Law can do a lot to prevent the endless circle of debt and poverty consumers get trapped in. Take for example the principle of in duplum.

“In duplum” is a Latin phrase derived from the word in duplo which means "in double". The rule has its origin in the Roman Dutch law. It basically provides that interest stops running when unpaid interest equals the outstanding capital amount.

It has always been considered illegal (and immoral) to charge interest which is more than the original amount owed, except in special circumstances but people such as banks, lawyers, debt collectors, etc get away with it because it is a common law rule. This means there is uncertainty when applying the rule, especially by the courts.

Thus a creditor should not charge more than twice the original amount due - but lawyers charges, tracing fees, administrative costs, etc. can inflate the debt to almost any amount?

This common law "in duplum" rule has been codified by statute in South Africa, which now protects consumers against predatory interest rates on loans and further provides better clarity about when the rule applies and when not.

Namibia needs legal protection for its consumers – the Consumer law is a necessity not a nicety!
 

Why is the consumer protection law taking so long to implement in Namibia?

Namibians discuss the Competition Act
The Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) held a consumer awareness week in the capital from 24 to 27 September 2012. The week centred around two issues, namely the competitiveness of Namibia and the need for a consumer protection law. The participants included ministries, government institutions, non-government organisations, the media and members of the public.

In the one-day workshop entitled consumer protection, an absolute necessity in Namibia, various aspects of a consumer protection law for Namibia were discussed. The conclusion of the workshop was that everyone agreed a law is necessary and everyone agrees with what should be included.

So what has been the delay in tabling a bill to Parliament?
The Ministry of Trade Industry's Consumer Protection Division had to decide where Consumer Protection should be housed. In other words, should it stay in the Ministry, be a new Commission or be a division of the NaCC.

THAT's Right! The only decision that needs to be made is by whom should the law be regulated.

The Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) made it clear that this is not sufficient reason to delay the law and fully supports the proposal that the competition law should be a division of the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC).

For your information, the rest of the article covers what is consumer protection, and what are your rights as a consumer.

What is consumer protection?
Consumer protection consists of various laws and institutions that are designed to:

1. Ensure the rights of consumers
2. Ensure fair trade competition
3. Provide free flow of information in the marketplace

These laws are designed to prevent businesses that are out to defraud consumers, or prevent businesses taking advantages over their competitors (to the disadvantage of consumers) and should also provide protection for those consumers that are disadvantaged or unable to take care of themselves.

Consumer Protection Laws are thus a form of government regulation which aim to protect the rights of people who spend their money in buying goods and services. For example, the laws may require businesses to provide money-back guarantees or not allow false advertising.

Consumer protection is very closely linked to the idea of "consumer rights" (see the consumer charter later) and to the formation of consumer organisations which can help consumers make better choices or get help with consumer complaints.

Consumer protection laws in some countries deal with a wide range of issues including credit repair, debt repair, product safety, service and sales contracts, bill collector regulation, pricing, utility turnoffs, consolidation, personal loans that may lead to bankruptcy.


What are your consumer rights?
The consumer organisations, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as all the government institutions agree on the following rights of Namibians consumers:

• The right to basic goods and services which guarantee survival.  This includes Food,Water, Electricity, Telephone and Internet access.
• The right to be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of services that are hazardous to health and life. 
• The right to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising or labelling. 
• The right to choose products and services at competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality. 
• The right to express consumer interests in the making and execution of government policy.
• The right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services. 
• The right to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be an informed consumer. 
• The right to live and work in an environment which is neither threatening nor dangerous and which permits a life of dignity and well-being.

Creating an Information Bank for Namibian consumers

My name is Milton Louw and I am a social entrepreneur that has been developing a central register of data for Namibia since 1993. As a student of computer science and statistics I was interested in developing an economic modeling system to assist my country through the first years after Independence in 1990. At present, this personal data register includes over 1 million records, or over half the population. This comes from public information such as electoral rolls, land registers, etc. and is freely available.

In 1999, I started a partnership with Creditreform Düsseldorf Frormann KG to develop a proposal for an integrated central register of personal and business data that would assist Government and the financial services industry provide better services to the people and businesses. The collection of data has continued over the 12 year period and we have met with various government officials to explain the benefits. However, the understanding of how to implement the technology has been lacking. (The business register has been our main focus and consists of over 11,000 businesses.)

Since 2010, I have read with interest the work the World Economic Forum (WEF), has been doing in regards of personal data and its impact in the world today. The WEF, has started discussing personal data as a new asset class and in its most recent report: “Rethinking Personal Data: Strengthening Trust” they suggest four main steps to be taken, namely:

1. Engage in a structured, robust dialogue to restore trust in the personal data ecosystem. The debate needs to focus on achieving consensus on some of the key tensions, including securing and protecting data, developing accountability systems, and agreeing on rules for the trusted and permissioned flow of data for different contexts. Central to this dialogue is the inclusion of individuals, who play an increasingly important role as both data subjects and as data creators.
2. Develop and agree on principles to encourage the trusted flow of personal data. The simple slogan of “think globally, act locally” can help frame these principles (i.e. shared principles can help all the actors aim towards the same outcomes, even if their approaches for how to get there differ).
3. Develop new models of governance for collective action. Regulators, organizations and individuals can play complementary roles in establishing accountability systems, enforcement mechanisms, rights and permissions.
4. Establish “living labs”. Given the complex social, commercial, technical and regulatory uncertainties and interdependencies, an environment which can provide stakeholders with the ability to test and learn in real time (and at scale) needs to be established. These labs can provide a safe context for more fully understanding the system dynamics and collectively identifying shared opportunities, risks and the means for effective collaboration.

I would like to offer my databases and experiences in Namibia to a research organisation or team, to use in establishing a “living lab” on a country-wide scale.

http://milton-louw.blogspot.com/2012/05/lets-put-namibia-on-forefront-of.html