Rights of Passengers Using Road Transport in Namibia

The Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) has taken note of the continued loss of lives on our roads and wishes to propose a Passenger Charter for Road Transport in Namibia. The following core rights must be applicable to all regular services, irrespective of the distance of the service provided:
• non-discriminatory transport conditions,
• access to transport for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility at no  additional cost and the financial compensation for the loss or damage of their mobility equipment,
• minimum rules on travel information for all passengers before and during their  journey as well as general information about their rights; and
• a complaint handling mechanism by carriers available to all passengers.


If the distance travelled is 250 km or more (long-distance services) we propose:
• passengers be given a ticket (printed or cellphone message) proving their entitlement to transport,
• compensation and assistance in case of death, injury, loss or damage caused by accidents,
• information when the service is cancelled or delayed in departure,
• right of reimbursement of the full ticket price or rerouting in case of cancellation or long delay,
• adequate assistance in case of cancelation or long delay (only applicable when the scheduled duration of the journey is more than 3 hours),
• compensation up to 50 % of the ticket price if the service provider fails to offer the passenger the choice between reimbursement of the ticket price or rerouting in case of cancellation or long delay; and
• specific assistance at no additional cost for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility both at bus terminals and on board.

The Ministry of Works and Transport has created specific legislation and regulations to govern the usage of roads through licencing fees, etc., but very little has been done to enure the rights of cosnumers of public transport are respected.

We would like to encourage all stakeholders, including the Ministry, Namibia Bus and Taxi Association, Media and consumer bodies to correct this lack of consumer protection for users of public road services.

11 June 2013
Milton Louw
Volunteer Director

Namibia should speak for its brothers in Zimbabwe

"Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence." - David Ben-Gurion

Namibia has a duty to speak out against all acts that deprive any individual of their fundamental human rights. The first line of the preamble to our Constitution states “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is indispensable for freedom, justice and peace;”

It is therefore the duty of each Namibian citizen, and all our political leaders to show moral leadership in our undertakings with all countries of the world.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/march/the-zimbabwean-the-voiceless-campaign

A new advertising campaign for The Zimbabwean highlights the newspaper's role in giving a voice to the people of Zimbabwe. The posters feature images taken by photojournalists who have worked in the country over the last two years, and direct viewers to the newspaper's website, where the photographers describe the circumstances in which the shots were taken.

Namibia has lost its godliness.

The discussion about bible studies at school is a reaction to our realising that we have lost our moral compass as a nation. Because we remember the days of pre-independence as being without this type of lawlessness, it is easiest to point to a single change, such as the removal of bible studies from schools, and say we should reinstate this and then things will become better.

Unfortunately this is too easy an argument and might even detract us too long while these things continue to occur in our communities.

We need to tackle the root of the problem directly; There is a lack of godliness in our culture since we embraced our Independence. By this I refer to the feeling that as individuals we are aware that our deeds on earth will be judged when we pass from this earth. This feeling is the one that makes you look around when you are about to do something wrong. That feeling that makes you come to the defence of those more vulnerable in our community, that feeling that makes us give of our time, money and even possessions to make life a little easier for those around us.

This feeling of fraternity, or brotherhood, is not natural to being human. At birth we are naturally self-centred and believe ourselves to be the centre of the universe and that everyone around us is there to serve our needs. As we grow our parents and community teach us that we are part of the human race, and need to invest into our relationships with those around us to also receive something in return. This education is part of growing up and provided by our parents. It starts with our Mothers’ teaching us to no longer drink from her breasts but to eat on our own and eventually be able to earn our own living to enable us to purchase our own food.

In the same way, our parents have to teach us that we are not the centre of the universe in terms of possessions or earthly goods but rather that “we should love others as we love ourselves”.
This is what gives us human beings our godliness: Our ability to understand that we must respect and cherish all that is around us on earth. This includes our partners, our children, our institutions and even our natural world. If we can teach this awareness of godliness from birth we will soon have s society that we can all be proud of.

Godliness is thus not about a specific religion, or book, but the universal teaching of us treating each other as the gods we all are.

A sense of godliness in each of us will see less need of laws stopping the

• abuse by companies of consumers,
• abuse by men of women in relationships,
• abuse by those in power of the trust of those who put them there, and
• abuse of the very earth and its natural surroundings that is the Land of the Brave.

It might be better to have a class at schools teaching future parents their responsibilities towards the education of their children?

Misleading advertising promises big things

First printed in The Namibian 11 April 2013

Writing this weekly column has become the highlight in my week. In any given week I can expect at least three different issues to stick out their head that want to be brought to the attention of the esteemed readers.

The past week was one in which more than eight different issues have been raised and I found myself overwhelmed in making the decision of what to write about. Then on Tuesday while I was in a pharmacy seeking to purchase a vitamin supplement containing ginseng and St John’s Wort, it struck me that most of the issues the past week have been about misleading advertising. But first, let me tell you about my experience at the pharmacy.

For the past ten to twelve years I have been a big supporter of homeopathic medicines as an alternative to man-made medicine and worse, their expensive brand names that are pushed by our medical profession. In 2003, while spending a year studying the possibility of creating a central database for citizens in Germany, I was introduced to a natural product known as “Johanneskraut” (or St John’s Wort in English) for the treatment of depression. The doctor suggested I use the herb in a tablet form or in a liquid mixed with ginseng which would give me energy and combat fatigue. I have used the product over the past ten years and have felt it produced the desired result in regards cleansing my body and reducing the stress in my mind and increasing my energy levels.

This week, as I am returning to Windhoek, I felt I should once again get topped up in my vitamins and prepare for the stress lifestyle in the city. Purchasing the St John’s Wort was no problem, but I did not find the ginseng. At the next pharmacy I was in for a bit of a surprise. The pharmacy assistant guided away from the herbal medicines section to an area where the contraceptives and sexual stimulants were being displayed. The display cabinet had various packets advertising ginseng as an aphrodisiac to assist men in getting bigger or better in sexual performance. The packets all contained only an individual pill to be used for the specific purpose and were priced in the region of N$ 30 to N$ 40 each. After quite some discussion (some quite embarrassing I must add), I was able to make the assistant understand I was looking for the product as a herbal remedy and not because of any problem I might be having in the bedroom department. The assistant and I went through to the herbal department and we were able to find a packet of 20 tablets that was priced at a reasonable N$100. Thus the price would make it N$5 per tablet. Being the curious consumer activist that I am, I went back to check the contents of the expensive packets and compare with the one I purchased. When comparing the contents, it turns out both the single packet and the bulk packet contained exactly the same amount of ginseng per tablet.

My question now is: Why the big difference in pricing? The simple answer is that the products were aimed at different segments namely the natural herbal supplement market and the male sexual dysfunction market.
The biggest problem I have with the ginseng supplement is that it is being advertised as a product that will assist with a medical problem without any proof that this is the case. Worst of all, by making sure the product is being sold in a pharmacy the manufacturer is getting a silent endorsement as to the perceived effectiveness of the product.

If we had a consumer protection act, or at least some consumer protection agency, we as consumers would be able to register our complaints as get products that are using misleading advertising off our shelves.

Right now we have no protection.

Let us talk about debt, baby

First printed in The Namibian 04 April 2013

This week I wish to share with you my experience with debt and the threat by the lawyers that “the Sheriff of the Court” will come take my possessions and sell them to repay debts that have been registered with the court. I have two registered debts that I am aware of. Both are debts incurred while running my company and applied by the creditors to my personal responsibility. The one debt is stated by the creditor to be over N$ 25 000 and thus is a matter for the High Court.

Now, you must keep in mind that though you might not wish to discuss your debt, the creditor is doing everything possible to make sure as many people as possible know about it. The use of the threat to inform the widest possible audience is the greatest tool of the creditor to force you to pay what the court has agreed you owe them. (This is important: The amount you are supposed to owe is the amount they have convinced the court you must pay – and I will come back to that later.)

Allow me to share with you the information about my court registered with the High Court (all is public information supplied by the creditor and their lawyers).

The Deputy Sheriff of the High Court was ordered to serve on me a subpoena (an order to appear before the High Court) for 11 April 2013 at 10h00. On this day, the judgement creditor, namely Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) wishes the court to give an order  to pay the outstanding default judgement amount of N$ 28 630 When I appear in court, the creditor expects me to provide a proof of my monthly salary or income, my monthly income and expenses, proof or all debts and payments thereof, a list of my assets and liabilities, proof of expenses in respect of housing and all other documents that may assist the court to investigate my financial position and determine the instalments to be paid by me for this debt. (I am unfortunately an unemployed writer living on a friend’s farm ;-)

By now, most of us have learned that my explanation of “the behaviour of the organisation has led to me to withhold my labour” or the belief by the IPPR that “you have been duplicitous and give Black Economic Empowerment a bad name” is of no interest to the court. In the eyes of the law, I have been found guilty after due process has been followed by the creditor.

And now we come to the root of my problem. I accept the judgement, but would like some further information or assistance. For example:

• What was the original debt and what other costs have been added to get to the amount in front of the court?
• Why did the lawyers make use of a sister company to do the tracing and change my erf numbers as if I had a new address during the process of getting the default judgement (and neatly changed it back to get the summons served at the correct address)?
• Which amounts are actually allowed to have interest added? The main debt is stated in my papers, but can the lawyers charge interest on their charges? Or charge interest on the services provided by the Sheriff of the Court? I could really use a clear indication of which costs attract interest and which do not.
• When does my debt reach “in duplum”?

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!