Making A Better World - Milton Louw

The NCPG is negotiating to establish a Consumer Hotline for Namibia. Consumers will be able to register their complaints telephonically and their complaint will be dealt with and hopefully, solved. A monthly newsletter will be sent to all members to inform them of the monthly issues and the percentage of issues that have been resolved. Remember you can also send a complaint to miltonlouw@gmail.com or fillout the NCPG complaint form at http://milton-louw.blogspot.com/2009/11/namibia-consumer-protection-group.html

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 for the past three years 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 t...

The NCPG is negotiating to establish a Consumer Hotline for Namibia. Consumers will be able to register their complaints telephonically and their complaint will be dealt with and hopefully, solved. A monthly newsletter will be sent to all members to inform them of the monthly issues and the percentage of issues that have been resolved. Remember you can also send a complaint to miltonlouw@gmail.com or fillout the NCPG Complaint Form  (<-----click here)

The role of the Government in the developed world is to balance the creation of jobs against the expectations of the employees. The private sector is encouraged through various means to invest and create employment opportunities. However, the labour force, through its Unions, have become so powerful, they often influence decision-making that is detrimental to job creation. Bluntly put, an investor puts their money where they get the best return. If labour costs are too high, they go elsewhere. The Namibian Government has used a relaxation of the existing labour laws in its efforts to promote investment. The EPZ Act for example outlaws certain employee actions. This has not worked. Rather the government should work to streamline the hiring and firing processes across the board to allow flexibility for investors. It should rather provide incentives to employers who train and develop their existing workforce. For example, the Government could suggest a 1% of turnover be spent of c...

This question came up recently in a discussion that was proposing a "Workers Party" for Namibia after the last election. I had to think about it for a while, especailly as I am a SWAPO member. But then inspiration struck, if we want to tackle a political problem, why not look at how this has been done by consumer activitists (such as Ralp Nader in the USA). The most common denominator for people is their consumer experience in a society. Nader considered launching a third party around issues of citizen empowerment and consumer rights. He suggested a serious third party could address needs such as campaign-finance reform, worker and whistle-blower rights, government-sanctioned watchdog groups to oversee banks and insurance agencies, ... I suggest that should a "third-party" emerge it would only be viable if it had a coherent political platform. What should this platform be based on? Four things, namely the social movements, the peace movement, the civil righ...

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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 recogniti...