Making A Better World - Milton Louw

The company Credit Information Bureau Namibia has developed a consumer and business database of Namibia. The complete database comprises of approximately 1 million individuals and 10,000 businesses. CRIB provides mailing and telemarketing lists to clients in the financial and personal services industry. The company has filtered this database to create a "Professionals Database" made up of over 15,000 mobile numbers of high-net worth professionals throughout Namibia. HOW LIST RENTAL WORKS Most of the lists we have available are offered on a list rental basis, ie they are supplied for once off use only at a rate quoted as a cost per 500 individual consumers or company executives. For example - the cost to rent 1,000 professionals from the Namibian Professionals Database will be 1,000 x N$ 3.50 per 1000 for once off telephone, mailing and fax usage = N$ 3,500.00 excluding VAT. A processing charge of N$ 500.00 is also charged for any order. We will supply you with counts an...

Namibia’s regulatory position is like stepping back ten years if you’re more used to the competitive rough and tumble in Africa’s more developed markets. The historic incumbent Telecom Namibia still has some monopoly privileges and the new incumbent, Government-owned mobile operator MTC is in danger of behaving in much the same way. Sadly the country has closed its regulator with a view to opening a new one. However, this has meant all things regulatory have gone into a holding pattern. Russell Southwood looks at the key market barriers that are holding things back. Historic incumbent Telecom Namibia has an infrastructure monopoly and although the power utility NamPower has fibre assets, it has only recently tendered them: MTC (which may build a link to South Africa), Telecom Namibia and some ISPs are all interested in the capacity. Telecom Namibia invested in what was then Africa’s only real international cable, SAT3 but didn’t invest enough to get a landing station. This is someth...

Background The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an on-going dispute between the Jewish and Arab peoples living in Palestine under Ottoman or British rule. There are numerous issues to resolve before a lasting peace can be reached, including strong emotions relating to the conflict on both sides; Palestinian concerns over Israeli settlements and land; status of Jerusalem; Israeli security concerns over terrorism, safe borders, incitements, violence and Palestinian refugee issues. These are encapsulated as the six core issues: • Jerusalem • Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war • Israeli settlements in the West Bank • Israeli security concerns • International status • Water resources Peace proposals Generally speaking, the peace process is driven by the US and Israel’s Arab neighbours, most prominently Egypt. The proposals are for either: a. Two-state solution This would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent Jewish state. b. One-s...

PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY September 2010 BY Chief Ankama, SWAPO MP & Deputy Minister: MWT Comrade Speaker Fellow MPs The Bill on the floor of this eminent House in my view is long overdue. Almost two years ago for three consecutive sessions of parliament I tabled here a motion on unemployed Namibians both professional trained and those without. When I motivated the said motion for the first time, the idea was to get a prompt reaction from the floor of this august house across the political spectrum represented here. Sadly the debate was shoddy and it had to tabled for the second time in hope for improved contributions. Even for the second motivation many of us in this house did not take the motion on unemployed Namibians as serious shown by the poor debate and therefore the motion was re-tabled for the third consecutive time. Comrade Speaker Honourable Members The Employment Service Bill squarely responds to motion on unemployed Namibian...

PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 2009 BY: Chief Ankama, SWAPO MP Comrade Speaker, I regard this motion as an extraordinarily important one, not just to me but to other many Namibians if not all. This is the third time that I move this motion in the house. It first lapsed during the first term of 2008 when parliament went into recess and then re-introduced during the last term of last year but ended without reaching its intended goal, the goal of finding a lasting directive to solving unemployment situation in Namibia. Now comrade Speaker, I am here again standing to re-introduce the motion on unemployed Namibians with or without professional qualifications, accompanied by some amendments. The motion seeks to: 1. discuss, assess and ascertain the seriousness of unemployed Namibians with professional trainings and qualifications obtained from recognized educational institutions here in Namibia or abroad; 2. this motion equally should include in ou...

By: Milton Louw The banking population in Namibia has increased substantially in 2009 according to the World Bank’s Financial Access 2010 report released on Thursday, 16 September. The number of deposit account holders in Namibia has grown by 23 percent, with statistics confirming the resilience of the seven commercial banks during a year weighed down by the international financial crises. According to the report, more than three quarters of the population (752 per 1000 adults) hold deposit accounts and 20 percent have loans with financial institutions. In comparison, the report shows that sub-Saharan Africa had an average of 163 deposit accounts per 1000 adults and only 28 bank loans per 1000 adults. In addition the report shows that the disbursement of loans shrank across sub-Saharan Africa last year, with Namibian loan accounts declining in volume by 36 percent. The most remarkable was that Namibia scored the highest with 1185 “Depositors with Other Depository Corporations” ...

A Namibian Consumer Protection Act should specifically target unfair discrimination and enforce the right of equality in the consumer market. The Act must put the onus on the landlord to prove that he is not discriminating in any way against a tenant on the basis of things like race, gender, nationality, and even income. In addition, we believe the new Act should allow for automatic renewal of the rental agreement. This will prevent landlords from using this as an excuse to terminate when the tenant wishes to stay. At present many agents and landlords are using the end of the year contract to get rid of tenants so they can increase the rent amount for the next person. Normally the rent will only go up by around ten percent, and the landlords are pushing up the prices to the new tenants by a lot more. Lastly, we propose that the Consumer protection Act must include the right to fair and honest dealings. “No physical force, coercion, undue influence, pressure, duress or harassment ma...