Making A Better World - Milton Louw

“Love does not understand the concept of time.” said Simon as he took the drink I offered to him. The sun was gliding behind the mountains to the west while we looked northwards over the golf course. I had purchased a piece of land on a golf estate some thirty kilometres south of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. After many years of saving I had just finished building the house of my dreams. This was the first time I had the time to have a drink and appreciate the sacrifices I had made in my life to get here. Tomorrow, my wife and daughter would move in, today was for me. Simon was an old friend of mine, and he often spent time telling me stories about the lives of the people around us. He is one of those people who often spends his time alone, but as he insists, he is never lonely.  Perhaps, because he was often alone, his conversation normally started with a startling thought or quotation before telling his story. “Do you know the one bullet theory?” he enquired from me. Th...

The past week we celebrated the “Old Location Uprising” which coincides with Human Rights on 10 December. On Monday evening there was a discussion on NBC television that was discussing the topic and specifically what was referred to as second and third generation rights. It is important for people to understand these rights and the institutions that are responsible for protection their rights. Human rights are traditionally divided into two main groups, namely – • civil and political rights, and • economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights (also referred to as second and third generation rights). In Namibia, since Independence, most people can freely exercise and enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms recognised and protected in the Bill of Rights entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia (Chapter3), most of which are civil and political rights. But how many people enjoy or even are aware of their Economic, Social and Consumer rights? ESC rights play an impor...

(Consumer Column - Namibian Newspaper - 6 December 2012) I would love to win a car for Xmas, or even just a shopping hamper. It’s that time of the year when each of us hopes and desires are higher than normal. We not only want more money for ourselves, but also that we can buy things for people we care about. Companies understand this of course and are busy doing everything to tempt us to think only of today, not the January we all know is around the corner. As a consumer we understand that our relationship with business is one of mutual benefit. Nevertheless, we also expect our government to create laws that will not leave us powerless when we want compensation when things go wrong, or at least laws that will prevent outright abuse of us as the people of the country. As a consumer advocate, and someone who cannot see injustice without at least writing about it, I am worried when the government does not do its job. Before Independence there were laws governing lotteries, raffl...

During the Xmas period it is considered part of the festive season to give and receive presents. I remember as a young boy writing a letter to Father Xmas and asking for the gifts(s) I hoped to find under the tree. Many times I was disappointed and had to do with small gift and more often than not, practical things like socks or other clothing articles were part of my “presents”. For this Xmas season I have made a wish list of things I would like to see for the Namibian consumer. Friendly Customer Service Many employees in government and private business are not aware of the saying, (or simply ignore it), “The customer is king”. While it is understandable that the salaries are never enough and personal problems are worrying you, please make an effort to greet your customer and provide the most helpful service you can. Not only will you make me happier, but it will also lead to me doing more business with your company – which will lead to more profit and hopefully better salaries...

Before you take a loan (or other financial product) you have the right to receive all the necessary information that will allow you to make an informed financial decision. If you are taking a loan, you should know the answers to the following questions before agreeing to the loan. What is the size of the loan amount you are borrowing? What is the loan term? This is how long it is going to take to repay the loan. What is the interest rate? This is the percentage of the total loan amount charged for using the loan amount. It is normally charged on a monthly basis. What are the fees on this loan? These are normally once-off payments or administrative costs such as a loan processing fee. Do I have to take out insurance with this loan? If you take out loan insurance it will pay back your loan if something bad happens to you. This will protect your family and guarantee the bank gets its money back. How much is the loan payment? This is the amount of money you have to pay at regular...

Credit is a word with various meanings. These include praise, recognition or acknowledgement and that is why the list of names at the end of a movie is called credits. It can also refer to reputation or character, but most often we use it to refer to a product or service that is provided now and paid for in the future. Most of us use credit to purchase a house, a car, clothes and sometimes even groceries. If we take on too much credit, we find it difficult to get out of the cycle of indebtedness. In Namibia, indebtedness has become one of our biggest problems and needs to be tackled sooner rather than later. In this week’s column, I investigate the history of credit in Namibia under German colonial rule and see if we can learn any lessons from the past. The credit system evolved in the early 1840s and started to destroy the economic structures of many Namibian communities. It is recorded in the history books that around this time Jonker Afrikaner incurred heavy debts with the...

A consumer recently sent a copy of an SMS that offered the consumer a chance to make money from filling in forms and directed them to a website. The email reads: “Earn Extra income. Get paid up to N$3 750 per form. No computer needed. Very profitable. Visit www.mynamcash.com to get started.”  The short message was sent from the short service number 5001. Once a consumer uses the website link, (which sounded Namibian) they were redirected to a website in South Africa. In addition, the page created a pop-up window which offered a free computer programme download. This is a typical example of spam being used to get more of your personal details which the website owners can sell to other spammers and they use your network of contacts to further spread their message. Unfortunately there is no easy way to make money. These types of messages are mobile phone messaging spam that is aimed at getting you interested in something for nothing before making your money disappear. What is ...

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 an...

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,...

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 an...

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 b...

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'...

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 ha...

Permission to reprint from Anthony Farr For decades, entrepreneurship has been viewed as something risky and mysterious that only a few lucky mavericks could master. This perception has been fuelled by a public reverence for successful individuals, who seem to have had no formal training to which their entrepreneurial success could be attributed. Some educational institutions have also shunned or quashed entrepreneurship as a non-discipline, something unteachable and incongruous with traditional discipline-based courses. Whilst the significance of entrepreneurship for a country’s economy is rarely disputed, the much-debated question is whether entrepreneurship is an elusive and exclusive “talent” that is inherent in some, or whether it can be taught and therefore extended to a wider segment of the population who will contribute to the growth of its economy. But I believe that entrepreneurship can be taught and that it is a process that begins with rethinking its definition. Rede...

Inheritance Tracing Agency is a wholly owned Namibian Company, managed and operated by Namibians. Established in 2010, ITA specializes in finding beneficiaries and unknown heirs as well as the re-unification of assets, by providing pro-active search services to individuals, companies and the legal entities in Namibia According to the founder Andreas Hamutenya, The Company’s services promote consumer education and serves as a consumer protector. Clients can buy these financial products and services without hesitation knowing that they will actually benefit from such products in events of re-location or even death. Financial institutions are also benefiting in terms of administration costs reduction as these institutions won’t be dealing with the issue of making follow ups on where-about of untraceable clients. By seeking out sources of misplaced assets in situations where heirs can not be identified or located, the company boosts awareness, confidence and trust among the general p...

Don't ever mistake  my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness Had an opportunity to realise again that some people take my kindness for weakness. Just because I am always taking life as fun, does not mean I do not have serious side. When I say NO, it means NO, even when I say it with a smile. I had to learn that people only say and do what I allow them to. I might not walk around looking angry all the time, but I will put you in your place when I feel disrespected - and I will do it with a smile.

Paraphrased from Corinthians 13. The bible verse gifted to me by my Grandmother, Joyce Du Preez. I have been taught three things are necessary in life: faith, hope and showing my love for my neighbour and the most important is showing my love for my neighbour. Even though I can speak four languages and write computer programs, but do not show my love for my neighbour, I am like pirated music; And though I can see future trends, understand social media and have an international blog; Even though I have faith that I will become President of Namibia, and do not show love for my neighbour, I am nothing and have no social influence; Even though I am leaving my riches to feed the poor, and my body will be buried in heroes Acre, but do not show my love for my neighbour, it will not make me wealthy; Because when I show my love for my neighbour, - I lend my ears and give from my heart - I am not jealous or resent the good fortune of my neighbour - I am not arrogant o...

I am the named as the father of a child on his birth certificate, but I am not the biological father. This was my choice. I offered my name to his mother. Let me tell you the story. In 2004, I met a young woman who had a child of 3 months old. Really cute (as most babies are) but the mother did not have a name for him. HUH? When i questioned her she told me that the Ministry of Home Affairs would not register the child without the name of the father. Unfortunately she did not know who the father was. This meant she had no birth certificate, and worse could not get a clinic card for her son. I went with her to the offices and offered to have them list me as the father. The GRN official told me that this was not possible unless i was the biological father or married to the woman. Now those of you who know me - know I don't take no for an answer. I walked next door to the marriage regitration office and booked a marrigae appointment with the woman for the next we...

Introduction The consistently increasing living cost has brought a big burden to Namibian as they never seem to earn enough to cover their daily needs. Many people tend to deal with this problem through the moneylenders such as banks and cash loans who charge them very high interest rates. By so doing their indebtedness is increased even more and the situation becomes more serious to them. However, this money problem can be reduced if they join together under the cooperative principles of self-help and mutual help. A cooperative is a business owned by its members for their mutual social economic and cultural benefit. There are two types of cooperatives namely, 1.        consumer or service  cooperative – owned and managed by the people who use its services; and 2.        workers’ cooperative – owned and managed by people who work in the business. Namibia created an enabling environment for cooperatives ...