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).
