Neither a borrower nor a lender be

(This first appeared in the New Era of 14 January 2015)

The headline for this week’s column is borrowed from a soliloquy by Polonius in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet where Polonius is giving advice to his son Laertes before Laertes heads back to school.

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”

The past month I took my annual leave and I was fortunate to have it coincide with the birth of my son. I would strongly urge fathers (and lawmakers take note) to be there for your child's first few weeks or even months. It makes you appreciate the mother more, and sharing the sleepless nights and stomach cramps does wonders for your relationship. The best part must be the smiles you get for no apparent reason while you child falls asleep in your arms. This is the best investment any father can give and I trust the “return on your investment” will be worthwhile in the long run.

While on leave I noticed a public notice in the newspaper placed by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA). In the advert, NAMFISA notified all Hire Purchase Outlets and Credit Grantors that the maximum finance charges as per the Usury Act of 1968 is 15.60 percent per annum. NAMFISA has as one of its objectives the protection of consumers of financial services and in this regard administers the Usury Act.

Few consumers fully understand what usury is, how the Authority regulates maximum finance charges and how the consumer can make use of NAMFISA to ensure they are not being overcharged (abused).

First, what is usury? Usury is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans intended to unfairly enrich the lender. In plain English it means the lender is being made to pay too high interest on a loan. Thus the Usury Act is a law to prevent abuse of lenders and puts a maximum rate at which interest can be charged.

Some of the main objectives of the Usury Act, (Act No. 73 of 1968), are to regulate the maximum finance charges (or interest in short) and to ensure that terms and conditions of credit agreements, including Hire Purchase Agreements, are explained to customers and that fairness prevails in all contracts relating to all credit agreements.

In the public notice, Hire Purchase Outlets and Credit Grantors are reminded that the maximum finance charges or interest is calculated at the average prime rate times 1.6 which is currently at 9.75%. Thus the maximum interest that can be charged is 9.75 times 1.6 which equal 15.60 percent per annum.

Thus you as a consumer are protected under the Usury Act from any credit grantor (such as a money lender) from charging more than N$ 15.60 per year on every amount of N$ 100. If you are taking a loan for a shorter period such as a month, the interest rate must be divided by the percentage of the year the loan is granted. In other words, if you are taking a loan for one month, the interest may not be more than 15.60 divided by 12 thus 1.30 percent. If you have taken a loan from a money lender (and we all know how our January finances are), and are repaying at the end of a month, make sure they are not charging you more N$ 1.30 for every N$ 100 you are loaning.  Please note that certain lenders also charge administrative fees which are separate from the interest charged on the loan.

If you as a consumer have any queries, kindly contact the Microlending and Credit Agreements Department of NAMFISA at telephone number (061) 290 5000 (main), Ms. Lucrecia Lombardt at 061 290 5130 or e-mail: llombardt@namfisa.com.na.

Each One, Teach One

As the year comes to an end, I look back at take stock of what our consumer activism has achieved in 2014. Looking across the media spectrum, I am pleased to note that it is not only the New Era newspaper that has a consumer column. In addition, I appreciate the work being done by new media (mostly from within the traditional media houses) in bringing issues to the attention of consumers, activists and lawmakers. Facebook groups such as the Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) page have seen a drastic increase in postings, as well as feedback from business.

Now that there is more attention on consumer issues, the question must be asked: Has there been an increase in consumer protection during 2014?

The answer is (unfortunately) NO.

Allow me a few examples:

Just this past week, I ran out of credit on my cell phone. I was sent a reminder by my provider that my credit would run out – the warning though came one day before it ran out, not at the same time it runs out as in the past. At first, I was not too perturbed as I would notice after my first call on the next day that I was off the super package. However, the next morning I sent through my SMS request to purchase the package and went about my business as usual. That evening, I received a message that N$ 2.00 was deducted from my account for data usage. I immediately checked my phone as I had never received such a message before. On checking I found that the service provider had sent me a SMS that I could not participate in this offer as I was already on that specific package. Yet, somehow, later in the same day, my package expired. Now I was deducted N$2.00 and did not have enough funds for the super package anymore.

The service provider had changed my agreement with them regarding informing me of when my package rant out, and had started deducting an “automatic” data charge because my phone used data.

Definitely now a New Year’s wish of mine to get the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) to clamp down on these “profit” making practices.

In another example, I received the following from a customer:

“Shelve prices at a certain hyper store (name known to Consumer Court)  is a joke once you get to the pay-point (till). I had to request the cashier 4 times for 4 different products to charge me the price displayed on the shelf. I have had this experience several times at the same store and at others of the same chain. People are just paying without checking the price. I wonder how many people are robbed in this way on a daily basis. Every N$1 counts and makes up thousands of N$ on a daily basis. Even when you speak to the cashiers they are also acknowledging and complaining, because they are the ones to hear all the complaints and insults from customers.”

This same wholesaler had a complaint through Consumer Court earlier this year and they rectified it within a week. Now however, this same business is back and not doing what is best for the consumer. 

The question is thus, as consumer activists we have made the problem known in the media, however Namibian businesses believe (or know) that consumers have no legal recourse and this continue with this type of unethical business practices.

We as consumers must become more active and in the language of the liberation, Each One must Teach One. That is the only way to measure our success and get consumers to know their own rights.

Silencing others is not the answer in religion or politics

I was an Afroplitan living in Paris, France in 1995 during the Metro bombings. Yesterday I was once again watching the news of another religious inspired violent attack (on the media) in Paris. This reminded me of Voltaire, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

This brings me ta an issue that has bothered me a lot of the past two years. I joined the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) as the IT Project Coordinator in May 2013 and since then have had to face personal insults and verbal attacks on various social media. However, the moment I took issue with any personal attack (like on my personal Facebook page by a Namibia "investigative" journalist), I get reminded that I am an official of the ECN and should act more professionally.

Having been a social commentator since my student days I found it very difficult to understand that other people could confuse my personal life with my professional one. At one point I had to take out my "street manners" learnt in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and give some serious foul language to these characters that got into my personal life. I did not feel good about using foul language (even though it worked) but had to make a point of separating my professional life with my personal opinions.

The attach on @IamCharlie had me once again evaluate the way we as humans react to the opinions of others when we feel that it is contrary to our own. This was further brought to the for by the following post from a friend:

‪#‎DemocracyRules‬!
Rule #1: If you do not wish to be silenced, do not prevent others from speaking. 
Rule #2: If you do not want to be restricted, do not limit the movements of others.

This sentiment is not restricted to religions in Africa, but also the political parties. Most political parties (especially the "liberation parties"), have become a religion to their followers. Thus making a political party "holier than thou" and pushing a strategy of faith - even if you cannot see it you must believe in it.

I foresee that as long as we try to silence those who disagree with us, these type of senseless attacks will continue - whether the excuse is difference in religion or political beliefs.

The Seven Steps - understanding the Cape identity

(Taken from: http://blkrootsworker.blogspot.com/2012/03/seven-steps.html)

The SEVEN STEPS of District Six as a symbolic tool for understanding Cape identity

To anyone who has had an association with old District Six, the very mention of the ‘Seven Steps’ immortalised in Taliep Petersen’s musical ‘District Six’, stirs up deep emotions. The Seven Steps of stone worn by the thousands who climbed these to work, to home, to school, to play, to bok, to church, to mosque, to shop, to celebrate and to mourn, were part of the great big soul of the district. Today, so many years after its destruction, the Seven Steps stands out as the premier symbol of District Six. The District Six museum has it as an integral part of its brand and logo. There is a reverence at its mention – seven after all is God’s number. Seven is the dobbelaars ‘Lucky Number’.

The Seven Steps of stone worn by the thousands who climbed these to work, to home, to school, to play, to ‘bok’, to church, to mosque, to shop, to celebrate and to mourn, were part of the great big soul of the district.

District Six became Cape Town’s own Harlem. This Cape African Creole district on the edge of the city had its roots as one of the first settlements of freed urban slaves after emancipation. It was also the first home of African dockworkers from the Eastern Cape, sailors who jumped ship and poor European immigrants. The district grew over the years and became the cultural heart and soul of Coloured people. Some 40 000 people were living there. In 1966 the Apartheid regime began a forced removals process after declaring the colourful district as a ‘whites only’ part of the city. The forced removals, accompanied by wholesale demolitions saw the dwellings of the entire district raised to the ground. First Africans and then Coloured people were moved to the Cape Flats. The forced removals finally ended in 1986 when the last of the people were moved out. To add fuel to the fire, the district was renamed Zonnebloem - sunflower.

In the heart of District Six stood the seven stone steps which became one of those symbols of District Six that lives in the hearts of all who lived, loved, played and worked in the ‘District’. The seven steps became a powerful representation of popular memory.

The physical District Six is lost somewhere on the patch of earth and grass that remains like a gash on the body of our city. The District Six Museum is custodian of some of the old blocks of stone, the steps, and some pictures and paintings exist, but the greatest legacy symbolised by the seven steps is etched in our hearts. The spirit of District Six lives on.

There were seven stone steps in the heart of old District Six which holds a special place in the hearts of many and it is a powerful symbol of the heritage of Cape Town. The Seven Steps also speaks of the Seven Roots of identity in the Cape. The Coloured community in particular shares all of these roots of identity. (While some are comfortable with the term ‘Coloured’ many do not accept the term and feel uncomfortable with it, but no universally accepted term for people of mixed origins has ever emerged to find acceptance. I personally do not like the term and express myself as having a Cape Creole African identity as a South African, but I also do not shy away from using the term Coloured as it is more generally understood and used. Creole simply means ‘new creation’ or ‘locally born’).

Most people of the Cape from all population groups share two or more of the Seven roots. There is at least one of these roots in everyone and even the most recent to join us in this city and province has a place in these Seven Steps. Everyone had a place in old District Six and the Seven Steps stands out as a powerful symbol of diversity and inclusivity in the Cape. In applying the symbolism of the Seven Steps to our heritage, each STEP represents a root tributary to Cape identity as follows:

STEP 1: Represents the tributary of the INDIGENES. The people of the Cape have strong African roots. The San, Khoe and amaXhosa in the Cape and the baSotho and baTswana in western and northern reaches of the old demarcated Cape Colony are the first tributary of Cape identity. The Coloured people of the Cape have deep African roots with a number of traditional African communities, sharing ancestors and many elements of cultural heritage. History also shows us that communities such as the amaXhosa of today, share San, Khoe, Asian and European ancestors with Coloured communities. There is a strong cousin-connection across ethno-social boundaries in the Cape.

STEP2: Represents the tributary of the SLAVES. We are the descendents of Slaves from other parts of Africa and Madagascar, from India and from the Indonesian Islands. Over the period 1653 – 1808 over 63 000 slaves were brought to the Cape from these areas. Around 32 500 of these slaves came from Africa and Madagascar, 19 000 from India, and 11 500 from the Indonesian islands. Between 1808 – 1856 a further 8000 mainly African slaves were brought to the Cape as ‘Prize Negro’ slaves captured from slaver vessels by the Royal Navy. The locally born children and successive grandchildren of these slaves were all to lead lives of slavery until emancipation in 1836. For many ‘Prize Slaves’ emancipation only came in dribs and drabs right through to 1870 and the last slaves arrived in 1890.

STEP 3: Represents the tributary of the FREE BLACKS. We are descendents of the Free Blacks of the Cape – a category of people that once were poised to be a socio-economic group to be reckoned with in early Cape development, but later for a number of reasons became powerless. Early Mardijkers soldiers from Ambonya in the employ of the VOC, Free Black travellers, soldiers and sailors, the manumitted slaves, and freed black convicts all became part of those referred to as Free Blacks.

STEP 4: Represents the tributary of the EUROPEANS. We are descendents of a range of Europeans who intermarried with, or who had children with Indigenes, Slaves and Free Blacks. In the early founding years of the Cape Settlement the mainly German, Dutch, Swiss, Portuguese, French and Scandanavians were mainly male and took black partners. Many Europeans were also transient and never settled in the colony but left children behind. There were always Europeans, across the centuries, who had children with black partners and this carried on when the English, Irish and Scots arrived in South Africa. The Europeans settled and made their homes in Africa as a local people, but their bloodlines can also be found amongst indigene groups and Coloured communities, as much as indigene and Coloured bloodlines can be found in the descendent European communities.

STEP 5: Represents the tributary of the MAROONS. We are descendents of runaway slaves, Free Black rebels, mixed ‘Baster’ descendents of indigenes and slaves, non-conformists Europeans, escaped convicts, and eccentric missionaries. They became the freedom-trekkers who moved as far away from the reaches of the colonial government, long before the Boer Great Trek, to the long wild territory along the Garieb river in the north west, and to the amaXhosa territory in the east. Here these Drosters or Maroons mixed with Khoe, San, Xhosa and other indigenes and formed new groups such as the Orlams Afrikaners, the Bergenaar Basters, the Springboks, and the Griquas. Others joined the Xhosa armies and resisted both the Boers and later the British.

STEP 6: Represents the tributary of the EXILES & REFUGEES: We are the descendents of outspoken fighters and political leaders who challenged the Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish in various territories in Indonesia and Polynesia. Indonesian Muslim resistance leaders were tried and banished into exile at the Cape; Peranakan Chinese from the Chinese resistance after the massacres of Chinese by the Dutch in Batavia; and Philippine refugees from the Phillipine Revolution - the Manillas, landed up at different times in the Cape and integrated into what was later called the Coloured population. In later years, to this day, new exile and refugee groups would continue to trickle into the Cape, make this place their home and integrate with other communities.

STEP 7: Represents the tributary of the INDENTURES & MIGRANTS: We are descendents of a range of people who were brought to the Cape as indentured labourers or who were economic migrants. After slavery was formally ended at the Cape, first the ‘Prize Boys’ were forced to accept indentureship as labourers, then farmers began importing indentured labour from the Congo, Malawi, Botswana and Mozambique. Most of these ‘Indentures’ were settled in the Drakenstein and integrated with both the Coloured communities and the amaXhosa who were working in the district since the late 1700s.

Already many of the freed slaves in the Drakenstein were those from East Africa known locally as the Mosbiekers. The Mosbieker pool grew as indentureship was continually extended over the 19th century.

From the 1840s and increasing in the 1870s right through to 1910 and beyond, large groups of people were brought in as indentured servants from St Helena. The Saints as they were known were also descendents of slaves, Chinese and British settlers on the island of St Helena.

In 1890 the Ormoro North African slaves (Somalia) seized from a slaver ship were brought to the Cape and these also integrated into Coloured and amaXhosa communities.

Also amongst the migrants were West Africans of the Kru tribe who had been employed by the Royal Navy in Simonstown for almost a century (1830 – 1930). These Kroomen as they were locally known also integrated into the Coloured community. Their grave markers can still be seen in Simonstown today. In the late 1800s the Royal Navy began recruiting Siddis and Zanzibaris from displkaced African communities scattered along the African and Indian coasts. Siddis and Zanzibaris like the Kru also integrated into Cape society.

Migrants and other infusions into the Cape society carry on to this day. Through our sea ports relationships have produced children with Chinese and other seaman of many nations. Economic migrants and refugees from other African countries still arrive daily and take their place among us as they always have. District Six was a key centre that became a microcosm manifestation of the coming together of all of these tributaries and the creolisation of cultures that gave us the rich and diverse locally born Cape African heritage that we celebrate today.

Milk is soon becoming a cost at my house

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 17 December 2014)

The past two weeks have been extremely hectic at the Shaanika-Louw household. First it was counting the elections results that kept me from home, now baby has decided we must get ready for our new addition. We arrived at the maternity ward quite prepared as we both have children from previous relationships. However, baby has had other ideas. Since morning Monday, till now just after lunch on Tuesday, baby has decided to take a break. It seems it will take longer to have our baby than counting the elections results.

As part of my baby preparedness, I took my wife to the new mall that recently opened in the south east of Windhoek. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many brand name stores and one look at the prices of these items made me appreciate the value of competition. In one of the toy stores I was able to buy a present for our elder son of 11 for less than N$ 200.00. The exact same toy is available from local toys stores and large retailers for more than twice the price.

Thus, I look forward to continuing dropping of prices as we see more competition in the market place.
This now leads me to a conundrum - a confusing and difficult problem or question. If competition is good for me as a consumer when prices drop, when can it be bad for me?

As a previous promoter of trade for Namibia based at the United Nations Industrial Organisations office in Paris, France, we often complained about competition against our local business that forced them to go out of business. Many times I heard the argument we need to defend our Namibian industries and business against “unfair” advantage and tactics used by especially South African businesses. The examples are numerous where the power of size was used by such companies, for example cooking oil, toilet paper, foam mattresses, etc.)
In recent months I have approached by both sides of the arguments on “protecting local industry”. (The two commodities referred to is the fresh milk and the chicken market.)

The suppliers argue that they need protection from the outside producers because they only have a small market, and the large produces can afford to flood the market and the non-protection would lead to job losses. Consumers on the other hand argue quite rightly that when there is competition, then prices will come down and prevent monopolies from increasing their profit margins without due regard to the “market price”.

Having been on both sides of the “game”, I must now take a stand. Do I believe in market forces keeping prices affordable or do I believe in protecting jobs? Wrong!

That is not the actual question. We need to look at the industries concerned on an individual basis and then come to some recommendation.

The dairy industry used to consist of many producers supplying to dairies that were locally based. For example, in Rehoboth the farmers supplied their milk to the locally owned dairy. At Independence there were two main large dairies and they kept the market in balance. However, these two consolidated and became almost a monopoly. This large size meant they could use business tricks to get rid of competitors or put them into a position of having to either sell or close down their business. Today, this is the largest dairy and if I am correct, only dairy in the country. They even have their own super-farm to provide products to themselves.

This large company now wants to continue the production of the dairy industry because otherwise there will be loss of jobs and it is important to grow the Namibian economy.

I disagree. This monopolistic attitude is causing harm to our consumers and should not be allowed to continue. The Ministry of Trade and Industry must bow down to demands from large companies crying “infant protection” when they are neither infants nor protectors of the small and medium business owners in this country.