Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
CONSUMER
Y
NEWS
O U R V O I C E
Debt
and
Taxes
KFC cash Bread &
“Everyone needs a little...”
loan Butter
more
chips trap price
breakdown
ISSN: 2026-710X w w w.consumernewsnamibia.com
Understanding the MVA Fund
1. Crash Occurs
The Fund operates on a “no-fault” based system where 2. Call centre is notified
all people injured in motor vehicle accidents, regardless 3. Call Centre dispatches Ambulance
of who caused the accident, receive fair and reasonable 4. Injured person is treated at the most accessible
benefits, subject to some limitations and exclusions. medical facility
5. MVA Fund issues GOP – next working day
This effectively means that all persons injured and 6. Case Manager undertakes hospital visits & issues
dependants of those killed in motor vehicle accidents claim form for submission by injured person.
can claim and benefit from the MVA Fund. 7. Injured person is discharged from hospital
8. Injured person submits claim form
Road users are encouraged to report all accidents 9. MVA Fund assesses claim and processes payment of
involving motor vehicles through the MVA Fund Call injury grant if applicable
Centre using the Accident Response Number: 0819682, 10. MVA Fund communicates medical undertaking
in order to receive prompt emergency response and outcome of assessment
subsequent medical attention. 11. Case Manager obtains progress medical reports
from specialists
Claims should be submitted immediately after the 12. Case Manager drafts & implements rehab plans in
accident. For accidents that occurred prior to 02 May consultation with claimant
2008, claims should be submitted no later than 30 April 13. Treatment is provided
2011. Once a claim is received, it is registered on the 14. Claim is either closed or further rehab is provided.
Fund claim system and assessed based on the merits of
each case. For more information, please contact any of the MVA
Fund Service Centres in Windhoek, Ongwediva and
The following process provides an outline of how claims Rundu.
are received and processed by the MVA Fund.
MVA Fund Service Centre Ongwediva MVA Fund Service Centre Windhoek MVA Fund Service Centre Rundu
ERF: 6325, 6326, P.O. BOX 3669 8495 Church Street, P.O. BOX 25158, Eugene Kakukuru Road, North Gate Building, Shop No.11
Tel: +264 65 234 060/1, Fax: +264 65 231 613 Tel: +264 61 289 7000, Fax: +264 61 241142 P.O. BOX 899, Tel: +264 66 255 826, Fax: +264 66 256 859
Visit our website: www.mvafund.com.na
CONSUMER
The Team NEWS
Publisher
Consumer News Editor’s Note
Printed by
John Meinert Printing The team at Consumer News are very excited about this issue as we
have some great local issues to report back to you. We receive many
Distribution by
Nampost Courier complaints from shoppers in Windhoek and beyond. This month we
investigate a VAT complaint. Are local supermarkets adhering to
Design & Layout the rules? We find out more. We also tackle the thorny issue of the
Elisha Chambara
amount of chips you get at the KFCs in Namibia. We compare a Two
E-mail: elisha@consumernewsnamibia.com
Piece and Chips from Canada to our own Streetwise Two and you
Cell: 081 377 4344
will be surprised at the results. Namibia’s consumer groups contribute
Journalists on local issues, VAT and credit management. This month we also
Victoria Kangombe welcome the Namibian Standards Institution and Victoria Kangombe
E-mail: wordsmithstress@gmail.com
as regular contributors and we are very pleased to have them aboard.
Lynette Magaramombe
In the April edition of Consumer News we incorrectly stated that the tariff on electricity
Cell: 081 423 0181 was increased 35% by Nampower. The tariff rate approved by the Electricity Control
Board was actually 18%. We apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding we
Marla Chaneta may have caused.
E-mail: marlachaneta@yahoo.com
Competition Winners ...
Denver Isaacs We are pleased to announce our contest winners from August
congratulations
E-mail: denver@consumernewsnamibia.com
Bokomo Hampers: Checkers Vouchers:
Business Development Manager Monica Sem Moekie Kemp Isabella van Wyk - 1st Prize
Jacques Nieman Festenuis Angula Zelna van Eeden Rina Nawises - 2nd Prize
Ervin Tjihovu Joey van Wyk Faith Munyebvu - 3rd Prize
E-mail: jnieman@consumernewsnamibia.com
Simon Amupanda
Cell: 081 203 7180
Contact details
Consumer News Namibia Consumer Protection Group: Milton Louw. E-mail: miltonlouw@gmail.com
PO Box 96366 Namibia Customer Service Institute: Jon Allen. E-mail: csinstitute@iway.na
Windhoek, Namibia Website: www.namibiacsi.com
Tel/Fax: +264 61 228 196
Namibian Consumer Lobby: Bob Ziekenoppasser. Tel: 064-461 461 or 081 284 8000
Namibian Standards Institution: Tel: 061-386 400 / Queries: query@nsi.com.na
Enquiries
info@consumernewsnamibia.com Website: www.nsi.com.na
CN 01
contents
table of
Feature
KFC
We get chippy with KFC 07
Victoria Kangombe
On quality service 10
Denver Isaacs
Debt and the pay day loan 08
NSI (Namibian Standards Institution)
Outline their mission 14
NCPG (Namibia Consumer Protection Group)
Manage your debt 25
NCSI (Namibia Customer Service Institute)
Customer expectations 20
Entertainment
Soccer
Preview of the Namibian Premier League 32
how about
A LIT TLE MORE OF THIS... A N D A L I T T L E L E S S O F T H AT ?
element creations / tn / how / 2010
T E A M N A M I B I A M E M B E R S A N D S U P P O R T E R S C R E AT E LO C A L W E A LT H .
T E A M N A M I B I A . B E N A M I B I A N - B U Y N A M I B I A N . C R E AT I N G J O B S . S U P P O R T I N G LO C A L B U S I N E S S .
www.teamnamibia.com
VAT
editorial
Investigated
T
his month we received an inquiry about whether super- Consumer News also made the effort to get in touch with Inland
markets are correctly exempting staple items from Value- Revenue who provided us with the amended 2010 list of all basic
Added-Tax (VAT). Consumer News took to the streets to necessity products listed as VAT-exempt items.
find out what the situation was. We visited Pick ‘n Pay,
Shoprite and Checkers, Woermann Brock, Tre Supermarket and We urge all consumers to be vigilant and check their till slips when
Superspar and purchased these items from every store for price- leaving the supermarket. Most importantly consumers… do not be
comparison and to check out the VAT scenario. shy or afraid to ask the store supervisor for an explanation on any
item that you may deem suspect!
We examined the receipts from each of these stores and came to the
conclusion that, as far as the receipts indicate, all the stores listed As this particular issue relates to all Namibian citizens, Consumer
the VAT-exepmt items with an asterix and is tellied under the zero- News refered this to Mr Bob Ziekenoppasser from the Namibian
rated VAT section at the bottom of your receipt. Consumer Lobby, whom has put together an interesting viewpoint.
“I have a concern I want to bring to your attention, please direct me to the right
people if you are not responsible for this. After VAT was exempted from commodities
like milk, bread, sugar, cooking oil and others, there are some shops like Pick & Pay
and Shoprite that charge customers VAT on these commodity items. If you check
the receipt after buying these commodities, they indicated a harsh which means
that it is a non-taxable item, but there is VAT indicated under non- taxable item and
taxable item. The total price you will pay is including the two VAT amounts. I com-
pared Shoprite and Pick & Pay receipts with the one for Tre Supermarket, but Tre is
not charging VAT on non-taxable items.
Please advise me on this, maybe I do not know how the VAT works.
Thank you
Concerned consumer
Elizabeth
Listed below are the items that are exempt of VAT as is defined in section 1 of the Customs and Excise Act:
• Supply of mahango, mahango meal or maize meal, but does not include these items when furnishing or served as a meal
or as cooked or prepared food
• Supply of electricity, water, refuse removal and sewerage to a residential account
• Supply of fresh and dried beans (excluding canned and frozen beans), sunflower cooking oil, fried out or processed
animal fat used for preparation of food, bread and cake flour (sifted or unsifted) and bread, but does not include these
items when furnishing or served as a meal or as cooked or prepared food (added by Section 1 Act 4 of 2008)
• Supply of dry white or wet or dry brown granular sugar, and or fresh milk (added by Section 6 Act 4 of 2010; effective as
from 1 May 2010)
04 CN
%
VAT c o n t .
Namibian Consumer
Lobby on
VAT Founder: Bob Ziekenoppasser
T
he Consumer Lobby and the Namibian consum- Weight of the above-mentioned differs from shop to shop
ers are extremely grateful to the government for and shockingly with lots of grams. When will the ministry
exempting various basic commodities from VAT. dealing with weights and measures employ more inspectors
Sad but true, whenever an Act gets past in for all the regions in Namibia? It would have been wonder-
Parliament, the infrastructure such as trade inspectors are ful if the government would have exempted VAT from tradi-
extremely inadequate to control, if the Act is adhered to, tional milk products such as Omaere and Oshikadela which
thus resulting in the consumer not benefiting the full 15% are basic necessities for many Namibians.
that should have been deducted from commodity prices.
Since Namibian consumers are not price-conscious, many Another point to ponder is when the Ministry of Mines an-
shops and supermarkets either do not deduct the VAT, or nounces a petrol price increase commodity, prices shoot up
only deduct a few percent. This results in the consumer pull- overnight even before the implementation date of the petrol
ing the shortest end. price increase.
This stops no outlet to merely move a VAT-exempted article Consumers please take note of the following:
on the tally roll and computer to a zero rate-category with-
out properly deducting the full 15% VAT. For the client who • Advertisement that reads “With us you Save”.
reads their till slip will be satisfied that it is exempted, but Save What? Since you always pay for products
little do they know that the price of the product has remained and leave the shop with less money in your pocket.
unchanged and in some cases increased. To give an exam- • You can buy a product on HP without paying a
ple; a brotchen before exemption costs 90c, after exemption deposit. This deposit figure is always calculated
this should be selling at 75c. I have failed to see any outlet into your monthly repayments WITH INTEREST.
currently selling brotchens at that price. • Watch out for products that are priced at “3 for
N$20” or “3 for N$15” etc. Psychology tells us
When asking the prices, the reply mostly is that “we just that shops benefit greatly on their monthly sales.
had a floor price increase”. The abovementioned example YOU MAY PURCHASE ONE ONLY!!
applies to other exempted commodities too. The time has • Be aware of “Specials”! 50c or 70c off is often
come, perhaps is seriously overdue for guidelines to traders used on specials, you are saving nothing basically.
and especially small and micro companies to enact a clause What is 50c or 70c in 2010?
that no trader may sell without handling the client a proper
till slip, containing the outlet name and telephone number,
products sold and total sold, VAT included and excluded.
Too many traders are getting away with murder, to the detri-
ment of the poor consumer. It should also be noted that many CONTACT
bakers are not familiar with the exepmtion on the floor. One Bob Ziekenoppasser
will find that as soon as they add some seeds to the bread Tel: +264 64 461 461
or include an absolute minimal amount of raisins in a loaf
Cell: +264 81 284 8000
they keep the price as per before exemption. There seems to
be no guidelines as to what amount of raisins a loaf should NAMIBIAN CONSUMER LOBBY
contain, in order to call it a raisin loaf. There also does not
seem much control on the weight of bread and brotchens.
CN 06
editorial
I
n a world where consumers can lose their homes due to sub- each, and ordered a two-piece and chips (Streetwise two). We
prime mortgages and fake HIV drugs sold openly in the me- found that while we did get more than 5 chips, it was not much
dia; this is not the most important issue in the world. It will more. We found 20 chips, 21 chips, 13 chips and 15 chips respec-
not truly harm you or endanger you or your loved ones in any tively. We were pleased that KFC did not try to stiff us with only
way, but we hear about it all the time. It is the fact that we do not five chips, however, we were very disappointed to see that we re-
receive our fair share of chips at Kentucky Fried Chicken. ceived about half the chips we would have gotten if we were in
Canada, for about the same price.
Consumer News decided to investigate whether this is a KFC
problem worldwide of whether this is a phenomenon unique to Consumer News is aware that one of the foundations of any fran-
Namibia. Towards that end, Consumer News enlisted a volunteer chise is the notion of uniformity. This means that in every outlet,
from Canada to go to their local Kentucky Fried Chicken and check things are the same. Advertising, outfits, and portions etcetera,
out what KFC offers consumers for their money on that side. We down to the last detail. We acknowledge that there may be excep-
were surprised to find that when you buy a two-piece and chips in tions to the rule that are justified. It makes sense, for example, for
Canada, you actually get chips, and a good portion of them. KFC in Dubai to be halal, or in Tel Aviv to be kosher, but there is
no reason that we can see for being stingy with the chips in Na-
We have heard the complaint so many times here; “I went to the mibia. So why the discrepancy? Why more chips in Canada than
KFC drive-through and only got 5 chips” and we decided to check in Namibia?
for ourselves. We went to KFC, both of them in Windhoek, twice We spoke to local area manager at KFC and ….. told us this….
Hi Rob,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
To give you some insight – we are part of a franchise company and we are operating under stringent rules and regulations that we
have to abide by in almost all aspects of our business with procedures and standards being two of the key components. From what I
have observed, our portions do not differ from those in the pictures you have sent to me in any significant way. With this being said, I
would like to add that we always strive to give our customers the best value for money. Regarding the Canadian operating procedures,
unfortunately I cannot account or comment on this as I’m not directly linked to them in any way.
Kind regards
Rudi
CN 07
N$
editorial
?
By Denver Isaacs
Cash Loans:
Quick fix or
debt whirlpool
T
he description evokes images of tor at Pay Day Financial Services told this reporter.
chain-smoking baseball bat wield- Interest rates across the board were said to
ing brutes and broken car windows. be charged at 30 per cent, which is the abso-
The guys who you have always been lute maximum under the country’s Usury Act.
warned not to ever borrow money from, The Usury Act sets a limit of 30 per cent inter-
lest you’ll soon find yourself paying back exorbi- est per annum on loans less than N$10 000, and
tant interests on a measly sum borrowed, or as some 27 per cent per annum on loans above N$10 000.
claim has happened to them, caught up in a vi- In 2004, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) published
cious cycle of never-ending debt and enslavement. a study which promoted the idea that micro-fi-
Today, the term stands replaced by the euphe- nance institutions are a necessity in order to pro-
misms, “quick loans”, or “cash loans”, and un- vide financial services to rural people and the
like underworld extortionist outfits, operate quite poor who have no access to formal banking.
openly and under the law (those registered at
least) in some of the most populous parts of town.
The study, titled PROMOTING MICRO-FINANCE
ACTIVITIES IN NAMIBIA: A REGULATORY
But even so, claims of impossible interest rates and re- AND SUPERVISORY PERSPECTIVE, names
pay dates as well as security risks due to bank cards be- cash loan companies among the six categories of in-
ing reeled in, continue as unabated as the rate at which stitutions that may legally provide micro finance.
society continues to support these micro-lending outfits. The six categories are banking institutions regulated
“I had an emergency once and going to a cash loan by the central bank; public financial corporations reg-
was really my only way out,” says Christo Cloete* istered under special acts; Savings Cooperatives reg-
“They helped me pretty nicely, but that paying back istered by the Ministry of Agriculture; NGOs, and
was something else. There’s no paying off over a cou- non-banking institutions regulated by Namibia Fi-
ple of months. I had to pay them back the next month nancial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa).
end, and they kept my debit card to withdraw the mon- At the time, Namfisa stated that about 100 micro-
ey themselves. But they give you all your (ATM) slips lenders had been in existence throughout the coun-
so you know exactly how much they take,” he says. try, with 80 of these being registered with the body.
In Cloete’s case, the amount owed was more than his These, Namfisa said, were based most-
daily teller limit, so the cash loan company held onto ly in urban centres and offered lend-
his card for two days until the amount was paid in full. ing primarily to people who earned salaries.
It also made note of informal money-lenders who did
business without being regulated or officially recognised.
In a quick telephonic survey, Consumer News con-
tacted three listed cash loan companies to find
out their requirements when taking out a loan. These, reportedly one-man operations, are claimed to
All three had the same criteria. pop up among employees at retail and other compa-
“We need three months worth of bank state- nies, while allegations of at least one primary school
ments, a pay slip and your Bob card,” the opera- teacher at a Windhoek-based school operating a cash
>>
CN 08
$
editorial
?
loan service for fellow teachers, parents and the public “It’s not legal. But tell me how else do you suggest we
at large during school hours have also made the rounds. do it if that’s the only way the guy can pay?”
Questions sent to Namfisa regarding their view
on cash loan companies, the confiscating of
bank cards and making use of private pin-codes The company has various means of collect-
of borrowers, as well as the general regulat- ing their earnings, including cash cheques signed
ing of these companies, are still awaiting a reply. by customers, debit orders, direct payments into
their bank accounts, and with First National Bank
(FNB) cards at least, the swiping of their cards.
Still, regardless of the broader perception around Hanging on the company’s entrance wall is their
cash loan operations, their popularity undoubtedly certificate of registration with Namfisa, as well as a
points towards the reality of supply and demand. Namfisa complaints box where any grievances, even
“People come to us for various reasons. Some say they against other cash loan companies, can be leveled.
have a death to deal with, others for their own pur- “Namfisa takes one per cent of every transaction,” Pi-
poses. If you apply for a loan at the bank, they ask etchazek says, adding that as a registered company,
you all types of questions. I don’t ask questions. As they get audited by the authority body every other year.
long as you can assure me that you can pay me back, “Although we’re still waiting on the results of the last
you can have your money in half an hour,” says Albert audit,” he says.
Piechazek, owner of Quick Loans Pika in Windhoek.
*name has been changed to protect privacy
CN 09
editorial
Truth is, because we, the consumers, have been made to think that
we are always right, we naively assume that the retailer will always
do what is right for us. Along with that, we have surrendered the
power to choose what we feel and believe is right for us. Does this
not allow the retailer to adopt a lax attitude towards quality service
provision? If there is any great danger in the retailing world, it is
to surrender your right to receive what is rightfully yours – superb By Victoria Kangombe
products and services. E-mail: wordsmithstress@gmail.com
10 CN
Switch Mobile Internet
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T
he staple items purchased for this story were donated
to the Khomasdal School for the Visually Impaired, of
whom 72 are children from across Namibia who may not
otherwise have access to a quality education. There are currently
96 learners studying at the school with 72 of them staying at the
hostel. Approximately 80 per cent of these learners come from
rural areas outside Windhoek. This creates many challenges for
the school. The school sometimes find themselves in a position
where they have to pay for toiletries and clinic fees for these
students. Support from the community is welcome. Should com-
munity members wish to donate to the Khomasdal School for the
Visually Impaired, please contact them on (061) 217 971 or fax
(061) 217 978.
COST
COMPARISON
Farm Fresh long life milk N$13.99 N$12.79 N$13.99 N$14.95 N$13.99 N$13.95
Salt- Light flow N$3.29 N$3.49 N$3.25 N$3.29
Sugar- Sugar king N$14.69 N$18.99 N$15.49 N$19.99 N$14.69 N$13.49
Bread- White N$5. 55 N$5.99 N$6.99 N$8.25 N$7.49 N$7.99
Brown N$5.19 N$5.99 N$6.49 N$8.50 N$6.79 N$7.69
Cooking oil N$10.79 N$9.49 N$11.49 N$10.79 N$9.95
Brotchens N$0.89 N$0.85 N$1.00 N$0.95 N$0.89 N$1.00
Mealie meal- Top score N$18.49 N$15.99 N$19.49 N$18.95 N$18.49 N$16.75
Chicken 1,5 County Fair N$23.99 N$31.95 N$23.99 N$26.95
Eggs 18 N$29.39 N$29.35 N$29.99 N$27.99 N$29.39 N$30.49
Sunlight dish liquid 750ml N$19.49 N$22.49 N$21.99 N$20.95 N$19.49 N$17.99
Omo washing powder 2kg N$41.99 N$51.99 N$42.95 N$41.99 N$47.69
Potatoes 7kg N$49.99 N$69.95 N$64.95
Rice- Tastic N$21.99 N$21.99 N$25.99 N$28.95 N$21.99 N$27.75
Tea- Red rose 100 bags N$25.49 N$19.99 N$25.49 N$41.95 N$25.49 N$24.49
Coke 2 liters N$15.79 N$15.79 N$12.99 N$14.00 N$15.79 N$13.99
Tomato sauce- All gold 750ml N$12.99 N$13.99 N$17.99 N$15.95 N$12.99 N$14.75
Peanut butter Black cat 400g N$17.59 N$14.49 N$16.99 N$17.95 N$17.59 N$16.95
CN 13
editorial
&Food Safety
Consumer Protection
C
onsumer protection and the Namibia became a member of Codex Alimentarius Commission
(Codex) in 1999. Codex was established in 1962 to protect the
safety of consumer goods is an health of consumers and at the same time to ensure fair practices in
international concern. Since the food trade by promoting the harmonisation of food standards
applied by the various members of Codex.
attainment of independence for
The following food safety legislation is applicable in Namibia:
Namibia, there has been a desire to moder-
nise the regulatory system for food safety. o The Public Health Act, 1919 (Act No. 36 of 1919)
International trade is governed by various o The Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Ordinance,
ments that are aimed at ensuring consumer o The Meat Industry Act, 1981 (Act No. 13 of 1981)
health and safety as well as that of the en- o The Control of the Importation and Exportation of
vironment, internationally. Dairy Products and Dairy Product Substitutes Act, 1986
This does not prevent sovereign states to impose additional health (Act No. 5 of 1986)
and safety measures in the conduct of national and regional trade
o The Prevention of Undesirable Residue in Meat Act,
due to social and political considerations. State parties to interna-
tional agreements must put in place and maintain the necessary 1991 (Act No. 21 of 1991)
institutional administrative measures to enhance trade and compli-
ance with these agreements. o The Local Authorities Act, 1992 (Act No. 23 of 1992)
International trade entails a diverse range of consumer products. The Ministry of Health and Social Services is responsible for the
These could range from electrotechnical equipment and applianc- administration and enforcement of the Public Health Act, 1919 (as
es; building and construction equipment; engineering and transport amended). In terms of Section 115 of the Act the Minister may
equipment; textiles and clothing; medical, pharmaceutical and cos- make regulations, amongst others, for prohibiting the importation
metics products; and food stuffs of animal and plant origins. As into Namibia of any article of food which is not clean, wholesome,
such, the regulatory functions aimed at consumer protection should sound and free from any disease or infection or contamination, and
be expected to be as diverse as the trading products itself and not the seizure and disposal by destruction or otherwise of any such
one particular institution should be responsible for the regulation article so imported.
thereof.
In the case of Namibia, like many other countries, there are differ-
ent institutions responsible for the enforcement and regulation of
food safety standards. In addition some food safety laws are out-
dated and need revision and streamlining to conform with interna-
tional practices and to correspondent with the existing institutional
arrangements. Namibia imports most of its foodstuffs and as such
proper import control measures must be in place to ensure that only
products safe for human consumption enter the market.
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The OneLove campaign wants to get us thinking and talking about our sexual behaviours and the
risk of having many sexual partners. This campaign informs people about how to stay safe from HIV
by having one sexual partner at a time. The OneLove campaign uses mass media such as radio, TV
and print in 10 Southern African countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,
South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Find out more about the OneLove campaign at
www.onelovesouthernafrica.org
In addition to its involvement with the regional OneLove campaign, Desert Soul HDC closely works
together with Namibian partner organizations on the national campaign, titled Break The Chain,
which also focuses on the reduction of multiple and concurrent sexual partners as an HIV prevention
measure. Desert Soul’s book, radio dramas and the regional OneLove TV series will be used
nationally by Take Control partners for social mobilization and outreach work with target audiences
in various parts of Namibia.
Desert Soul Health and Development Communication was The campaign has been actively implemented in Namibia since
established for the exact purpose to bridge these kinds of obsta- September 2009, and Desert Soul’s mass media for the One Love
cles to gaining valuable information about one’s health. Further- campaign include the following items.
more, the NGO, which was established in 2008, aims to enable all • A radio drama with 35 episodes titled Tjitjikutuara
Namibians to make informed choices about developmental is- Kepembe Kotji, which has been airing on the Otjiherero
sues in their immediate environment. It is a Namibian non-profit radio station of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation be-
organisation which was previously a project of the Namibia Red tween September 2009 and January 2010. It gained popu-
Cross Society in partnership with Soul City Institute for Health larity amongst the target population as well as some opin-
and Development Communication. It has been producing ion leaders who requested a re-run of the series.
health related edutainment in the form of radio and TV drama, • A 40 page booklet which deals with some aspects
as well as booklets since 2002. Desert Soul’s focus is mainly on of multiple and concurrent partnerships. This booklet has
HIV prevention, but the organisation also deals with other con- been translated into Oshiwambo and Afrikaans, and 300
temporary health topics, as identified through an extensive and 000 copies were distributed throughout the country be-
rigorous research process. tween March and May 2010. The booklet is available at clin-
ics, hospitals, New Start Centres, BP service stations, and
One such extensive qualitative research conducted by Desert branches of the Namibia Red Cross Society. Many develop-
Soul HDC in 2006 and 2007, forms part of a larger sub-Saharan ment NGOs request the booklets for their outreach work.
research study by development partners in South Africa, Swazi- • One stand-alone episode of 24 minutes, which deals
land, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tan- with intergenerational sex and open communication be-
zania, Lesotho and Namibia. This research on multiple and con- tween parents and their children. It forms part of the re-
current sexual partners allowed for some insight into the issue gional series titled Love: Stories in a Time of HIV. The epi-
of HIV in relation to having more than one sexual partner at the sode titled Against the Odds, was co-written by Vickson
same time. The research findings point to the fact that people Hangula and Marinda Stein. Vickson was the director and
have many partners due to lack of communication in relation- Marinda the producer of the film. Some of the main cast in-
ships, emotional and physical dissatisfaction, culture and social cludes Armas Shivute and Deidre De Wee in the lead. The
norms, desire for money and material possessions, poverty, gen- training of all the actors was done late in 2009 by renowned
der inequality, alcohol, peer pressure, as well as male domination South African actor, Jamie Bartlett. The Love Stories were
and abuse. aired from April till June 2010 on Namibia Broadcasting
Corporation every Monday at 17h30 with a repeat of the
The One Love Campaign is the culmination of all the research week’s episode on Sundays at 09h30.
done around the topic of multiple concurrent partners (MCP).
The campaign, which is implemented in ten Southern African Desert Soul now embarked on the One Love Talk Show, which
countries, promotes happy fulfilling sexual relationships be- discusses the issue of having more than one sexual partner at
tween two people without the need for other relationships as the same time, and the underlying factors which contribute to
the societal norm. It reinforces positive behaviours without this behaviour. The ultimate aim of the radio programme is to
blaming people who are behaving in risky ways. It role mod- engage listeners to assess their own HIV risk perception, and
els safer sexual behaviour, and challenges men and women to to encourage reduction in sexual partners. The radio magazine
change behaviour for a happy life. One Love challenges gender programme is interactive, and has views and opinions from the
stereotypes and cultural norms that reinforce having more than street, an expert interview as well as a human interest story. The
one partner. One Love Show airs live every Thursday, at 14h00 on Fresh
FM, where the listeners can then phone in, send sms or air their
views about the topic of the day on Desert Soul’s facebook page.
The public is invited to visit the Desert Soul stall in the Lions
Hall at the Windhoek Trade and Agricultural Show between
24 September and 02 October 2010 to know more about the
One Love campaign.
A scene from Desert Soul’s latest film titled Against The Odds
editorial
Service Quality -
What do We Expect? By Jon Allen
S
ervice quality in Namibia has to be taught, as inherent • Reliability – focussing on delivering on the promises made by
quality offerings are few and far between. After having the organisation. Customers will perceive the organisation as
treaded on a few toes last month, I have decided to take failing on their promise if this is not achieved.
the easy route in this issue and go theoretical with a little • Responsiveness – this illustrates the willingness to help, and
paraphrased help from authors, Larry O’Sullivan, Annekie Brink touches on the speed of delivery too, as promptness is an
and Adele Berndt. indicator of responsiveness directly.
• Assurance – covers the knowledge and courtesy of employees
According to O’Sullivan, a service provider’s age, race, gender or and their ability to convey trust and confidence.
religious beliefs has no bearing on it’s clients needs, but a positive • Empathy – this much spoken-about aspect (usually takes up an
attitude, helpful demeanour, humility, knowledge, reliability and entire session in training) revolves around confirming for the
interest shown, are the key expectations of clients the world over. customer that their unique needs and requirements will be met.
As the best providers of service, managers/owners need to know It deals with convincing the customer that their needs are un
what the needs, priorities and expectations of the client are; need to derstood.
think like the client and understand (and care) what it is the client • Tangibles – this is the physical stuff; the facilities, the
wants or expects. products and so on.
The definition of service quality, according to Brink and Berndt This proven list of customer expectations are not applicable in the US,
is ‘the ability of an organisation to determine correctly customer Europe or South Africa exclusively, but are most relevant in Namibia too.
expectations and to deliver the service at a quality level that will at Or what do you say Namibia? Are our needs any different?
least equal those customer expectations.’ This places the onus on
organisations to consciously ascertain these expectations and care
about them so as to adequately deliver. Brink and Berndt go on to
say that ‘service quality, as perceived by the customer, is one of the
components that would influence the satisfaction of the customer’.
O’Sullivan expands on this thought and says ‘it boils down to how
and why you give. If we give, expecting – or demanding – that we
will get something in return, is this not, in essence, bartering with
or playing off nature? If you are compelled or forced to give (as
many of our client service representatives in Namibia appear to
be), the spirit or chemistry of your ‘service’ or approach will be
missing. It will all seem shallow and insincere. But on the other
hand, if you give lovingly, caringly and because you want to, it Creating Opportunity, Changing the
will be picked up by the recipients. They will sense the empathy,
passion and sincerity you emit. It’s one thing to give because you
Face of Customer Service
have to, but it’s another thing altogether to give because you want
to’.
Contact:
This appropriately leads us to what I wanted to briefly expand on Jon Allen
in this article; being some dimensions of service quality, accord- Tel: +264 61 400 910
ing to Brink and Berndt again, based on findings from exploratory
Fax: +264 61 400 912
and quantitative studies, which use to assess service quality, thus
becoming the aspects those of us offering services to customers, Cell: +264 81 140 5026
need to focus on and improve: E-mail: csinstitute@iway.na
Jon Allen
20 CN
from wherever
North
Coast
East
South
...to wherever
/100527
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , C o n t a c t : W i l m a r c L e w i e s , N a m P o s t C o u r i e r, V o i g t S t r e e t , S o u t h e r n I n d u s t r i a l A r e a , P. O . B o x 2 8 7 , W i n d h o e k ,
Te l : + 2 6 4 6 1 2 0 1 3 1 8 1 , F a x : + 2 6 4 6 1 2 2 8 9 8 8 o r e m a i l t o c o u r i e r @ n a m p o s t . c o m . n a . w w w . n a m p o s t . c o m . n a
Saving energy in your home
INDOORS
• Heavy curtains that are light in colour keep rooms cool. Closing curtains during the evening insulates the home during the winter.
• Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs or low-energy bulbs) use 80% less energy than ordinary light bulbs
Ironing
• Iron large batches of clothing at one time to avoid wasting energy reheating the iron.
• Use only distilled water in steam irons to avoid mineral build up.
Kitchen
• Switch off the oven hotplate and iron a few minutes before you need to stop using them - they will still be hot enough to use.
• Connect the dishwater to a cold water supply; it will heat up the water when it needs to.
• Heat small pots on the small stove plate and large pots on the large plate.
• Use a pressure cooker to conserve energy when cooking foods that take a long time, such as stews.
• Use an electric kettle to boil water instead of the stove. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need to use.
• It is more economical to use the fridge to defrost your food than using the microwave.
SMALL APPLIANCES
Using small kitchen appliances instead of the stove can save energy. Toasters, electric grill, slow cookers, electric coffee machine, electric kettle, all use less energy than the
stove. When vacuuming, empty or replace the dust bag frequently to be more energy efficient.
• Dripping hot water tap can cost as much as N$330 in a year! Fix the drip!
• Wrapping your geyser in a geyser blanket can reduce heat loss and uses less energy to maintain the water temperature.
• Insulating hot water pipes can reduce heat loss and allows for quicker hot water delivery.
• A solar water heater eliminates conventional geysers completely and retains heat for prolonged periods without direct sunlight.
• Have a shower instead of a bath - you will use less hot water and put less strain on your geyser.
Outdoors
• Pool pumps are heavy on electricity consumption. Get a pump timer and reduce the pump running time.
• Roof and ceiling insulation reduces the amount of heat getting in during the summer and reduces the amount of heat lost in the winter.
Winter heating
• Under floor heating is the most ineffective way to heat a home. It is a waste of energy.
• Wall mounted heaters are generally quite small and have to be left on for a long time to make a difference.
• Infrared heaters are efficient; they will warm the people in the room rather than the space.
• The most effective and safest heaters for the home are either an oil heater or a 2-kilowatt fan heater, both with thermostat which switches the unit on and off as required.
• It is cheaper to use an electric blanket in your bed than to use a room heater.
www.ecb.org.na
$
editorial
Short Changed...
T
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CN 25
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A
rtistswithintheSouthernAfricanregionaretacklingtheproblem ofAfrica’sfinestauthors.AsmiddayapproachedonSaturdaythe21stof
ofpovertyhead-ontofindsolutionsthroughregionalintegration. Augustandasshewalkedtowardsmytable,Icouldhaveswornmyheart
Onesuchartist,renownedZimbabweanauthorTsitsiDangarem- skippedabeat,Iwasnervous!TsitsiDangarembga?NervousConditions?
bga,wasrecentlyinNamibiawheresheconductedalecturead- AswesettledintotheinterviewIcouldeasilypickupthewarmthandintel-
dressing poverty through her short films. ligencethatshecarriesaroundher.Havingtravelledextensivelyandbe-
ingwidelyread,thiswasactuallyherfirsttimeinNamibia,soIaskedher
Havingstudiedherfirstbook,NervousConditions,asaliteraturetextin firstimpressions."I'mamazedthatacountrywithsuchaninfrastructureis
highschool,IwasexcitedthatIwouldfinallymeet,letaloneinterview,one thinking regional" Says Dangarembga.
>>
28 CN
1One on1One with Tsisti
"Part of that is because the arts have been neglected so we don't have a
cultureofengagingartasadiscipline.Wehaveacultureofengagingartasa
performance and entertainment, but not as discipline.
By Lynette Magaramombe
CN: Are there any immediate solutions to this? CN: How are women viewed in the industry?
TD:"Theimmediatesolutionisobviouslyinthepoliticalrealmwhichneeds TD: "As far as I'm concerned there is no space for a woman to act as a
tostabilise.Weneedtoensurethatthepeacewehaveprevails,andthen woman. You always have to be a woman attached to a man. This has
wehavetoworktowardsapropertransition.AndatthemomentIthink been my experience"
thattherearegenuineeffortsfrombothquarterstomakethathappen.
AndsoIhopethatwewillrisetothechallengebecausechallengesthat CN: How do you counter this attitude?
presentthemselvesaregoingtochangefromminutetominute.SoIhope TD:"Experienceandtalkingtootherwomen.It'snotonlyintheArtssector.
thatresolvewillremainsteadfastasthosechallengeschange.Sothereis In the Business sector also."
stability, but it has to move forward into a different paradigm I think.”
CN: We are a consumer magazine so we must ask a question on
CN: What about the culture of reading in Africa? behalf of consumers. Looking at consumer issues, do you agree that
TD:"Zimbabwestillhasacultureofreading.Eventodayyouseesecond Africa is a dumping ground for sub-standard products and services
handnovelsonthestreets.Youfindpeoplereading,waitingforturnsinthe from abroad?
doctor'soffice." DangarembgawasrecentlyinNigeriateachingcreative TD:"It'sdifficulttotakethatcomparativepositionbecauseifI'minZim-
writingworkshopsandaddsthat"IreallydidobservethattheNigerians babweconsumingthis,I'mnotoutsideconsumingthat,soitbecomes
haveahugecultureofreadingaswell.Maybemorethanwedo.Onthe difficult.However,Ihavereadsomemanagementbooksthatsayit'sactu-
planebetweenAbujaandLagosforexample,about50%ofthepeople allystandardmanagementpracticetodumpinAfricaandit'staughtasa
werereading,thatwasamazing.SoIthinkthereisacultureofreadingin method of getting rid of excess stock. So possibly, yes."
manyAfricancountriesbutthisperhapsisnotcelebratedenough,andone
oftheproblemsisthatwedon'thavealotofourowncontentthatreaches CN: What does the future hold for you?
thepeopletoinformthemaboutourownissuesandIthinkitisaresource Tsitsi,whosayssherecentlyhadadialoguewiththefuture,saysshewas
we need to capitalise on." toldthatanotherbookisloominginthehorizon.Ontopofthat,"Oneof
myprioritiesistohaveaveryhighstandardArtsEducationInstitutionin
CN: Tell me a bit about your first book, Nervous Conditions Zimbabwe."
TD:"BeingayoungwomaninZimbabwe,havingtocreatethespacefor
myselfinaculturalcontextthatdidnotcreateformethespacesIwanted ListeningtoTsitsiDangarembga,Iaminspiredasweroundofftheinter-
tohave.Andthinking,takingstockofthat,whatdoesthismean?Whyisit view. I guess the saying is true after all, the sky is the limit.
CN 29
Namibians supporting Namibians
T
he Namibia Business Drive was created to business people present. All prizes drawn are spon-
give business owners and managers time to sored by businesses participating in the event to ben-
explore new and exiting opportunities that efit business economic growth in Namibia.
they never would have otherwise. It is a
unique opportunity for decision makers to meet each This initiative is currently driven and sponsored by 15
other and explore synergies, marketing opportunities Organising Business Partners; Labour Skill Solutions,
and various services on offer that would never have First National Bank, Starlite Wholesale, Starlite Re-
occurred in a regular business setting. The relaxed na- tail, Energy 100 FM, G4S Group 4 Securicor, Who’s
ture of this platform gives guests the leisure and time Who of Namibia, Billboard News Press, Bonlife, Busi-
to really get to know one-another. This creates a forum ness Risk Solutions, Karnic Distributors, Aqua Angel,
for decision makers and the business fraternity of Na- IT.Com, Kanaal 7 and Greg’s Motor Spares.
mibia to network directly with each other which re-
sults in great relationships and deals beneficial to all. Even though Namibia is a small player in the inter-
national arena, The Namibia Business Drive is of the
The Namibia Business Drive is an event held twice opinion that Namibia is capable of providing any re-
per year in Windhoek during the months of February quired service or product whereby businesses can con-
and August. During these events, owners and decision tribute to eradicating the high levels of unemployment
markers of companies are invited by the different Or- in the country and compete on the world stage.
ganising Business Partners to attend the NBD event.
Organising Business Partners sponsor invited clients, Contact the organisers to join the Namibia Business
VIPs and provide the entertainment. On the last day Drive and discover the opportunities that await you
of the event lucky draw prizes are awarded to various and your business.
STARlite retail
eddie@starlitepp.com support@labourskill.com dries.kannemeyer@na.g4s.com gella@karnic.com.na retail@starlitepp.com
Paycheck
to
Paycheck By Rob Parker
A
pay day loan refers to what is typically a short-term ers and then close the site and re-open under a new domain name
loan for a small amount of money charged at a high and start the process all over again.
rate of interest. This loan is designed to carry the
borrower to the next pay cheque. The borrower has There is a very helpful website for consumers known as scam-
to prove that they have a steady source of income, meralert.com which checks out scams on the web from work-at-
usually in the form of a pay-slip from their job, and they also pro- home schemes to pay day loans. The site’s owner checks out these
vide the lender with some form of collateral, such as a post-dated sites individually. When he investigated cash loan websites he
cheque. Some cash loan outlets are known to hold onto your bank found that, out of 54 pay day loans companies investigated, only 4
card and to even ask for your P.I.N number. You should never give were actually legitimate lenders. Of these sites none required you
your card and secret code to anyone. to fax them your personal information- which is a very good sign.
Consumers should never send their banking and personal details
Pay Day loan companies have been controversial from their incep- unless you completely trust the recipient and we advise that you
tion. They offer banking services for those who do not qualify should exercise extreme caution when dealing with any cash loans
for traditional banking services, for any number of reasons. Some business.
people do not have valid identification or perhaps they have a
poor credit rating. Many lenders take advantage of this population http://www.scammer-alert.com/payday-loans.html
whom the big banks neglect and offer them high interest loans. http://www.banking.state.ny.us/brdl.htm
Some of the problems that can arise with a payday loan are:
• The loan term is short and is often not enough time to
save the money needed to repay the loan in full.
• If the loan cannot be paid back in full at the end of the
term, it has to be renewed, extended, or more
money has to be borrowed to cover the first loan. Fees
are charged for each transaction.
• The interest rates that are charged are very high – some
times 400% or more.
• If the lender deposits the check to repay the loan and
there are insufficient funds in the borrower’s account,
the borrower is hit with even more fees for insufficient
funds and still owes the mount of the loan to the lender.
Some people turn to the internet for help, but while there are prob-
lems with pay day loans companies, the internet options make
them seem downright wholesome. Your typical cash loan lender at
least has an office, a landline and you can actually meet the people
involved; in other words you have some method to track and find
them. Internet lenders, on the other hand, can hide their identity,
fake their location and close up shop overnight. Many internet
scam operators do just that. They put up a website, fleece consum-
CN 31
Soccer
By Staff Reporter
Premiershipgoesintoaction
TheNPLreceivedN$4,3millionfortheiractivitiesfromMTClastseasonand
theamounthasbeengrowingovertheyears,withmorefundingalsoexpected
from other co-sponsors this season.
T
hedomesticMTCNamibiaPremiershipstartsonSeptember10th SPONSORHIPS
with a total of 12 teams vying for the coveted title which carries a
prize-tag of just over half a million dollars. MobileTelecommunicationsLimited(MTC)havecommittedN$5,3million
totheactivitiesofthePremiershipthisseason,buttheChiefExecutive
TheopeninggameofthenewseasonwillseeOrlandoPiratestakingon OfficeroftheNamibiaPremierLeague(NPL),MatthewHaikalimaintains
CivicsattheSamNujomaStadiuminWindhoek,whiledefendingchampi- thattheamountstillneedstobeconfirmed."Therearediscussionsonthe
onsAfricanStarswillstarttheircampaignagainstcoastalsideBlueWa- issue,butthatistheinitialamountthatweexpectfromoursponsors,"he
ters at the same venue the next day. said.
Thenewseasonalsoseesanothercoastalside,BlueBoys,enteringtop TheNPLreceivedN$4,3millionfortheiractivitiesfromMTClastseason
flightfootballafterbeingpromotedfortheirfirsttimeintheir52-yearex- andtheamounthasbeengrowingovertheyears,withmorefundingalso
istence. expected from other co-sponsors this season.
TheSwakopmund-basedsideplayedtheirfootballinthelowerleagues, Haikali,alongsidethechairmanofthePremiership,JohnnyDoeseb,be-
especiallythefirstdivisionandwillbethe'newkidsontheblock',along- lievethat asolesponsorship isnot enoughinmodernfootballandare
sideMightyGunners,whoalsogainedpromotionrecently.MightyGun- currentlyonthevergeofsecuringmoresponsorstobringtheirweightto
ners,a teamthatmostly consists of soldiers doing duty for theNamib- the game.
ianDefenceForceatthe4thArtilleryBrigadejustoutsideOtjiwarongo,
regainedentryintothePremiershipthisseasonaftertheywererelegated "The game of football has evolved rapidly over the years and it has be-
during the 2008/2009 season. comeabusiness.Itisinevitableforustosourcesponsorshipandmate-
rialsupportfromelsewhereratherthanonlyourcurrentsponsors,"said
Blue Boys will open their account in the elite league for the first time Doeseb.
against Ramblers inWindhoek, while Gunners will lock horns against
northernneighboursOshakatiCityattheUukwangulaStadium,about10 MTCiscurrentlythebiggestsponsorofmajorsportingcodesinthecoun-
kilometres west of Oshakati. try and spends in excess of N$50 million per annum.
For Blue Boys, like Mighty Gunners, it will be an equal affair as both Os- Atthemoment,mostclubsinthePremiershiphavealreadyacquiredoffice
hakatiCityandRamblersdidnotfarewellintheleaguelastseason.Ram- spaceandhavededicatedofficeadministratorstoensurethattheclubs
blersendedtheleaguein10thplacewhileCityheldtheninthspotoverall arerunalongprofessionallines,whiletherehavealsobeenmajorfinan-
in the championship that was scooped by Stars in the end. cial injections from their respective sponsors.
>>
32 CN
Soccer Contd.
Atthemoment,sixclubs;Tigers,OrlandoPirates,BlackAfrica,ElevenAr-
rows,AfricanStarsandOshakatiCityarecurrentlyreceivingannualspon-
sorshipfromFirstNationalBank(FNBNamibia)whichrangesbetween
N$230 000 to N$300 000 per season per club.
Themoneyhelpstheteamsmeettheirleagueobligationsandlaoshelps
them to compensate their players during the season.
PLAYER TRANSFERS
Therehasbeenminimalmovementonthetransfermarketthisseason
with the leading teams not making major changes to their line-up.
Currentchampion,AfricanStars,whichhaswonthetitleback-to-backwith
coachBobbySamaria,havelosttwooftheirkeymidfieldersinQuinton
Jacobs and Rudi Louw.
Louw joined his childhood club Black Africa, while Jacobs was still not
contracted before this edition went to print.
Starswontheleaguewithatotalof44points,followedbyPiratesinsec-
ondon42,butthelatterwillfaceanuphillbattlethisseasonasthebulkof
their players have resigned.
The ones that have jumped ship at Pirates include BraveWarriors first-
choicegoalkeeper,AthielMbaha,whilemidfielders,JohannesSeibeb,
Klaas Blom as well as defenders, Steven Goagab and Enrico Afrikaner
also resigned.
GoalkeeperHeribertKapengalsoresigned,leavingthe‘Buccaneers’with
askeletonstaffofvirtuallyyoungsterswhowillbeexpectedtostepupto
the task.
Othersidesthatalsolostsomeman-powerincludeCivics,whichlostmid-
field-cum-striker,BradleyWermannaswellasstarstriker,PineasJacob.
WermannjoinedBlack Africa, while Jacob was still clubless beforethe
end of August.
Black Africa ended third in the league last season and they have a bal-
ancedsidewithahostofcreativemidfielderswhichincludeLouw,Wer-
mannandBrianBantam,whiletheirstriker-forcestillremainsintactwith
their chief predators, Jerome Louis and Roger Katjiteo still around.
TheTigerswhoendedfourthlastseasononlylosttheirkeyfrontmanin
TangeniShipahuwho,abouttwomonthsago,joinedSouthAfricanPre-
mier Soccer League side, Amazulu.
Ramblerslosttrickystriker,EusobioFredericks(stillclubless),whileSport
KlubWindhoek(SKW)partedwayswithEdwinKorokuhewhojoinedStars.
Starswillonceagainremainthefavourites,butwillfacestrongcompeti-
tionfrom,especiallyBlackAfrica,ElevenArrows,TigersandCivicswho
areextremelyunpredictabledespitetheirerraticformattimes.Theleague
season is expected to end on May 21 next year.
Btv
Conatct Mike on 081 128 2217 / 081 226 1933/ 0855 655539
Sky News
Tech Office: 061-265 569. Visit us at Mike Fan Bed & Breakfast, Erf 2526, Otjikere street
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