NewsFree

AUGUST 2013

ISSN 2026-710X

yoUr voIce

Consumer

One on One with Nam Breweries MDD

• Employment Agency vs Labour Hire Agency

• Second-hand imports - What to do for peace of mind

• The year of devastating drought

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18. Drink Responsibly.

We are proud to announce that this year Windhoek Lager, Windhoek Draught and Windhoek Light all brought home gold medals from Germany at the

prestigious international DLG* beer excellence awards.

* DLG is an international quality award held in Germany to recognize brewing excellence. All beers must be brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot – a German Purity law requiring that only malted barley, hops and water be used in the brewing of beer, nothing else.

If you would like to know more, go to www.windhoekbeer.com.na

The TeamPublisherConsumer News

Printed byPrintech cc

General Manager/EditorWillem Gariseb081 249 8161085 551 9337consumernews@iway.na

EditorialFreelance Journalists

PhotosFreelance Photographers

Contents• One on One with Nam Breweries MD

P4-5

• Employment Agency vs Labour Hire Agency P6-7

• New Consumer Group plans fundraising event P7

• What Not to Do: Ways to Ruin Your Resume P8

• Second-hand imports - What to do for peace of mind P10

• The year of devastating drought P11

• Buyer beware when enrolling at an education business P12

• Bottled water is making huge profits P13

• Financial Literacy Initiative P16-17

• My Point of View P18

• Motherhood P18

• Starting a business P18

• Building Your Dream Home P19

• Energy Boosters: Red Bull or Coffee? P20

• Lip gloss VS Vaseline P21

• Live your life to the fullest potential P21

• Diet pills, the new sexy? P22

• Disinfectants fails specifications test P23 • Time to revolutionize the film industry

P25

• MobiPay chooses 4most SAP solution for ease of integration P26

• Economy Watch Namibia – July 2013 P28-29

• It’s not a total eclipse for Ambunda P30

• New Golf GTI P31

Editor’s Note

Jay Levinson, an American author once wrote, “In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the consumer. It must build trust and rapport. It must understand the customers needs, and it must provide a

product that delivers the promised benefits.The Consumer News has been playing the watchdog role as the fourth estate

to look into the relationship between consumers and retailers and at the same time protect and promote consumers rights.

In this edition, we “spill the beans” as we introduce the Namibian Consumer Union, a collection of non-profit organizations, plus the Consumer News Magazine, created to lobby for consumer rights. The Consumer Union does not receive donor funding and is Namibian based and all members are well known and respected in the nation.

The group marks the first time that all of the various consumer organizations and activists have decided to work as one. This historic happening is significant as it means that the groups will be speaking with one voice and requesting the Nation to pass a comprehensive Consumer Protection Act for the benefit of consumers. After 23 years of independence, the Namibia Consumer Union feels that it is unacceptable that consumer rights have still not been enshrined into law.

Our regular columns continue to inspire and provoke consumers’ minds to critically examine the possible options before engaging into any transaction with vendors or retailers.

Let me also take this opportunity to wish all our stakeholders and consumers a safe journey and remarkable experience as all roads are leading to the Oshakati for the Ongwediva Trade Fare.

Until we meet again, enjoy your reading….

“In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the consumer. It must build trust and rapport. It must understand the customer’s needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits.” - Jay C. Levinson, American Author, First to use the term ‘Guerrilla Marketing’

ContaCt detailsNamibia Consumer Protection Group: Milton Louw. E-mail: miltonlouw@gmail.com

Namibia Customer Service Institute: Jon Allen. E-mail:csinstitute@iway.na

Website: www.namibiacsi.com

Namibian Consumer Lobby: Bob Ziekenoppasser. Te: 064 - 46 1461 or 081 284 8000

Namibian Standards Institution: Tel: 061 38 6400 / Queries: query@nsi.com.na

Website: www.nsi.com.na

“ ”If there is a book you really want to read but it

hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. ”

Our mission is to create a platform for you the Namibian consumer, who strives to see improvement in the value of goods and services and are savvy enough to spot misleading advertising and poor quality products and services. You deserve more, and together we have power in numbers, so we welcome your contributions, feedback, acknowledgements and your voice on products and services that need our investigation.

You deserve more ...

Toni Morrison (US novelist)

Willem Gariseb

For all your advertising needs contact: Willem Gariseb at: Cell: +264 (0) 81 249 8161/+264 (0) 85 551 9337 Fax2mail: +264 (0) 886 44443

Email: consumernews@iway.na/willemgariseb@yahoo.com

4 Consumer News

Established on 29 October 1920, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) is one of the leading

beverage manufacturing companies in Namibia and indeed, in Southern Africa.

In 1920, the Kronen Brauerei (Swa-kopmund), the Omaruru Brewery (Omaruru), the Klein Windhoek Brew-ery (Windhoek), and the Felsenkeller Brewery (Windhoek) were acquired by Messrs Karl List and Hermann Ohlthaver, who consolidated them to form South West Breweries Ltd. When, in 1967, South West Breweries Ltd acquired the Hansa Brauerei in Swakopmund, the company became the only remaining independent commer-cial brewery in Southern Africa. With Namibia’s independence in 1990, South West Breweries Ltd changed to its current Name of Namibia Breweries Ltd (NBL).

In May 1996, NBL listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) and became a publicly owned company with Ohlthaver & List Group of Companies as the controlling shareholder.

In 2010, NBL celebrated 90 years of brewing excellence with a proud Namib-ian heritage.

n How many brands fall under Na-mibia Breweries Limited and which are these?

NBL has a rich and diverse portfolio of brands that are aimed at different consumer motivations and needs.

For consumers seeking discernment and reward that is delivered by premium brands and experiences, we have Wind-hoek lager, Draught, Light, Heineken and Amstel.

Namibia s no 1 brand Tafel, is also part of NBL s portfolio and is a brand that is really positioned to appeal to Namibians celebrating everyday Namibian occa-sions.

In addition to our core beer brands, we also have Ready to drinks i.e. Smirnoff Spin and storm and Club Shandy. NBL has sole distribution right for Erdinger, a Weiss beer for the consumers wanting to experience a wheat

beer. Our portfolio is further complimented by an on tap offering, Hansa Draught, which I can proudly say is the original and first Draught on Tap offering ever produced in Namibia. We also produce a seasonal beer, Urbock , a rich liquid befitting Namibian cold evenings.

n What are your com-pany’s strengths and weaknesses compared to its competitors?

Strenghts - World class brewing facility, renowned Reinheitsgebot beer brands, extraordinary people, authen-ticity, best practice systems and processes and break-through innovation.

At NBL there is no such thing as weaknesses, only opportunities waiting to be explored

n What have been your challenges and short-comings as an individual and how have you man-aged to overcome them?

My biggest challenge was to get to know the beer industry inside and out in the shortest possible time frame (having spent 20 years in the Fishing Industry) but overcame that when I have realised that my prime responsibility is to create a breakthrough environment for employ-ees in order for them to achieve break-through outcomes, rather than to become an expert on the details.

n Which market do you sell your products?

Namibia, RSA, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola, St. Helena, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, DRC

n Do you have any subsidiaries? If yes may you tell us their names?

NBL has a joint venture in South Af-rica DHN Drinks. DHN is an associate of NBL and is owned by NBL Diageo & Heineken. DHN Drinks markets sells and distributes the portfolio of sharehold-er brands

n How have other countries in which you export your products to responded?

Very good response to our products from all over the world. We regularly get requests from other markets, which we

One on One with Nam Breweries MD

Hendrik van der Westhuizen

5Consumer News

investigate in detail. Should there be a viable business case, we work towards a new launch.

n What is your firm’s growth plan for the next five years.We aim to maintain our position in Na-mibia, but at the same time to significantly grow in our other export markets and how does your location/region fit in realizing that you have international clients? We manufacture our range of beers in our Windhoek brewery and distribute these products all over the world. Clearly, where

it makes sense, we will consider local pro-duction. Maintaining our high quality stan-dards, NBL brands are also manufactured in South Africa at the Sedibeng brewery for sale in the South African market.

n What advice would you give to those who would like to venture into this industry?

Ensure that you have buckets full of determination, guts, integrity and self believe.

n What does it take for one to do

the work that you do? As for your-self, where and what did you study before you joined the profession.

…to wholeheartedly own the success of the business and its people, to have a clear vision, the willingness to explore the unthinkable and a relentless desire to succeed.

International Diploma’s in Busi-ness Management, BsC in Operations Management and Post Graduate Degree in Associate In Management (AIM) - studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT)

At NBL there is no such thing as weaknesses, only opportunities waiting to be explored

”

6 Consumer News

• Peter Mietzner

There are very few topics in Namib-ia that will currently elicit a more varied and vociferous reaction

than the term “labour hire”. This month’s interview delve deeper into this phenome-non and explains in short, uncomplicated terms exactly how the two sides see their respective roles in the economy of the country. Due to various reasons this did not materialise and the process needs more time to fully realise in all its logical conclusions.

Because this issue affects many Namib-ian consumers, workers and their families and will have wide implications in the labour market, we will this month look at what the definitions say the difference between the two is:

An employment agency is an organiza-tion which matches employers to employ-ees. In many developed countries, there is a publicly funded employment agency and multiple private businesses which also act as employment agencies, while in the

developing world employments agencies are primarily private sector companies.

Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and onboarding a qualified person for a job. At the strategic level it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes an ‘employee offering’.

The stages of the recruitment process include: job analysis and developing a person specification; the sourcing of candi-

dates by networking, advertising, or other search methods; matching candidates to job requirements and screening individ-uals using testing (skills or personality assessment); assessment of candidates’ motivations and their fit with organisa-tional requirements by interviewing and other assessment techniques.

The recruitment process also includes the making and finalising of job offers and the induction and onboarding of new employees.

So, what then is labour hire?Labour brokering(labour hire) is a form

of outsourcing practiced in South Africa (and formerly practiced in Namibia) in which companies contract labour brokers to provide them with casual labour.

Labour brokers are different from re-cruitment agencies in that labour brokers handle almost all aspects of the worker’s employment (including interviews, recruit-ment, HR, admin, payroll, transport, etc.), whereas recruitment agencies are only responsible for sourcing candidates for

Employment Agency vs

Peter Mietzner

7Consumer News

Labour Hire Agency

employment.The ILO categorises 2 forms of subcon-

tracting, namely job contracting (where a subcontractor supplies goods or services) and labour-only contracting where the sub-contractor supplies merely labour.

Most of Namibia’s labour hire compa-nies fall into the second category as they merely supply labour to their clients.

The most comprehensive study on labour hire in Namibia was carried out by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) in 2006.

Labour hire companies supply labour to third parties (the client companies) with whom they have a commercial contract. This practice does not only apply to work-ers that are required for short periods, but increasingly also to those who work on a full-time and ongoing basis for the client company.

Almost all labour hire companies retain a substantial part (15-55%) of workers’ hour-ly wage rates as their fee.Why do Namib-ian companies use labour hire?

• Reducing the impact of strikes• Flexibility and cost cutting• Avoiding disciplinary cases

• Concentrating on “core business”• Replacing “unproductive” workers• Access to skilled and qualified

workers• Avoiding trade unionsLabour hire workers are paid signifi-

cantly less than permanent workers and they usually do not enjoy any benefits.

Although most are registered with so-cial security, many do no receive any paid leave and not even severance pay in case of retrenchment.

Labour hire employment is hardly a springboard to permanent jobs. Although a few labour hire workers were taken over by client companies as permanent staff, such practices are rather exceptional. Some labour hire companies explicitly prevent their workers from taking up employment at a client company.

Most labour hire companies describe themselves as black economic empower-ment companies.

While they may create business oppor-tunities and profits for a small group of la-bour hire shareholders and managers, it is debateable if they contribute to socio-eco-nomic development and the creation of

decent work. Last month, the High Court ruled that

restrictions on labour hire in Namibia which were introduced when an amend-ment to the Labour Act came into force in August last year are not unconstitutional.

The amendment of the Labour Act, which is aimed at prohibiting discrim-ination between workers labour hire companies second to their clients, and workers directly employed by such client companies, is a far cry from being irratio-nal, Judge Harald Geier found at the end of June.

The Labour Amendment Act of 2012 provides regulations for the use of labour hire workers. It does not necessarily make labour more expensive but states that labour hire workers should be employed at conditions that are not substantially worse that those enjoyed by other workers doing similar work.

Thus the law tries to protect labour hire workers against exploitative practices that they had to endure over the years.

The issue is far from over and one will have to wait for a final decision on this matter.

• ROB PARKER

The Namibian Consumer Union, a collection of non-profit orga-nizations, plus the Consumer

News Magazine, created to lobby for consumer rights are planning a fund-raising dinner. The Consumer Union does not receive donor funding and is Namibian based and all members are well known and respected in the nation. Namely we represent; The Namib-ian Consumer Trust, The Namibian Consumer Protection Group and The Namibian Consumer Lobby”.

The group marks the first time that all of the various consumer organisations and activists have decided to work as one. This historic happening is signifi-cant as it means that the groups will be speaking with one voice and requesting

that the Nation pass a comprehensive Consumer Protection Act for the benefit of consumers. After 23 years of indepen-dence, the Namibia Consumer Union feels that it is unacceptable that our rights as consumers have still not been enshrined into law.

We as consumers face a situation where we have virtually no rights when it comes to the consumer vendor relationship. Our citizens are forced to approach newspapers and radio stations for redress in the hopes that ‘naming and shaming’ will cause the companies to fufill their responsibilities. Those same radio and newspapers of course, sometimes rely on those same stores for advertising revenue and are sometimes afraid to ‘bite the hand that feeds them’.

Only a body that has teeth will work in this context. The Consumer Act must

create an independent body able to spe-cifically intervene in cases. It must have also play a role in educating consumers about their rights.

At the end of the day we are all con-sumers and have something to gain from such an important piece of legislation. There are a very small number of people who actually are opposed to such an Act, those who profit from the lack of consumers rights.

They are a very small but powerful minority and it is time that the majority of Namibians are taken into account- not the already affluent. Consumer Protec-tion is the right thing to do and after 23 years, this is the right time to do it. The Consumer Union wishes to thank Con-sumer News Magazine for their support and for giving a voice to Namibian consumers.

New Consumer Group plans a fundraising event

8 Consumer News

• Peter Mietzner

It is the middle of the year already and, despite the fact that there are still a few months left for school, the time

is getting closer where one would start dispatching resumes to various prospec-tive employers.

Obviously, your first and foremost “in-troduction” to a new company will be your CV or Resume and that means you must get it right if you want to leave a good impression.

In the time it takes you to read this paragraph, the average recruiter will have plowed through six resumes. Want to in-crease the chances of your resume making it to the next round? Then don’t do any of the following seven things, which recruit-ers say — more than anything — make them want to push the “shred” button.

n Apply for a job for which you are not remotely qualified

Many candidates believe the job hunt is a numbers game — drop enough resumes, and you’re bound to land something. But shotguns are for hunting pheasant, not finding jobs. The reality is that recruiters hate wasting time on resumes from un-qualified candidates. Don’t even think of applying as a financial risk manager if you are currently a security guard, or be like the aerial photographer who sought out a position as a tax specialist.

Sorting through unqualified resumes is frustrating, unproductive and puts an extra burden on staff..It also makes it much more challenging to find the right candidate.

So the next time you’re thinking of blast-ing out resumes to all 60 of the job listings on a job opportunities site that have the word “finance” in them, save your time (and that of the recruiters) and only apply for ones for which you’re qualified.

n Include a lofty mission state-ment

More than ever, today’s savage job market is about the company, not the candidate. As such, mission or objective statements — particularly ones with an applicant’s hopes, dreams, and health insurance aspirations — will dispatch

otherwise fine resumes to the circular file. Employers don’t care about how they can solve your problems — certainly not before they’ve met you and possibly not even after they’ve hired you. Instead, write an “objec-tives” statement that explains specifically how your skills and experience will help the company you’re applying to, not the other way around. And be very clear about what kind of job you’re seeking.

n Use one generic resume for every job listing

To stand out amongst the sea of re-sumes that recruiters receive, yours must speak to each and every specific position, even recycling some of the language from the job description itself. Make it obvious that you will start solving problems even before you’ve recorded your outgoing voicemail message. Your CV or query let-ter should include a just touch of industry lingo — sufficient to prove you know your stuff but not so much that you sound like a robot. And it should speak to individual company issues and industry challenges, with specifics on how you have personally improved customer loyalty, efficiency, and profitability at past jobs. Plus, each morsel should be on point.

Think hard about how to best leverage each piece of information to your job search advantage. Nothing in your resume should be arbitrary, from what you include in your job descriptions and achievement statements, to whether your education or experience comes first [recent grads may want to put education first] to how you format your contact information.

n Make recruiters or hiring man-agers guess how exactly you can help their client

Sourcing experts want to know — im-mediately — what someone can offer, and they won’t spend time noodling someone’s credentials. Don’t leave HR at the new company wondering whether you are ani-mal, vegetable or mineral? Doctor, lawyer or Indian chief?. It tends to make them frustrated and they will, probably, ignore your application.

n Don’t explain how past experi-ence translates to a new position

Though candidates should avoid jobs where they have no experience, they abso-lutely should pursue new areas and posi-tions if they can position their experience effectively. A high school English teacher applying for new jobs, for example, can cite expertise in human resource man-agement, people skills, record keeping, writing, and training.

Titles are just semantics and candidates need to relate their ‘actual’ skills and ex-periences to the job they’re applying for in their resume. An applicant who cannot be bothered to identify the parallels between the two likely won’t be bothered with interviews, either.

n Don’t include a cover letter with your resume

A cover letter should always accompany a resume — even if it’s going to your best friend. And that doesn’t mean a lazy “I’m _____ and I’m looking for a job in Wind-hoek; please see my attached resume.” Recruiters would like to know why you are contacting me (a particular position, referral, etc.), a short background about yourself, and a career highlight or two. It’s important to attempt to set yourself apart from the competition.

n Be careless with detailsReckless job hunters rarely make for

conscientious workers. As such, even promising resumes must abide by age-old dictums: typo-free, proper organization, and no embellishment. Susan Whit-comb, author of Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writ-er, says that almost 80 percent of HR managers she surveyed said they would dismiss otherwise qualified candidates who break these rules. She tells the story of one would-be employer who, when looking for an assistant, decided not to hire anyone because every resume she received contained typos.

What Not to Do: Ways to Ruin Your Resume

Many candidates believe the job hunt is a numbers game — drop enough resumes, and you’re bound to land something. But shotguns are for hunting pheas-ant, not finding jobs.

9Consumer News

10 Consumer News

• Peter Mietzner

In the nineties a certain Mr Laas imported the first used cars from abroad and sold them from his premises in the Northern

Industrial Area at very reasonable prices. At the time many in the established car trade vehemently opposed the import of these cars and the late mr Harold Pupkewitz and other dealer principals went on record to say that

they would not service these cars.Other dealers were explicit in explaining

just how the seemingly same model different from its counterpart in Namibia, mentioning, amongst others, that the cooling system, the shock absorbers, the clutch, etc., were differ-ent and for lighter duty than the equivalent SA/Namibian models. Since then, many things have changed in the industry. The importers have become much more responsi-

ble and are at pains to ensure that they keep a certain amount of parts in stock in case of accidents and wear and tear.

The buyer of these cars is thus much safer than 20 years ago, but there are still a number of precautions that should be taken before one signs on the dotted line.n Make sure that the company you intend purchasing your vehicle from has actual prem-ises in Windhoek (or elsewhere in Namibia)

and has built up a good reputation. If you are in doubt, go to the social pages like facebook and find out there. The chances are good that someone will have more information on the company concerned. Make sure that it is a reputable dealer and not a fly-by-night.n Inspect the vehicle as well as you can and have a friend or two that are familiar with cars have a look too.n Make sure that the more common body panels, front and rear bumpers, seats, etc., are readily available as spares at the dealer. And that other parts are readily available either in the trade or from the dealer too. These are parts like spark plugs, filters, brake pads, the cor-rect shock absorbers, front and rear light units, bulbs for the lights, etc.If you don’t have the cash and need to finance the vehicle, make sure that your bank will, in fact, finance the specific vehicle the same way as locally-available vehicles. It has happened that banks may demand a higher deposit or a short repayment period or both.n Take the vehicle and test-drive it on a mix of roads to simulate the actual condi-tions the vehicle will work under once you have bought it.n Check the rust-proofing on the vehicle, especially if you will regularly drive the car at the coast.n Make sure that the authorized dealer for the make of vehicle you want to buy will actually service the vehicle and repair it, if necessary.n If parts have to be imported, make sure you get a written quote and a written guarantee of a reasonable delivery period.

I am quite sure you will be able to think of a number of other points to watch out for, but the above is a fair guide of what to be aware of. Last but not least: Remem-ber that you as a buyer have the final say.

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11Consumer News

The year of devastating drought

• PETER MIETzNER

There is good reason for Namibian being known as the “Thirstland”: There have been regular droughts

in recent decades. Namibia is also the driest country in

sub-Saharan Africa, and only two percent of land receives sufficient rainfall to grow crops.

The Red Cross reported that Windhoek, the capital city, received just 6.5 inches of rain between last October and April, less than half the average for a rainy season.

On 28 Jun, IFRC launched an emer-gency appeal of 1,215,010 Swiss francs (US$1,284,959 to assist to assist 55,000 people in four northern regions.

This drought sparked a state of emergen-cy in Namibia and has left 400,000 people facing hunger, the government said, while increased livestock mortalities have been reported in the Omusati, Omaheke and Kunene Regions, with grazing in other areas in Namibia becoming a cause of concern.

“It is the whole of Namibia that is affect-ed and we are busy with a final assessment, but in the interim we will start distributing drought-relief food to the most affected areas such as the Kunene Region, Aminius Constituency in the Omaheke Region and the Ruacana Constituency in the Omusati Region,” Deputy Prime Minister, Marco Hausiku, told the media recently.

The indication is that the national grain production would be 25% below the 14-year average of about 50 000 tonnes, and 42% lower than last season’s 73 000 tonnes.

According to Hausiku, the Office of the Prime Minister will for the interim period rely on the maize and mahangu stored in the silos of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and

Forestry at Katima Mulilo, Rundu and Tsandi, while grain that would be harvest-ed at the Green Scheme projects would also be made available.

The Disaster Risk Management Com-mittee elaborates: “We are trying to do the best we can to make sure that the food goes to the intended people. So far so good,” he

said.The number of people at risk from hun-

ger has risen from 300,000 in May, when President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency.

In May, the government started handing out maize meal bags to rural areas in a cen-tral part of the country and authorities are appealing for international support.

According to the Unicef, more than 106,000 children are at risk of malnutrition.

One of the worst-hit areas is the Kunene Zone, which contains several Churches of the Nazarene.

“I have visited some areas of the Church of the Nazarene in the Kunene Zone,” Job U. Mukungu, zone coordinator told NCN News. “I found some churches are closed due to the movement of the members, who went far to look for grazing for their animals.”

Mukungu said 18 children in the area died from starvation.

“Since this is a community that mainly rely on subsistence farming, they were affected the most,” said Chris Claasen,

Namibia District superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene. “I have heard nu-merous reports of people’s livelihoods [that have] been adversely affected.”

Pohamba designated N$217 million (about US$21.7 million) for relief and con-tracted several national food companies to provide residents with meat and maize.

“The Government of Namibia is pro-viding assistance to affected households in the Kunene, but this may not be sufficient,” Claasen said.

The Namibia District donated N$10,000 (about US$1,000). Another organization donated 40 10-kilogram (22-pound) bags of maize and 16 750-milliliter containers of cooking oil to the Okorosave and Okapem-bambu churches.

“The churches were extremely happy to receive this drought relief,” Mukungu said.

The drought is aggravating an already serious rate of stunting, a form of chronic undernutrition. In Namibia, 29 per cent of children under 5 are stunted – and in an emergency, early detection of malnutrition can often mean the difference between life and death.

Reliefweb reports that in the Ovahimba village of Omawangete, Julita Hamukuaja checks the circumference of 3-year-old Kaveku’s upper arm, a measurement used as part of malnutrition screening. Ms. Hamukuaja is a health extension worker who has been working in this village since 2012. She has seen first-hand the slow slide into hunger these families have endured. Ovahimba children generally enjoy a pro-tein-rich diet of milk and meat. Now, they are eating a watery maize porridge, often only once a day.

The situation is expected to worsen with the dry season, which is predicted to last until December.

During this time, Ms. Hamukuaja’s role will become even more critical to ensure that children who show signs of malnutri-tion receive the treatment they need – and that children with severe cases of malnutri-tion are referred to health centres in time.

The current dry spell has also raised concerns about the country’s spectacular wildlife, which attracts vital tourist income.

Deputy Prime Minister, Marco Hausiku

12 Consumer News

The past few weeks there have been shock stories in the newspaper and on the airwaves regarding students who have completed their studies (some as far afield as Indonesia), only

to find out that their course of study or institution they were studying at are not accredited by the Namibian authorities. A few of these customers have contacted the Consumer News Na-mibia Magazine and asked for our assistance in getting their courses accredited, or at the very least, getting their money refunded.

Consumer News Namibia Magazine has in previous editions covered the education sector, and more specifically the private tertiary institutions sector, but for the sake of our readers once again we give details in this article.

Let us start with educational institutions that are based in Namibia.The Namibian constitution states: (4) All persons shall have the right, at their own expense, to estab-

lish and to maintain private schools, or colleges or other institutions of tertiary education: provided that:

(a) such schools, colleges or institutions of tertiary education are registered with a Government department in accordance with any law authorising and regulating such registration;

(b) the standards maintained by such schools, colleges or institu-tions of tertiary education are not inferior to the standards

Educational institutions in Namibia (and their portfolio or courses) are accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA). This institution evaluates and accredits national institutions and degrees, as well as foreign qualifications of people who wish to demonstrate the national equivalence of their degrees earned abroad.

According to their website:“The Namibia Qualifications Authority (also referred to as the

NQA) is a statutory body established by the Namibia Qualifications Authority Act No 29 of 1996.

The NQA is committed to the promotion of quality education and training in Namibia through the development and management of a comprehensive and flexible National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Quality is also promoted by the NQA through the Accred-itation of education and training providers in Namibia and their courses. The NQA wishes to assist the development of Namibia as a proud nation through putting in place systems and opportunities that allows all people to develop to their fullest potential without being hindered by unnecessary obstacles and barriers.

The NQA believes that all people have a right to having their learning and abilities validly, fairly, reliably and equitably recognised regardless of when, how and where learning attainments and compe-tences were attained.”

Unfortunately, this is the only page that works on the NQA web-site. All other pages were unavailable for link through from 20 – 29 July 2013.

In a nutshell, the NQA has the responsibility of ensuring the quality of education received by Namibians. They do this through accrediting Namibian institutions and their courses as well as evalu-ating of course provided by international organisations.

Thus a Namibian student (or their parents) should first check with the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) before commencing their studies at either a local or foreign institution. In addition, the consumer must take note of what level the course is in the National Qualifications Framework.

Until Namibia gets a Consumer Protection Act, the rule is “Cave-at emptor” or let the buyer beware. It still is the responsibility of the buyer to research the goods or services they wish to purchase and they have no recourse to the law if these do not meet their expecta-tions.

Buyer Beware when enrolling at an education business

13Consumer News

Up until the late 1970’s there was no bottled water. Only 1976 did the first bottled water appear when

the French bottler Perrier made its debut. These days you can hardly enter a shop or restaurant without finding bottled water on its shelves or menu.

The questions we as consumers must ask is: “What is the cost of bottled water?” and “Is it worth the price?”

Water is a human right and most of us have access in our homes, businesses, or schools to water supplied by our munici-palities. This water is supplied to us at an average cost of N$ 11.45 per kilolitre – or 12c per 10 litre. That’s right, 12 Namibian cents per ten litres of water or less than 2c per litre. (Source: City of Windhoek Tariff Booklet 2013/14) Now let us compare that to the price of bottled water. A bottle of water can cost on average N$ 10.00 per litre in most retail stores in Namibia.

Regular drinking water competes with itself in a bottle, but reviewing the cost differ-ence, you’ve got to wonder why or how?

Most consumers will tell you that that wa-

ter in a plastic bottle is healthier and tastes better. According to international reports - with the help of advertisements, bottled water has gone from “reservoir to faddish lux-ury item to mass commodity.” Bottled H2O is being directly or indirectly sold as: healthy, smart, pure, sexy, clean and simple, it is “the stuff of life.” The question we must ask is now is that a scientific fact or something we have come to believe because of the mar-keting by these bottling companies? Even more worrying is that it has not been widely reported that in a few countries in the world concerns have been raised about chemicals leeching into the water from the soft plastic material of bottles.

And this brings us to the main concern (besides the high price and thus profit mar-gin for bottling companies) about the bottled water. There is no government regulation about what constitutes mineral or “fresh” water and what are the types of inferences bottling companies can place when advertis-ing or labelling their products. In fact most bottlers of water will admit they are bottling water from the municipal source but are

“purifying” and adding taste.Another concern in this day and age

of recycling, is that as consumers we are polluting our environment with these plastic water bottles that are more expensive that tap water even though it may or may not be “better for us”. According to the Sierra Club (One of the oldest, largest, and most influen-tial grassroots environmental organizations in the United States), “Annually the water bottles themselves take about 1.5 million tons of plastic to manufacture for the global market.” Did you know plastics come from oil and therefore it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year? Additionally the manufacturing process releases toxins into the environment, such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. Even with current plastic recycling centres, “most used bottles end up in landfills, adding to the landfill crisis.”

As a consumer you must ask yourself be-fore you buy your next bottle of water: Am I willing to pay more than 50 000% for a bottle of water that is not regulated and checked for quality while adding to the pollution of the environment?

Bottled water is making huge profits

14 Consumer News

FREEDOM THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

15Consumer News

16 Consumer News

The Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) is a national platform led by the Ministry of Finance, comprising

of more than 40 organisations from the Na-mibia public, private and civil society sector striving to address the needs in the area of financial education and consumer protection in a coordinated effort.

The Initiative aims at creating awareness on good and responsible financial practices and behaviour both for private and business financials..

The main objective of the Financial Literacy Initiative is to enhance financial literacy through educational interventionsfor individuals and micro-, small- and medium sized enterprises.

How do you complement Namibia’s financial sector as an institution/or-ganisation?n The overall objective of the Financial

Sector Strategy is to develop the Namibian financial sector and enhance its role in the economy over the next ten years. We seek to develop a more resilient, competitive, and dynamic financial system. One of the key outcome areas of the Strategy is increased financial inclusion and access to finance for SMEs and previously unbanked individu-als. The 2012 Investment Climate Survey indicated that access to, and affordability of credit remains major areas of concern.

n Realising high financial inclusion and improved access to finance offers manifold benefits. It allows our citizens to invest in productive economic activities, create jobs thus growing the economy. It also enhances the stability of the financial sector. However, access to finance, is but just one side of the coin. The other side is the needed skills to manage financial assets productively and the required information to choose the right financial products.

n Hence the establishment of the Finan-cial Literacy Initiative (FLI)to convey in an easy to understand fashion, information on the essentials of managing finance, infor-mation on existing and emerging financial products and services and consumer rights and responsibility.

What are some of your strategic goals as an institution/organization targeted towards boosting the coun-try’s financial sector within the next three to four years?

• The overarching goal, and therefore

impact the Financial Literacy Initiative intends to have, is Informed and adequate usage of financial services by Namibians, i.e. increased financial inclusion.

It should however be noted that, financial literacy activities alone will not suffice to have this impact, but play an important role inreaching this goal. Expressed commit-ment to good and responsible finance and progress towards thefinancial sector devel-opment targets aspired for in the NFSS and Namibia Financial Sector Charter (NFSC) will help realise these goals.

The following three equally important key objectives were set to reach the desired impact (considering the scope andnature of the Financial Literacy Initiative);

n Increased knowledge of financial prod-ucts, services and institutions;n Increased awareness of consumer rights, responsibilities and recourse mech-anisms; andn Increased trust in financial institutions.

What do you see as some of the impediments affecting the country’s financial competence?n According to the latest FinScope Sur-

vey of 2011, an estimated 31 percent of adult Namibians are still financially excluded; that is, they do not enjoy access to formal financial services such as bank account and insurance. This is a significant reduction from 51.7 percent exclusion rate recorded in 2007. Reasons for exclusion range from lack of physical access due to distances, high cost of financial services, limited product diversi-fication and low income base.

n This outcome demonstrates that prod-uct diversification and roll-out of low-cost services such as the biometric smartcard technology embarked upon by Nampost Savings Bank have the potency to push back the frontiers of financial exclusion.

The survey findings also unravel the challenges and opportunities for targeted interventions going forward. Access per se may have improved, but the picture is not entirely rosy, the significant rise in the level of access we have witnessed in recent years masks the depth and relevance of financial products and services extended, especially with respect to low-income earners.

n Relatively high bank fees hit hard low-income earners and discourage formal banking as a safe haven for saving and other financial transactions. Unbanked persons

are especially exposed to the vulnerabilities and risks associated with the cash economy and high service fees of alternative financial services. Still, about two-thirds of the popu-lation, that is 64 percent, do not have access to insurance. n In addition, low and irregular income

remain a persistent challenge for the majority of our population, a factor which often leaves an ordinary Namibian struggling to make ends meet. In fact, the attrition rate at which individuals drop out of the formal financial system is estimated at 14 percent. This is due to a combination of, among others, low-in-come levels, minimum balance requirements and high fees and charges.

One of the broad strategies for Namibia’s vision 2030 is aimed at operating a dynamic and accessible financial sector. What measures have you put in place as aninitiativeto en-sure that this goal becomes a reality?n The bid to increase financial literacy

and consumer protection of all Namibians is a direct offspring of Namibia’s overarching development goals, as enshrined in Vision 2030 and National Development Plans (NDPs). Vision 2030 aspires for a compet-itive economy, a prosperous Namibia and for developing a knowledge-based society. Likewise, NDP3 and NDP4 calls for spe-cific programmes and initiatives to improve access to financial products and services and bridge the gap between consumers and financial institutions. The present strategy is therefore fully in line with Namibia’s overar-ching development goals.

n FLI contributes to Vision 2030 objec-tives andaspiration,to be a knowledge-based, competitive economy and enjoying high standard of living . The high standard of living requires not only generation of income but also prudent management of income (financial assets) and adopting a savings and productive investment culture.

n The initiative strives to provide func-tional knowledge on personal (and business) finances, financial products/services, service providers, consumer needs and market de-mand, rights and responsibilities by under-taking interactive educationalcampaign for MSMEs and individual consumersthrough suite of delivery channels to transmit its message,e.g. media,communication network of partner institutions,social networks,road shows to name a few.

The Minister of Finance launched

Financial Literacy Initiative

17Consumer News

the Namibia Financial Sector Strategy (NFSS) in 2012 promising to deliver a “more resilient, competitive and dynamic financial system with best practices” by 2021 to help make Vision 2030 a reality. What is your opinion on this, do you think this is realistic?

I concurred with the Hon. Minister on this, the NFSS has not only set realistic goals but also a strategy implementation plan and a monitoring and evaluation framework with measurable indicators to monitor progress made in reaching their financial sector objectives. Government has demonstrated its commitment to provide a conducive environment for financial product innovation and broad-based financial inclu-sion agenda.One such compelling oppor-tunity is the harnessing of technology, such as cell phone technology, for the delivery of financial products and services.

As such, the Bank of Namibia has developedelectronic banking regulations which were gazettedin 2012. This regulatory innovation would allow for the industry to increasingly harness technology to expand outreach in a secure and regulated environ-ment.

n Work has commenced to implement the activities of the Financial Sector Strategy. The financial sector has demonstrated its ability to embrace the reform agenda. All commercial banks have responded to the call to introduce a Basic Bank Account (BBA) which offers low or no bank charges for some transactions. The Basic Bank Account is intended for individuals earning N$2 000 per month or less. Other innovative products and payment solutions have also been intro-duced in the market, based on technological innovations and cellphone technology.

n The banking sector in consultation with Bank of Namibia has recently launched the Code of banking practicein Namibia which sets standards of good banking practice as well as Guidelines for lodging customer complaints.

n Another important reform area relates to the bank fees and charges. In this regard, standards for cash deposit fees will be issued. The standards will apply to all savings and investment accounts owned by individuals at banking institutions; as well as to businesses that earn N$ 1 million or less per annum.

n In terms of these standards, all banking

institutions will provide free cash deposits for the first N$ 2,000.00 deposited per month on all savings and investment ac-counts, effective from 31 July 2013.

n All banking institutions will provide all businesses with an annual turnover of N$1 million or less with a zero-rated cash deposit fee for the first N$10,000.00 deposited per month, effective from 31 October 2013.

n It is believed that cash deposit fee discourages individuals to save, hence the objective of the set standards is to ensure that fees and charges related to payment services are in the public interest, promote competition, efficiency and cost-effectiveness

What are some of your success sto-ries you can tell us as an institution in relation to your contribution to the country’s financial sector?n Since its official launch in 15 March

2012, the initiative has enlisted the support of over 40 platform partners and has rolled out the “Be wise” financial education campaigns to ten (10) regions. The campaign covers fi-nancial topics around saving, budgeting and spending behaviour, directed to individuals, youth as well as micro-, small- and medium sized enterprises in Namibia.

n The campaign comprises interactive and entertaining approaches such as street theatre plays, TV and radio shows, cooper-ation with schools, trainings for entrepre-neurs, supported by print material such as posters, flyers, booklets and newspapers. Over 60,000 educational booklets and more than 4,500 posters were distributed at various events throughout the country, especially to entrepreneurs, youth and the general public.

n The FLI educational booklets and posters have been translated into 6 local languages (Oshiwambo, Silozi, Rukwangali, Otjiherero and Afrikaans). Further, a youth pocket guide on financial topics was devel-oped and has been distributed to various schools and youth centers. In cooperation with Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and SMEs Compete, 40 trainers have been trained to conduct finan-cial management trainings to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) in various regions. More than 1000 entrepreneurs have participated in the basic business financial management trainings.n The initiative in cooperation with

the Namibian NGO Junior Achievement Namibia has conducted teachers and youth officers’ trainings to capacitate them to facil-itate social and financial education (“saving clubs”) in their schools and communities. Over 60 teachers have already been trained in Khomas and Hardap region and further trainings are scheduled for other regions.

What are some of the challenges you are facing as an institution and how have you tried solving them?

The main challenges that are currently being addressed are listed below:n It easier to provide the target groups

with the educational materials, than it is to change their bad/negative financial behaviour into good/positive financial behaviour. We are thus constantly trying to improve our approach by doing research, be-ing innovative and benchmarking ourselves internationally

n It is a challenge to coordinate 40+ Platform Partners, but a real benefit to have them on board and contributing to this great initiative.

Any other information you may want to inform the nation about your institution?

The public is encouraged to look out in the media and FLI Face book page for in-formation regarding upcoming activities and tips on how to manage their finances wisely.http://www.facebook.com/finlitnam

The Financial Literacy Initiative will con-duct a national baseline survey to establish a baseline for financial literacy in Namibia to be able to measure the level of financial literacy in Namibia over time and appraise the impact of FLI interventions.

The public is encouraged to render their cooperation to the survey team in respective regions.

The public is further encouraged to look out in the media and FLI facebook page for information regarding upcoming activities and tips on how to manage their finances wisely.

For more information, Please contact the Financial Literacy Initiative at Tel: 209 2295, SMS: 77077 e-mail info@fli-namibia.org and follow our Face book link @ www.facebook.com/finlitnam or visit our website www.fli-namibia.org

18 Consumer News

My Point of View

We have recently become acquainted with tantrums, accompanied by food all over our faces and our new

shoes, not to mention the floor. If that was not a wake-up call that “our little

muffin” is growing every day and developing a personality, we were introduced to the monster, which is separation anxiety.

According to a research ( CONDUCTED BY WHO?), this is a normal emotional stage of development that starts when babies begin to understand that things and people exist even when they are not present – something called “object permanence.” At certain stages, most babies or toddlers will show true anxiety and be upset about being separated from a

parent. If you think about separation anxiety in evolutionary terms, it does make sense: A defenceless baby would naturally get upset about being separated from the person who protects and cares for them.

I looked up some ways to help people during this process:

• Minimize separations as much as possible and take your baby along, if he seems to feel anxious. With this option, you are basically waiting for your baby to outgrow this stage.

• Set up childcare with people whom your baby is familiar with. If you have to leave your baby, for example, to return to work, try leaving him with people he already knows, like his father, grandmother, or aunt. Your

baby may still protest, but he/she will adjust more easily to your absence when surrounded by well-known faces.

• Let your baby get to know a new care-giver first. If you need to leave your child with someone he/she does not know, give him a chance to get to know his caregiver while you are still around.

Other sources advise to always say goodbye with a hug and a kiss. I do that to my son, and he even waves back at me. I also have someone else to keep him busy and that split second makes him forget that I was there and he carries on with something else. I guess for bigger children it can be harder.

Good Luck! I need it.

Motherhood

I recently had the pleasure to visit the beautiful town of Gobabis. Accompanied by a few colleagues, we scouted around,

looking for a place to have lunch. If you have been to Gobabis before, you

would know there are very few choices. So we opted for Goba Lodge.

According to locals, this place is the best Gobabis has to offer. This is now if you do not want a Wimpy meal. So off we went, leav-ing our expectations right at the beginning of the gravel road to Goba Lodge.

We arrived and there was no parking due to a conference that was being held that day, so we parked in the nearest little space we could find.

What immediately caught my attention were the beautiful surroundings, punctuated by the green grass, colourful flowers, birds,

ostriches, and a blue pool of average size. They also have a tennis court and a play area for kids. We sat down (where?) and placed our orders.

Our initial reception was rather cold, and the waiter was instructed by the front desk person to ‘take these peoples order’. Wanting to give the place the benefit of the doubt, I decided to get off my hind legs.

We ordered some steaks, which was rather average priced, N$120 for a 500g Rump steak, N$105 for a Mushroom-melt sirloin steak. I had a game schnitzel with fries, which were divinely spiced, plus a pumpkin cake that I am still dreaming about. From what I could figure out, it had an orange infused glaze over that was sweet and oh so tasteful.

My hot chocolate was icy cold though and my colleagues received no ice in their drinks.

What was eye catching on the plates and worth mentioning, was the plating itself. One can see their Chef or Cook prides themselves on their cooking. There was a fresh flower and a small fruit salad: very attractive plating in deed.

Their starters range from N$39 to N$45.00 chicken dishes from N$65 to N$85. Meat dishes average N$100 and lamb range from N$75 to N$89. Beers cost N$17 and Appetis-er N$18.

Generally we had a great lunch and Goba Lodge is definitely a place we would recom-mend, despite the cold reception we received. I f I was asked to rate the place, I would give a 4 out of 10 on the atmosphere around the place, a 9 out of 10 on the food and the overall experience including surroundings 7.5 out of 10.

The opinion expressed for the articles are not from Consumer News but are the opinions of the writer.

Every person is a brand, just as every business is a brand. No matter what you sell and how many different

products you sell, your business in total has an image, a name, a term, a design, a symbol and values.

This is your brand and it is these attri-butes that sets you apart from other products and services.

Your logo is the most visual part of your brand. It is what people identify you with, together with your businesses name, and this image should tell your stakeholders who you are and what you do.

You need to make a professional person design your company logo. There is nothing

worse than a logo or name that was put to-gether in Word or PowerPoint. This in itself says something about your business. The following are three factors which you need to keep in mind when designing your logo:

•Visual Representation: just as the face is the frontline representative of a person, the logo is that for a business. Good branding makes the logo the “face” of a company, giving it an image and appeal that no other branding tool can provide and that can be easily recognised.

• Memory: people tend to remember logos better than names. A good logo will often be easier to remember than the name of a product or business.

•Uniqueness: in a cluttered business environment, nothing can help your business stand out more than a good logo. A logo can do more for differentiating a business from its competitors at first glance than virtually anything else, and this is what makes it a very important tool.

The logo is not going to be the only thing that a good brand needs, but it is a massive component of it. The ability to be distinct, to be remembered by customers, and proper representation of your business is amongst the critical tasks which follows under good branding. This process will initially cost you money, but in the long run, it is an exercise which is priceless.

Starting a business

19Consumer News

I have about 30 windows in my house and when the time came to make a decision as to what to cover the windows with, I

knew curtains were not the best option. Besides the rails there is the netting at the

back and the two drops in the front. The endless job of taking off curtains, replacing them with new ones and putting in the hooks, hanging them up, was just too big a job for me. So I opted for blinds.

This might have been the easier route out, but each has its pros and cons. I choose aluminium blinds for my house and wooden ones for my bathrooms, but if I knew then what I know now, I would still choose blinds, but I would go for the wooden ones all the way round.

There are so many different kinds of blinds, roller blinds, roman blinds, timber blinds, vertical blinds, and they all come in various fabrics and colours.

The following are a few blind options for various spaces in your home:

• Your kitchen: if you are anything like me, I spent an enormous amount of time in my kitchen, so you will want kitchen blinds that create a pleasant atmosphere but block harsh light when you need them to. You may look for kitchen blinds that are easy-to-clean and will make your kitchen warm and inviting and you must make sure you choose blinds that can be wiped or dusted, as items in the kitchen can quickly become dusty and sticky.

• Make your bedroom a retreat with the right blinds. Keep the outside world out of your bedroom with Venetian blinds, which consist of overlapping, slatted horizontal blinds that can be opened and closed with attached cords. Venetian blinds made of wood can give you a rustic feel, while vinyl or aluminium blinds will give your bedroom a contemporary look. Buy blinds that close tightly so you want privacy and a dark room at night.

• The right blinds can improve light in

your living room. If you do most of your entertaining and

relaxing in your living room, you may want to invest in stylish wooden window blinds to create an elegant look, no matter what your decor is. Look for wooden window blinds in dark wood for a sleek, modern feel or find wood blinds in a light finish to create a vintage vibe.

I chose the same kind of blinds through-out my entire house except for my bath-rooms as previously mentioned. The most important factor about blinds is to choose the ones that clean easily. You can damage them if you are not careful. If I can have a do over, I would go for wooden blinds all way round.

They do not bend, and you really have to use force to break them. As for colour, choose a neutral colour. Blinds are expensive and you would want to love coming into your home every time. Enjoy choosing your trimmings…

Building Your Dream Home

My Point of View

Consumer News Staff treasures your wise leadership and patriotism towards nation building. May you continue to inspire the Namibian nation.

We wish you long life full of health and happiness, and ask the Almighty to give you more wisdom as

you celebrate your special dayHappyBIRTHDAY

72 78Right Honourable Prime Minister

Hage GeingobPresident of the Republic of Namibia

Hifikepunye Pohamba

Promotions

General Manager Consumer News

20 Consumer News

It takes 5 minutes to make your coffee and only a few seconds for your Red Bull to pop out your vending machine. But, were the 10 minutes worth it or should you have just pressed the vending machine’s button?

So exams are coming up, assignments need to be handed in, presentations are tomorrow and up to your eyeballs with homework. The pressure is on and there is only everything to lose because you want to get into the best university or graduate from it. What is the solution to keep that en-gine running (legally of course)? Which one of the two is more effective, with minimal health risks?

Coffee contains caffeine, antioxidants, maltose, dextrins and so forth. By drinking coffee on a regular basis, you improve your mental alertness, prevent oxidation, reduce the risks of Parksin-son’s disease, Diabetes type 2, Alzheimer and kidney stones.

On the other hand, a can of Red bull contains taurine, glucuronolactone, B-group vitamins, sucrose, glucose and caffeine that is more than 3 times the caffeine that’s in coke and equal to 3 cups

of coffee downed in one go.Both of these drinks contain high levels of caffeine with side effects such as nervousness,

irritability, anxiety, muscle twitching, sleeplessness headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, drowsiness, dry mouth, flushed dry skin, need to go to the toilet often, loss of appe-

tite, nausea, stomach aches and heart palpitations. The FDA admitted that many of the ingredients in most popular energy drinks have not been fully tested. Hence,

we simply don’t know all the harmful energy drink effects on our health. In addition, red bull slows down the body’s ability to absorb water and this

can lead to you fainting and being dehydrated.Red bull can give you the boost ‘high’ you need in seconds

but wears off after few hours and you are faced with the same problem. It is like, taking in caffeine with

toxins. Red bull gives you wings to bad health.

Energy Boosters: Red Bull or Coffee?

21Consumer News

• STAFF REPORTER

“Your lips only have thin surface layers of skin, so they’re more likely than the rest of your rest of your face to dry out.” says Los Angeles dermatolo-gist, Jessica Wu. Having cracked lips as a female or male is a total turnoff. With that in mind, the perfect lips require the perfect product: lip gloss or Vaseline?

The goal of any lip moisturise is to seal in mois-ture and get extra hydration with beneficial oils. With Vaseline, Petrolatum, is the main ingredient, which is great for cracked, dry skin, as it ensures that your lips stay moist. It is a non-irritating mois-turise, with hardly any side effects. If baby’s use the unscented Vaseline, then its user friendly.

It is believed that no great outfit is complete without lip gloss. The reason why some people may experience swollen, irritating sensations after applying it might have been caused by the Fra-grances, menthol, vitamin E and artificial colours. Most of these lip gloss brands contain metals such as chromium and cadmium, which are potentially

harmful to a person’s health, accord-ing to a study published in Environ-mental Health.

These metals can cause neurolog-ical damage, lung cancer and respi-ratory damage. Some dermatolo-gists say that slathering on shiny lip gloss may increase your risk of developing skin cancer. However, it is the shininess of the lip gloss

that invite powerful UV rays, the same way that flies are attracted to

rotten meat. The UV zaps the skins elasticity and this

can sometimes prevent the upper lips from lining up properly, which can cause saliva to collect in the corners of the mouth. That does not look pretty, it makes people run away from you without even noticing it happening. But not all lip gloss is harmful, invest in one, that may contain, Castor seed oil, shea butter, sunflow-er seed oil, squalane ,hyaluronic acid, sodium PCA, or glycerine.

Ever wondered why we are told by our elders to apply Vaseline on any skin irritation or skin injury? It worked perfectly in most cases. Using lip gloss really does put the term ‘surfer for beauty’ into prospective.

Lip gloss VS Vaseline

A lot of people have died and are dying with their ability, poten-tial, ideas, imaginations and effort not fully or even ever was used because of procrastination and fear which ruled them.

The bible says in the book of Ecclesiastics 9: 10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (NIV)

I think God is pained more when someone who did not uti-lize or used what God gave them to do here on earth when they were created so that they will get a reward in heaven. Each one of us was given a certain measure of ability .area to work on and fulfill for the good of the world.

The talents, skills, knowledge, gifts, calling and vision we have are the things that God gave us to use to fulfill what he created us for and they are just nothing if we keep them in the ideas they are we need to work on them.

The equation we need to use therefore becomes: ABILITY + EFFORT = SUCCESS (REWARD)

The ability is the talents, gifts and skills we were created with. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.This is one fact we all got to know that one day we going to die , so before that time comes

we have got to work on our purpose to make sure you have done it to the fullest .

Do not procrastinate in what you were born to fulfill, strength-en your bones, and work out your purpose and salvation. Do not be lazy, for only those who work are paid their dues, let those abilities you have bear fruit.

Live your life to the fullest potential

To advertise in this space contact:

Willem Gariseb+264 81 249 8161+264 85 551 9337

willemgariseb@yahoo.com

Consumer News

22 Consumer News

• STAFF REPORTER

For the past few decades being skinny has regarded as ‘sexy, beautiful, and gorgeous’ by the media and fashion industry. This belief is made stronger when most designer

stores choose to sell a range of clothes ranging from a size 20 to a 32. If you happen to be larger than a size 32, then you just don’t reap the fruits of owing a Gucci ‘little black dress’ or shorts from Formosa. Why does the fashion industry not make plus sizes?

This creates pressure on many people. They opt for a faster, easier way of achieving this ‘sexy’ look, by popping diet pills

advertised on television or in magazines. The majority of these products are unregu-lated, untested and unproven. The peddlers of these pills, which always seem to have “Free trails, Fake news sites, Fake review sites, Fake testimonials, psycho-babble and no contact details” according to the Consumer Watch-dog of Botswana. Companies use images such as ‘before and after’ pictures which show an obese person transformed, allegedly by their product, into a newer and slimmer

version of them-selves. Such adverts are often misleading as they don’t give out all the information, and one can rarely be sure that the product being sold was how this person achieved their result.

20/20, a television show based in the U.S, investigated such claims and found 1 in 3 such images were manipulated. Remember how your friend photoshopped their picture on Facebook, big companies with large sums of money also do that and are better at it than your friend. If they can achieve all that with simple technology, than what exactly is in the pills that are making you lose weight?

People are convinced by the marketing to test drive the diet pills, lose weight, as promised, and become sexy. But then there is the issue of side effects from some pills such as; blurred vision, loss of sex drive, menstrual irregularities, diarrhoea, dizziness, vomiting, anxiety and dry mouth with the possibility of more severe complications namely, cardiac ar-rest, congestive heart failure, paranoia, stroke and seizures .

Diet pills contain Caffeine, ephedrine and phenylpropranolamine which is highly addic-tive and harmful to the body.

Why not lose weight the natural way? Be tired for 10 minutes and skinny permanently. Toxic intake may be temporally but death is permanent. Taking diet pills is equivalent to you going to the service station to buy petrol for your car only to find out that your car was sold. Most of these diet companies “care more about their bottom line than your waistline.”

Diet pills, the new sexy?

23Consumer News

Namibia as a consumer society uses almost all products that are available for consumers in South Africa. Thus

it is with great concern we notice that the Na-tional Regulation for Compulsory Specifica-tions (NRCS) has recalled a popular detergent product because it is deemed to be harmful for consumers. The NRCS has informed the public that the Dettol disinfectant liquid failed a bacterial efficacy test which requires a disinfectant detergent to kill 99.9 percent of germs and Dettol failed this test, according to Thomas Madzivhe of NRCS.

“It (Dettol) has failed a bacterial efficacy test. Once you have a product that does not kill 99.9 percent it exposes you to whatever various forms of infection you may get,” said Madzivhe.

(South African) Consumers have been warned not to purchase the product that has been ordered to be taken off the shelves across the country soon. The product is imported from the United Kingdom and is not regis-tered with the local regulator. Its manufactures do not have permission to sell the product in South Africa or Namibia.

What is even more worrying is that Dettol is not the only detergent that has been taken

off the shelves. Domestos, produced by Unilever, has also been recalled.

“Domestos does not meet our administra-tive regulatory requirements and it cannot be sold, even though technically it may not pose any safety or health risk to the consumers,” said Madzivhe. The South African Regulator (National Regulation for Compulsory Spec-ifications) has confiscated over 4000 bottles of Dettol disinfectant liquid and they will be destroyed. The regulator has urged consumers to alert the NRCS of shops that are still selling the recalled products. The question is now to Namibian consumers: Who is protecting our rights? The answer would seem to be that this should be the Namibia Standards Institution.

What is the Namibia Standards Insti-tution?

The Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) is established in terms of the Standards Act 18, of 2005. The NSI is governed by the Namib-ian Standards Council (NSC), which was inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Trade Dr. Hage Geingob on the 17th of February, 2011. The NSC provides strategic leadership to the NSI and consists of eight members, who are

all non-executive, independent Directors, while the CEO serves as an ex officio member of the NSC. According to the NSI, the expected results of the NSI Programme are an estab-lished and functional national standards body in Namibia, capable of:

• developing, adopting and applying standards;

• providing accurate measurement trace-ability to the international standards (SI) through the metrology division;

• providing reliable testing especially for food such as fish and fishery products including shellfish, beef and agro-prod-ucts and rendering food safety technical support to the aquaculture, fishing and other industries through regular tests conducted at the NSI Biotoxins and Microbiology laboratories at Walvis Bay and through NSI Inspection and Certification.

Regardless of who is OFFICIALLY responsible for protection the consumer in this regard, you the consumer can be assured that the Consumer News Magazine Namibia will keep you informed of the news you need to know.

Disinfectants fails

specifications test

24 Consumer News

CN 16

Dettol South Africa, manufacturer of the Dettol range of hygiene products, recently reassured all

South Africans that all Dettol products manufactured and distributed by Dettol

South Africa are safe to use and their efficacy is guaranteed by thorough testing and regulatory approvals.

This comes shortly after the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications

(NRCS) found a Dettol Disinfectant Liquid Lime & Lemongrass, not manu-factured and distributed by Dettol South Africa, being illegally imported into South Africa by a third party trader.

Speaking at a recent press release the Detttol SA spokesperson, Frans-esco Fattori, “Consumers’ health and safety is the foundation of the Dettol brand and will never be compromised. Over 75 years, the brand has earned the trust of health care professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists etc) and families.

“Consumers can be rest assured that all Dettol products made and dis-tributed by Dettol South Africa are safe and effec-tive, and compliant with regulatory requirements and standards and live up to their claims that they kill up to 99,9% of all germs as tested by the SABS.”

He added that, “All reg-istered Dettol SA products undergo rigorous testing and comply with local packaging and registration requirements,” says Fattori. “This ensures that the products they purchase are guaranteed to work as they have been tested.”

According to Frances-co Fattori, the illegally imported product namely Dettol Disinfectant Liquid Lime & Lemongrass is registered in the UK and complies with all relevant regulatory requirements and standards in that country.

Fattori says Dettol SA supports the NRCS’ drive to root out illegal parallel importation and will work with the relevant authori-ties in this regard.

Efficacy is a Guarantee- Dettol SA

25Consumer News

Film Industry

As we continue to experience the changes brought about by glo-balization, it is high time we as

Africans become critical about what we see so as to protect our continent from cultural imperialism.

Cultural imperialism by definition is the domination of one’s culture by a superior culture. It should be noteworthy that what we see determines what we do and where we go, which implies that we are products of our mindset.

Going back through the history lanes, one can see that the film industry in Africa came as a colonial appendage and films were used as weapons to disillusion Afri-cans from their destiny and submit them-selves to the Europeans for exploitation.

Colonial administrators in Africa used film as a potent tool to control, dominate and shape African minds in ways deemed useful to the economic interests of colonial capitalism.

Africans were not allowed to own, produce or even think of manufacturing cinematic apparatus. Colonial film units such as the Central African Film Unit (CAFU) were established with the express aim of communicating to Africans the prime economic motives of the colonial enterprise. The film units also created film production which attempted to “adjust Af-rican aspirations to an inequitable political

system, as well as shifting the blame for an emerging rural ecological crisis from the State to the peasants”.

Misrepresentation of Africans, their past, culture, history, present aspirations and the denial through distortion of African cultur-al achievements was all part of the colonial strategy to demean Africans so as to make them submit to the exploitation of their labour and view oppression as God’s plan which should not be challenged.

As Nwachukwu Frank Ukadike point-ed out, “Films proved to be a powerful tool for indoctrinating Africans into foreign cultures, including their ideals and aesthetic.

It should be noted that colonial film directors had either once worked in Eu-ropean film organizations, read about the Hollywood film industry or watched some of its film productions. This brush with the Hollywood film paradigm supplied to the colonial film directors in Africa a grammar of stereotypical images of Africans which depicted Africa as the “heart of darkness” with vast empty stretches of forest land waiting to be conquered.

African people were described either as violent savages, and illiterate or perpetual children, naked, underfed but needing moral guidance from the colonial masters. These negative images of Africans were meant to be justifications for European

conquest of Africans.Now that Africa has regained its inde-

pendence, we need to also come up with our own afro centric films that depict Africa from the perspective of Africans and this will be a way to redefine our continent as the bread basket of the world.

We need to empower our own people to venture into the film industry and begin to relate their stories to the world in a way that correctly defines our continent as the cradle of mankind. The youth, thus need to see such films in order for them to appre-ciate their history and why they should be proud of being Africans.

If this does not become the case, western cultures can swallow up our own cultures and in the end we lose our identity and can easily be swayed in different directions to suit the wishes and demands of the western countries.

As a certain professor once said, what is real depends on your point of viewing. We can choose to focus on the past. We can choose to look at the negative. Whatever we focus on determines the direction we go. Greatness begins when we challenge our reality and refuse to live below our potential. When we demand and ask for the impossible we often get the best possible.

Great people create their reality. They do not simply see things as they are but as they can be.

Time to revolutionize the film industry

26 Consumer News

Namibian based E-Money Issuer MobiPay will implement SAP Business One, from 4most, to

assist them in the delivery of their integrated E-Money and Mobile Payment and VAS 3rd Party solutions in Namibia.

MobiPay, Namibia’s first licensed and authorised mobile payment solution and E-Money Issuer, provides the local commu-nity with the capability to transfer money, pay bills, buy airtime and electricity and make Point of Sale payments. Available across all networks, and compatible with all handsets and models, MobiPay users are able to take advantage of this service from the comfort of their mobile phone.

The extension of financial services to any community, particularly via mobile, brings with it greater flexibility, ease of use and quality of life. By opening doors to oppor-tunities, often business related and perhaps not previously possible, the financial and social empowerment of communities is often accelerated.

Namibia is no exception to the exponential growth experienced in Africa’s mobile phone market, making MobiPay’s mobile payment

solution perfectly suited. But convenience brings risk, with security regarded as one of the biggest barriers to entry in the mobile payment market. As a result, whilst the implementation of SAP Business One will provide the benefit of a core integrated enter-prise resource planning (ERP) application, enabling and supporting end-to-end business processes, the financial integrity afforded is as important. This will be made possible through provision of controls eliminating any manual intervention during the processing of financial transactions.

“Integration was vital when considering possible options,” says Claus Deckenbrock, Commercial Director at MobiPay. “In addi-tion to a core ERP application, we require integration of our bespoke financial trans-actional environment and other interfaces directly into the chosen technology.” This will enable MobiPay to secure the way mo-bile transactions and payments of electricity and other prepaid or post-paid services are made, providing them with an accurate and real-time cash management solution and improving customer efficiencies. To further ensure integration of their business

environment, together with a seamless and streamlined operation, MobiPay will also im-plement SAP HANA. By taking advantage of the latest in-memory computing technol-ogy, it will provide MobiPay with real-time analysis and reporting on the information held in their SAP ERP solution. “Our high transaction volumes generate large amounts of data,” says Deckenbrock. “SAP HANA will enable us to take advantage of the latest in-memory computing technology, providing real-time analysis and reporting on this data, turning it into an asset we can use.”

“Information is power,” adds Eugene Olivier, business development director at 4most, a leading supplier and implementer of SAP Business One and ERP software and technology. “SAP HANA is enabling our customers to access their data, analyse and make sense of it at the touch of a button. It is ensuring faster and more accurate decision making, leading to greater productivity and cost efficiencies.”

“SAP HANA takes our investment with 4most one step further,” adds Deckenbrock. “And will put us in control of our business in a way not previously enjoyed,” he concludes.

MobiPay chooses 4/most saP solution for ease of integration

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27Consumer News

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28 Consumer News

The IMF’s forecasts of economic growth have once again been adjust-ed downwards. The IMF expects

global economic growth of 3.1 per cent in its July 2013 publication, down from initially 3.9 per cent predicted in April 2012. China’s growth for 2013 is anticipated now at 7.8 per cent (down from 8.8 per cent), but after growth rates of 7.7 per cent and 7.5 per cent in the first two quarters of 2013 respectively the forecast remains on the upper side.

While the sub-Saharan region saw upward revisions to its growth prospects until January 2013, they were now lowered from 5.8 per cent in January to 5.1 per cent in July owing mainly to a drop in demand for commodities. Europe’s recession is deeper than expected at the beginning of the year (now at - 0.6 per cent). However, there are indications that economic activi-ties will pick up in Europe towards the end of the year and during 2014. Investments flowing into the property markets in Italy and Spain are seen as a reflection of return-ing investor confidence.

Financial market jitters increased tempo-rarily among expectations that the Federal Reserve Bank in the USA might re-consid-er its quantitative easing policy that flushes the markets with USD85 bn every month. However, assurance of a continuation of the bond buying policy calmed down markets once again.

South Africa’s preliminary growth rate of 2.5 per cent for 2012 was below expec-tations and contributed to the currency’s depreciation. The economic performance was influenced by the drop in output in the mining sector because of continuous indus-trial action. The year 2013 did not start on a good note either with a meagre growth rate of 0.9 per cent for the first quarter 2013 compared to 2.1 per cent for the fourth quarter 2012.

The final National Accounts for 2012 confirmed the preliminary growth rate of 5.0 per cent for Namibia.

However, some adjustments were made most notably in the primary sector, where value added was adjusted upward from 6.5 per cent to 12.8 per cent. This is to a large extent attributed to the fishing sector. A preliminary decline by 4.7 per cent turned into a robust growth of 16.9 per cent.

Similarly, economic growth in the livestock sector was revised from 3.6 per cent to a healthy 21.1 per cent. On the other hand, value added due to fish processing plummeted from a preliminary decline of

4.9 per cent to a decline of 27.2 per cent. The divergent performance of the sub-sec-tors resulted in an overall growth of manu-facture by 1.2 per cent; the same as in 2011.

Since Government’s policies aim at encouraging fish processing on land, the significant decline in fish processing on land (-27.2 per cent), while fishing and on-board fish processing showed robust growth (16.0 per cent) is a matter of concern and warrants more analysis of the underlying causes. Sub-stantial adjustments in the value addition of fish processing on land in previous years – an initial decline of 1.6 per cent in 2011 turned eventually into a strong performance of 16.5 per cent – suggests that data submitted by fishing companies or the ministry might not yet be complete.

However, there might be other reasons too. Other revisions made for 2011 included the livestock sector that showed substantial-ly stronger growth in 2011 than previously anticipated. Value addition by livestock farming almost doubled from an initial 13.2 per cent to 25.1 per cent. These adjustments in the fishing, agriculture and fish process-ing sectors were mainly responsible for the higher overall growth rate for 2011 that was revised upward from 4.9 per cent to 5.7 per cent. he first quarter 2013 recorded a growth of 1.2 per cent compared to 3.7 per cent in the previous quarter. The agriculture sector performed exceptionally well with a growth rate of 35.0 per cent, spurred by livestock marketing owing to the prevailing drought.

This, in turn, led to an increase in value addition of the meat processing sector by 52.1 per cent. Of course, these figures do not bode well for livestock farming and conse-quently meat processing, since the reduction in herd sizes will negatively impact on the production capacity of the sectors in the near future.

Mining showed also a strong rebound (20.9 per cent), while other sectors, in partic-ular fishing (-19.5 per cent) and manufactur-ing (-10.9 per cent) performed rather poorly.

The strong growth in meat processing was offset by a decline of 51.4 per cent in other manufacturing (including diamond cutting), dairy production (33.4 per cent) and fish processing (25.6 per cent).

Oil prices have eased slightly com-pared to the beginning of 2013 in line with the global economic outlook.

The recent events in Egypt, however, have exerted some temporary upward pressure, since one of the main supply routes to Europe passes through the Suez Canal.

Europe Brent oil is trading at USD107,90 per barrel, which is 2.6 per cent lower than at the beginning of the year, but 8.0 per cent up compared to July 2012. The main driver for fuel price increases, however, has been the depre-ciation of the Namibia dollar vis-à-vis the USD. Diesel prices have increased by 3.4 per cent and 15.5 per cent compared

Economy Watch Namibia – July 2013

29Consumer News

to the beginning of the year and July 2012 respectively.

The Namibia dollar has gained some ground over the past Exchange rates of the NAD for major two weeks in partic-ular against the US dollar. It is, however, currencies, Jan. 2010 to July 2013 trading much weaker against the major currencies Price in Namibia compared to the begin-ning of the year and has lost value by dollar for one 15.7 per cent, 10.0 per cent and 15.7 per cent against the unit of a foreign US dollar, British pound and Euro. The depreciation is even more pronounced when compared to exchange rates a year Inflation remained fairly stable over the past five months varying between 6.1 per cent and 6.3 per cent year-on-year.

Prices increased in June 2013 by 6.2 per cent compared to 6.1 per cent in May. The three main categories accounting for two thirds of the consumption basket, all ex-perienced slightly stronger price increases compared to May. Food price inflation rose to 7.6 per cent from 7.4 per cent in May, prices for housing, water and elec-tricity increased by 0.1 percentage points to 9.7 per cent and transport inflation accelerated from 2.7 per cent to 3.0 per cent. The increase in food price inflation can be attributed to double-digit price ris-es in the categories: fruits (17.6 per cent), vegetables (13.7 per cent), fish (10.8 per cent) and milk and cheese (11.2 per cent). These four categories account for some 27 per cent of the food consumption basket. The two items with a combined share in the food category of 55 per cent recorded below average price increases: bread and cereals (4.1 per cent) and meat (5.5 per cent). The slight rise of prices in the category of housing etc. is solely caused by price increases of 12.4 per cent for electric-ity, while all other sub-categories recorded below average price increases. Costs for transport rose mainly on account of higher costs for public transport (up by 9.0 per cent) and for the operation of vehicles (4.3 per cent), which comprises mainly of petrol and diesel.

Inflation rates in SACU member countries are converging.

The spread between the lowest and the highest inflation ratse narrowed from 2.4 percentage points in January 2013 to 1.5 percentage points in May. In particular, Swaziland managed to contain inflation and brought it down from around 9 per cent in 2012 to 5.5 per cent in May. This is the second lowest inflation rate in SACU, only undercut by Lesotho with 4.6 per cent. Namibia topped the list together with Botswana at 6.1 per cent.

Since the inflation rate has remained

within the band of 3 to 6 per cent in South Africa and in order to support investment and economic growth further, the South African Reserve Bank left the repo rate unchanged at 5.00 per cent.

The Bank of Namibia’s monetary policy stance is to a large extent guided by the foreign exchange reserves required to maintain the currency peg with the South African rand.

Since the reserves remained adequate, the inflation rate is at tolerable levels and also to support economic growth, the Bank maintained the repo rate at 5.50 per cent.

White maize prices have increased by 8.5 per cent since the beginning of 2013, but are 15.5 per cent lower than a year ago. Farmers in the USA, the largest growers and exporters of maize, planted a record area with maize this season and prevailing climatic conditions suggest a good harvest that put prices under pressure. Prices for later on this year suggest slight price increases since maize for December 2013 is traded at NAD2,360 per ton compared to currently NAD2,312 per ton. Wheat prices on the other hand continue to fluctuate around the price at the beginning of the year (NAD3,475 per ton) but are almost 5 per cent lower than in July 2012. Prices for wheat in December 2013 are slightly lower at NAD3,350 per ton. Overall, current prices do not suggest major upward or downward trends, but rather fluctuations around existing price levels.

Commodity prices have benefitted over the past decade from the strong demand particularly in China. This reversed the trend of declining real prices (prices adjusted for inflation) during the last cen-tury. However, some experts expect the so-called commodity super cycle to come to an end, because of a slow-down in the industrial output in China that grew by on average more than 20 per cent in the past decade but decelerated to below 10 per cent. In addition, technological progress and more efficient use of natural resourc-es in the production process impacts on demand. Current price trends are, however, more likely attributable to the global economic performance than to the expected end of the commodity cycle.

Copper and zinc prices have dropped by 12.1 per cent and 9.7 per cent respec-tively since the beginning of 2013. While zinc prices are 2 per cent higher than a year ago, copper prices have declined by about 6 per cent. Zinc was selling at USD1,837 per ton and copper at USD6,960 per ton on 23 July.

Uranium prices have fallen below

USD40 per pound resulting in a drop of 16 per cent and 27 per cent compared to January 2013 and July 2012 respectively. Towards the end of July, the uranium price plummeted to USD36.50 per pound; a level last seen in January 2006. Reportedly, the price is below produc-tion costs of the operating Namibian uranium mines and can affect develop-ments of new mines.

Gold prices have followed the same trend as other commodity prices and have weakened by 21.8 per cent and 18.2 per cent compared to the beginning of 2013 and the same period last year.

The gold price dropped below USD1,200 per ounce at the end of June caused by 1,300 speculation that the US Federal Reserve Bank could cease its quantitative easing policy. It has re-covered slightly after assurance that the policy will not change in the immediate future and was trading at USD1,296 per ounce on 19 July 2013

IPPR

30 Consumer News

The seemingly ‘eclipse’ that had overshadowed most Na-mibian fans’ mind after Paulus ‘the Rock’ Ambunda lost his title against Tomoki ‘Mexicanito’ Kameda, has been

removed by the dawning of a new day as Ambunda is going to get a rematch.

Ambunda lost his title and his previously unbeaten record after a twelve round unanimous decision at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City, Philippines recently. Kameda, who is unbeaten so far (20-0, 18 KO’s) reportedly out boxed the Namibian champion en route to a 118-110, 116-112, 117-111 victory in front of over 3000 Japanese supporters.

However, the boxing promoter, Nestor Tobias is adamant that Ambunda will reclaim the World Boxing Organization bantam-weight world title from the Japanese boxer when the two boxers meet again for a rematch, scheduled to take place soon.

Speaking at a recent press conference, Ambunda said, “I am happy that a rematch will take place very soon as I cannot wait to reclaim my title. I am a fighter by nature and I am a champion that is why I know I will bring the title back home.

Also speaking at the press conference, Tobias assured that Ambunda would use every trick to ensure he brings back his title. Tobias was quoted in the local media saying, “Obviously we are disappointed because we know Ambunda is a much better and stronger boxer than Kameda. Ambunda was not at any point

It’s not a total eclipsefor Ambunda

Tomoki Kameda

during the fight hurt by Kameda and that is good news, so we are now looking forward to the rematch which was agreed upon by both parties. We will start with negotiations very soon, where we expect the date and venue of the rematch to be communicat-ed. The Kameda camp will decide on the date and venue of the match because they are the new champions.”

Tobias added that, “I say Ambunda lost his title ‘temporar-ily’ because every fight a boxer fights is a new experience and Ambunda has learned one or two things about Tomoki and his fighting style. We will be better prepared for Tomoki next time around and bring the title back home where it belongs. Of course, fighting away from home is not always easy but Ambun-da is a world champion and if one is a champion you have to be prepared to fight anywhere at any given time.”

Promotions

Additional BenefitsIf you are more than 100 kms from your home and you can’t get your vehicle mov-ing within 24 hours due to an incident:

Breakdown: The vehicle will be towed to the nearest Service Provider. If the vehi-cle is not repairable the vehicle will then be repatriated to your place of residence. The relocation of vehicle will only be done during day time. If a breakdown occur after sun set, the member would have to make use of the accommodation benefit.

Trailer Assist: Only Ultra Assist gives you trailer coverage as part of your package. You receive roadside assistance with ex-actly the same towing entitlements for your trailer as your vehicle - only passen-ger vehicle trailers.

Accommodation: Overnight accommo-dation will be arrange on the day of the

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breakdown, at a hotel or Bed and Break-fast (BB) of our choice. We will pay the establishment for one night’s accom-modation for the driver and up to four passengers,uptoN$700.00perincidenttwice a year.

Car Rental:WewillrefundN$700.00perincident for the driver and four passen-gers. Member must qualify for the basic conditions of the Car Rental Company.

Passenger Transport: We will reimburse the cost of commuter bus fair or rail trav-el to your home, or intended destination, for you and up to four passengers. The traveling cost to collect the vehicle will be covered for one person twice a year.

Paulus Ambunda

31Consumer News

Golf has just added another striking edition to their models. The new Golf GTI can best be described as a true

original, often copied and never equaled model with the power to move its driver not only physically, but emotionally.

The seventh generation Golf GTI brings some major updates for the model: next to exterior and interior updates, the new GTI is being offered for the first time in two different power levels: a standard GTI and a Perfor-mance version that increases the final output by 10 horsepower.

Despite being more powerful than the previ-ous generation, the new GTI is also more fuel efficient: an improvement of about 18%,

Under the hood, the new Golf GTI houses a 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injection engine offered in two power levels. In the standard version, it delivers a total of 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, while the Perfor-mance version is increased by 10 horsepower to a total of 230 horsepower.

The engine is mated to a standard six-speed manual gearbox or an optional dual-clutch six-speed automatic.

The standard version will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and up to a top speed of 152 mph, while the Performance version is a little bit faster: 0 to 60 mph in just 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.

Despite being more powerful than the model it replaces, the new GTI is about 18 percent more fuel efficient.

This improvement has been possible by the addition of a new stop-start system. With the manual gearbox, the GTI will deliver a fuel consumption of 6 liters/100 km (39.2 mpg) and with the optional 6-speed DSG, 6.4 for the standard version and 6.5 liters/100 km (36.1 mpg) for the Performance version

The car’s interior delivers a sportier feeling, thanks to the addition of new sport seats wrapped in tartan pattern, a black headliner and red ambiance lighting. Just like any other GTI, the new generation is offered with a sport

steering wheel, GTI gear shift grip and instru-ment cluster, special trim strips, and stainless steel pedals and foot support.

The New Golf GTI’s interior is punctuated by Colour Multi-function display on board computer Illuminated scuff plates in door ap-ertures, aluminum pedal caps 2 front and 2 rear reading lights in LED Technology, 3-spoke leather multi function, Sports steering wheel – aluminum, GTI emblem insert, aluminium golf ball style gearshift knob, decorative dash-board & door side trim inserts - GTI Specific Progressive, steering wheel (MQBA1 direct steering), Air-conditioner - 2-zone Climatronic Multimedia socket for external audio source AUX-IN.

The sporty character of the new GTI is fur-ther accentuated by the addition of new sport suspension and a set of 17-inch “Brooklyn” GTI wheels wrapped in 225/45 tires.

The model is also equipped with a high-per-formance brake system that features ventilated discs and traditional red-painted calipers.

An assortment of comfort and safety

New GOlf GTI

Promotions

The ECB was established as the Namibian Electricity Regu-lator in 2000, under the Electricity Act, 4 of 2007. The ECB has the core responsibility of exercising control over the electricity supply industry (ESI) and regulation of generation, transmission, distribution, supply, use, import and export of electricity in Namibia. It is also responsible for the regulation of electricity tariffs and quality of supply and service.

In order to engender a communications strategy that enhanc-es stakeholder commitment, the ECB intends to conduct an initial ECB Customer/Stakeholder Satisfaction and Percep-tion Survey.

To obtain the services of a Namibian consultant/s or con-sulting firm with appropriate qualifications and experience in research and development, corporate communication and stakeholder management to assist the ECB in conducting a Namibian ESI consumer/stakeholder satisfaction and per-ception survey.

The work should be completed within 6 months from the in-ception date. The successful consultant shall submit a re-vised detailed project implementation schedule/ program to the ECB within a week after the conceptual meeting.

GENERALThe ECB reserves the right to reduce the scope of this project and to increase the scope subject to negotiations Terms of Reference: Development of the “ECB STAKEHOLDER AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMER PERCEPTION SURVEY” with the successful tenderer.

The deadline for tender submissions is Friday 22 August 2013 at 16h00. Tenders should be submitted before the deadline to the offices of the ECB, 8 Bismarck Street, Windhoek, Namibia. Faxed or Electronic copies of tender documents will not be accepted.

The proposals must be submitted in 2 sealed envelopes clearly marked Financial & Technical addressed to the Chief Executive Officer and bearing the word “Tender” and tender description or subject to which it relates and the latest date and time for the receipt of such tender.

All Technical Enquiries must be directed to:Ms Damoline MurukoManager: Corporate Communications & Legal Services Tel: +264-61-374316 / Fax: +264-61-374305E-mail: dmuruko@ecb.org.na

REQUEST FOR TENDERS

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE ECB STAKEHOLDER AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMER PERCEPTION SURVEY FOR A PERIOD OF 6 MONTHS