Show me the money

Thursday, March 07, 2013 - 11:20, by Milton Louw

The Namibian 14 Feb 2013

Millions of dollars are laying unclaimed with banks, pension funds and insurance companies. I have been informed that these companies believe it is the responsibility of the deceased to have informed the relatives of the policy of other benefit that the relatives are to receive. In turn, they insist, it is the responsibility of the beneficiary to claim their monies. Nonsense, I say! The company has been entrusted with a duty which must be kept.
In last week’s column I discussed the opportunities to be had by entrepreneurs in the assistance of customers. Many… ( Read on! )

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Money to be made in helping consumers

Thursday, March 07, 2013 - 11:17, by Milton Louw

The Namibian 5 Feb 2013

Shortly before Namibia gained its Independence, I was arrested along with around thirty students for a “public gathering without a permit”. We were protesting the establishment of army bases near schools as this was endangering the safety of especially the female learners. Upon our arrest I laughed at one of the police officers and he told me, “Lag vir jou gat en bid vir jou siel” (Laugh at your ass and pray for your soul).
Now you might be wondering what this has to do with consumer affairs. This past week I was enquiring about a consumer complaint regarding… ( Read on! )

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Housing in Namibia

Thursday, March 07, 2013 - 11:06, by Milton Louw

First printed in Consumer News Namibia magazine - Jan 2013 edition

All Namibians have the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food, clothing, and housing. It is the responsibility of the politicians to ensure the legal and policy framework is in place, while it is the duty of the civil servants and employees of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) to implement these in practical terms. Unfortunately, this has not materialised in the form of housing for all. According to estimates, the Namibian housing shortage stands at over 300 000 units. Almost 280 000 of these… ( Read on! )

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How much does it cost?

Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 09:49, by Milton Louw

As I spend most of my year living on a guest farm, I very rarely have to buy anything other than my sins of cigarettes and alcohol. I have for some time been complaining about the prices of these items, but accept this as a burden I must bear for using them.

This past week however, I had to make purchases for the farm shop. Great was my concern when I could not work out the unit prices. By this I mean the items were not marked per litre or per kilogramme but only showed a price for the item whether it was packed in 200g, 375 litre or even more ridiculously, per 180g. Now how must I compare… ( Read on! )

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Micro lending or loan sharks?

Saturday, January 26, 2013 - 16:23, by Milton Louw



Micro lending is a fast-growing sector and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) has invited the public to comment on the industry.

Micro-lending refers to loans under N$50 000 which must be repaid over a maximum period of 60 months to the micro-lender, usually in instalments. According to Namfisa, micro-lenders are often unkindly referred to as ‘loan sharks’, but they consider it to be unfair to say the micro-lenders are always in the wrong when it comes to misunderstandings with their customers. They further point out that “while it’s true that… ( Read on! )

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Namibia

Milton Louw

Milton Louw

Milton Louw was born in Windhoek, Namibia and raised the Independence flag over the capital in 1991. (Read on!)He has worked closely with the chamber of commerce movement and the development of small- and medium-enterprises. He is a lecturer in Information and Communication Technologies and has assisted in various ICT research papers. His most recent contribution was to "Libraries, Telecentres, Cybercafes and Public Access to ICT: International Comparisons" by the University of Washington. As a socio-economic commentator he has been the editor of various monthly publications and a regular blogger. His idea on improving the social conditions in Namibia has led to the publication of the book "Future Namibia" in 2011.

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