NewsFree

FeBrUAry 2013

ISSN 2026-710X

yoUr voIce

Consumer

Q & A with O&L Chairman• Keeping consumers aware of a Pyramid Schemes• What influences consumer decision making• Understanding Banking• The Wreck Restaurant• Thriving in an unventured business

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The TeamPublisherConsumer News

Printed byPrintech cc

General Manager/EditorWillem Gariseb081 249 8161081 551 9337consumernews@iway.na

EditorialFreelance Journalists

PhotosFreelance Photographers

Contents• Q & A with O&L Chairman - P4 - P5

• Legal insurance for Namibians - P6

• Keeping consumers aware of a Pyramid Schemes - P8 - 9

• Retention is important - P10

• Adventure Travel World Travel Summit One of its kind - P11

• Quality, Excellence & Success, a description of the new NUST

- P12 - P13

• Thriving in an unventured business - P14

• Stay focus why you came to the city - P14

• What influences consumer decision making - P16

• Healthcare in Namibia - P17

• How to buy discounted airtime on the Consumer News network - P17

• The beauty in nature - P18 - P19

• Understanding Banking - P21

• Motherhood? - P22

• The Wreck Restaurant - P22

• How much does it cost? - P24

• Mazda speed 3 - P26

• Hitman takes on Fana - P27

Editor’s Note

Let me begin by thanking all our advertisers and readers for their unwavering support in the publication of our magazine. As the saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of all inventions,’ let me add that we are also there because of the need

to constantly educate and inform consumers on issues which concern them and also give them the chance to speak through this platform to the concerned stakeholders as a way to influence a consumer inclusive policy formulation.

In this edition we feature the Executive Chairman of the Ohlthaver and List Group, one of Namibia’s largest companies participating in the sectors of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, dairy, marine and industrial engineering, property management and investment, leisure management and investment, marketing and digital marketing and energy generation

Sven is one of the successful entrepreneurs who have sailed all the way through to lead a very successful ‘empire’ under the name O&L Group of companies. We also blessed our consumers with more educative and diverse stories from tourism to banking, stories which opens their minds to critically think and make cognitive decisions before buying any product from any shop.

We also want to extend an invitation to all potential stakeholders and investors to partner with our magazine and support us in the coming month as we will be planning to do an independence supplement which will inform readers on the progressions made towards consumer protection in Namibia.

May you enjoy reading the pages of our magazine. Until the next edition……

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

*TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLYNO DEPOSIT REQUIRED

GET YOURSELF

A GADGET!

SMARTPHONE, iPHONE, COMPUTER REPAIRS

ICT SOLUTIONSOUTSOURCED IT MANAGEMENT

FIBRE & COPPER NETWORKDESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION

OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:

• 3G• CorningGorillaGlass• 16GBstorage,1GBRAM• microSDpto32GB• Wi-Fi• Dual-core1GHzCortex-A9• AndroidOS,v4.0.3

SHOP 12, 1st FLOOR, Maerua Mall, WindhoekTel: 061 233 368 / 061 231 652 sales@gadgetsnamibia.comwww.gadgetsnamibia.com

FIND US:

GALAXY TAB 2 10.1

From

N$450permonth

GALAXY NOTE 2

• 3G• SuperAMOLEDcapacitivetouchscreen,• CorningGorillaGlass2• 16GB• 2GBRAM• MicroSD,upto64GB• Wi-Fi• AndroidOS,v4.1.1• Quad-core1.6GHzCortex-A9

From

N$587permonth

GALAXY S3

CashpriceN$7699CashpriceN$5899

• 3G• SuperAMOLEDScreen,16Mcolors• CorningGorillaGlass2• 16GBstorage,1GBRAM• microSD,upto64GB• 8MP,autofocus,LEDflash• Quad-core1.4GHzCortex-A9

From

N$399permonth

CashpriceN$6499

SAMSUNG S3 MINI

• 3G• Super AMOLED capacitive touch-

screen• micro SD, up to 32 GB• 8 GB 1 GB RAM• WIFI• 5MPautofocus,LEDflash• 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9

From

N$343permonth

CashpriceN$4499

IPHONE 5

• 4G LTE • LED-backlit IPS LCD,• capacitive touchscreen,• 16M colors• Corning Gorilla Glass, • oleo phobic coating• Internal 16GB storage, 1 GB RAM• WIFI• 8MP,autofocus,LEDflash• CPU Quad-core 1.2 GHz

From

N$876permonth

CashpriceN$11499

HP 630

• 15.6”LED• Dual-core• 320GBHDD• 2GBRam• DVD+/-RW• WLAN&Bluetooth• Windows7HB

From

N$343permonth

CashpriceN$4499

• 15.6”LEDbDisplay• IntelcelB830• 2GBDDR3,• 320GBHDD• MultiCardReader• NumericKeypad,• Wi-Fi• HDWebcam,• DVDRW• Windows864Bit

TOSHIBA C850-F74T

From

N$343permonthCashpriceN$4499

4 Consumer News

At the helm of the group of compa-nies, which employs approximately 5000 people, seats Sven Thieme

the Group’s Executive Chairman. Sven Thieme discusses the formula to his em-pire with the Consumer News giving the roadmap to his success.

CN What is the nature of your business and influenced you to venture into the challenging yet lucrative business?

Sv: Approximately 80 % of our

turnover generated results from manufacturing with a balance of 20% generated by our retail op-erations. Manufacturing is a very challenging part of our business as you have to be very innovative and constantly look as to how one can produce products and services in a more effective and efficient way to reduce costs.

With global economies slowly but surely opening up, competition

becomes global. I believe that we have developed the right corporate culture to meet these challenges to ensure we are innovative.

CN. O&L Visions seek to be the pro-gressive and inspiring company. How do you ensure this?

Sv: For us to be the most progres-sive and inspiring company, we have set ourselves the following over-arching vision metrics which is to

with the O&L Chairman

The ohlthaver and List Group is one of Namibia’s largest companies participating in the sectors of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, dairy, marine and industrial engineering, property management and investment, leisure management and investment, marketing and digital marketing and energy generation.

Sven Thieme the Group’s Execu-tive Chairman

Q & A

5Consumer News

achieve an Earnings before Interest and Taxation of N$ 2 billion; to con-sistently achieve being the employer of choice; to generate an additional 2500 employment opportunities, and to run the company in such a way that we have a positive carbon footprint.

CN. What are some of the company’s strengths and weaknesses compared to its competitors?

Sv:I believe some of our strengths is our people management pro-cesses and our culture we have developed. A further strength is our heritage and the entire authenticity, realness and purity that underpin the quality of our products and services.

Some weaknesses clearly are that we still do not have the scale that we need to lift the organization to the next level and that sometimes requires us to diversify our portfolio more than we actually want to do.

CN: What have been your challenges and shortcomings as an individual and how have you managed to overcome them?

Sv: Perhaps one I can mention is the fact that I don’t enjoy re-explain what I want or need as I consider this boring, but again nowadays I see this as an opportunity for better communication. After all, Let’s Talk is one of our values.

CN: Can you tell us about O&L’s growth plan for the next five years, and how does your location/region fit in real-izing that you have international clients?

Sv: I have eluded to it above with our vision metrics. These vision metrics require us to look beyond Namibia and venturing into other

countries. We are partly already established in terms of our famous Windhoek Lager, Hangana fish and Oshikandela.

CN: What have you achieved in this industry since day one and what do you feel you still need to achieve?

Sv: We are obviously operating in many industries and have turned around one company after the other but there is a still lot to do within our company in order to become absolutely world class, and apart from that we are still busy with some turnarounds as well as participating in new industries where we are still establishing new companies.

CN: What makes you wake up in the morning every day and what is success to you?

Sv: Our very clear organizational purpose: “Creating a future, enhanc-ing life”. My own purpose is: “Giving life to people everywhere”. And suc-cess for me is to see people growing to the next level compared to who they were yesterday! I am passionate about our country and our people!

CN: Who has been your greatest source of inspiration?

Sv: There are many, but I am more inspired by people having achieved the impossible whether small or big and it is really the small examples or achievements that inspire me most.

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

Sv: You need to have a very strong and clear purpose, strong value sys-tem simply put, be very disciplined and know clearly what you want and

not to forget, but to act upon it. This applies to any industry.

CN: Do you think that the Namibian has the rightfully skilled human resources to drive the nation towards economic capacity building and meeting the set 2030 goals?

Sv: If we collectively have the will to achieve these goals, we will do it. In some cases we do need to import skills and ensure they train people and develop Namibians so that we have the right skills in our country.

CN: What does it take for one to do the work you do? As for yourself, where and what did you study before you joined the profession?

Sv: There are obviously many recipes, but I believe that you need to have a good educational base and thereafter it is dependent on what you want. I see sometimes people study and study for ever. But I be-lieve you must put your studies into practice and learn further through doing- that is really studying.

Also refer to what I have said earlier. Myself, I am a Chartered Accountant, having studied B-Rekeningkunde at the University of Stellenbosch and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting at the University of Cape Town. I articled with Deloitte in Cape Town.

I am a Chartered Accountant, having studied B-Rekeningkunde at the

University of Stellenbosch and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting at the University of Cape Town. I

articled with Deloitte in Cape Town.

”

6 Consumer News

The cost of taking legal action can be prohibitive. Could you afford to claim com-pensation if you were injured in an accident, unfairly dismissed from work or had a dispute with a business?

A friend of mine has had legal insur-ance for the past three years and believed he was covered. About a month ago, he was accused of be-ing involved in a theft syndicate at his work. He immediately called his legal insurance company, but was informed they do not cover criminal cases. He was taken for a polygraph test (is that even legal in Namib-ia?), and informed that he had failed the test. This led to him leaving the job that morning to go speak to his legal insurer.

Guess what the legal insurance company tells him? They inform him they do not cover the expenses for a labour case either.

for NamibiansLeGAL INSUrANce

WHAT is it with insurance companies that do not want to pay claims? If you complain at

NAMFISA they can do very little to help.If I am going to buy legal insurance I

expect:Bail Assistance• Bail negotiations and applications

on members’ behalf• Depositing of the bail amount/is-

suing of bail guarantee on behalf of arrested member. In other words, I must know that if I am accused of a crime that I have instant legal assistance when I am arrested and the legal representative shall do everything in their power to have me released on bail. In addition, my legal insurance will cover a certain amount – for example bail up to N$10,000.

cIvIL LAw

• Bank and insurance matters• Blacklisting• Building and construction mat-

ters• Contractual disputes• Debt collection• Letters of demand• Litigation• Personal injury claims, etc

If I should find myself in a case where I am accused of wrong doing by an indi-vidual (civil meaning between two parties), I hope my insurance company will cover all the types of cases, as well as assist when I wish to take another person or company to court in a civil case.

crImINAL LAw

• Fraud, theft, robbery or assault• Arrests• Bail applications

• Consumer issues• Driving under the influence• Reckless driving• Search warrants, etc.

This area is where most legal insurance companies are doing proper cover. This is of course the area that scares most citizens. But, in all probability, this is the area which legal insurance companies know are used the least – but do wonders for advertising.

FAmILy LAw

• Ante-nuptial contracts• Custody disputes• Divorces• Family violence matters• Interdicts• Maintenance disputes, etc.

Being able to handle family affairs pri-vately and confidentially is very important for every consumer. This area of law also calls for the ability to settle disputes within the family about legal matters.

LABoUr LAw

• Dismissals• Disciplinary proceedings• Pension payout disputes• Restraint of trade agreements• Retrenchments• Unpaid wages• Working condition

In the employment arena we are often caught out either not knowing our rights, or thinking that we actually do when we don’t. Our legal insurance should allow us to get quick assistance, especially in cases where we need advice before following any course of action that could be detrimental in the long run.

Surely this is not too much to ask from your legal insurance company?

Book your space in Consumer News for the Independence Celebrations in our March edition. 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

7Consumer News

Nacc bid farewell to MuroruaThe Board, Management and staff of NaCC recently bed farewell to Mr Lucius Murorua for his outstanding leadership during his tenure as the Chairman of NaCC Board of Commissioners from 01 February 2010 to 31st January 2013.

During his time at the Commission, Mr Murorua played a significant role in building an effective, independent competition regulator and giving teeth to the Commission’s mandate in safeguarding and promoting competition in the Namibian economy.

He also highlighted as a notable achievement during his Chairmanship, the Walmart// Massmart court challenge which placed the NaCC on the international map due to its resilience on protecting the local economy.

Pro

mo

tions

Media Release

Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to the Namibian Competition Commission

Mr. Lucius Murorua

8 Consumer News

Ndangi Katoma, the Bank’s Director of Strategic Communications and Financial Sector Development gives some insight on what a pyramid scheme is and gives advice on how consumers can protect themselves from becoming victims.

C.N: Following last year stance taken by the Bank on some busi-ness activities found to be con-travening the law as pyramid schemes, what progress has made so far and what is the way forward?

As you would recall, after an in-depth assessment of the business models of some business entities, namely Gold Prime Time, U-Care and Penta Stream Invest-ments (under the concept of Pin Code & Penta Gold), the Bank of Namibia has declared these entities as illegal as their activities were found to be in contraven-tion with section 55A (1) of the Banking Institution Act, 1998 (Act No. 2 of 1998),

as amended. The Bank gave directives to these

business entities to repay back money to the rightful owners who did not receive any promised reward(s) within 14 days. The Bank has also requested members of the public who became victims of such schemes to register their names/particu-lars in order for the Bank to ensure that proper facilitation of refunds happen by these pyramid schemes.

Gold Prime Time and Penta Streams Investments have responded positively to the Banks’ directive and promised to pay back the monies to the rightful owners.

However, U-Care indicated that they will not honor the directive of the Bank of Namibia and opted to settle the dispute in a court of law. Thus far, only 15 people are alleged to have received re-payment from Penta Stream Investments while none of the other two schemes reported any repay-

ment made as directed.

This primarily happened, due to the fact that Penta Stream Investments initiated their repayment plans without presenting the Bank of Namibia with detailed repay-ment schedule, on how and how much of refunds they will have to execute.

Consequently, this resulted in some de-lays in effecting the repayments. Given the above, the Bank has resolved to proceed with legal action against the three pyramid schemes in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Institutions Act of 1998, as amended.

C. N: Do we have people who have lost money in Namibia through these schemes or why is the Bank of Namibia concerned with this?

NK: Well, first business entities

Ndangi Katoma, the Bank’s Director of Strategic Communications and Financial Sector Development

Pyramid schemes are very common and come in so many forms difficult to recognize im-mediately.

However, they all share one overriding characteristic which is the promise of large prof-its to consumers or investors based primarily on recruiting others to join their program and not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public.

In Namibia, various schemes have been probed by the Bank of Namibia in the recent past. Last year, the Bank of Namibia (the Bank) completed the in-vestigation of some business models whose activities have been found to be contravening section 55A (1) of the Banking Institutions Act, 1998 (Act No. 2 of 1998), as amended.

9Consumer News

Pyramid Schemes

operating in the manner I explained above contravene section 55A (1) of the Banking Institutions Act, 1998 (Act No. 2 of 1998), as amended. Secondly, we have recently seen people who lost money in Namibia though various illegal pyramid schemes. With regard these three schemes, it is noted that following the Bank’s request to members of the public to provide informa-tion pertaining to their participation in these scheme last year, approximately N$ 2.8 million is recorded to have been paid or invested by the public with the above-mentioned three schemes. However, this amount is expected to increase as mem-bers of the public are still registering their details with the Bank of Namibia.

Thirdly, the Bank of Namibia is required to protect depositors of funds in the commercial banks and keep public confidence in the financial system. When people lose confidence in the financial sys-tem, it can spell economic disaster to the country’s economy and wellbeing of its cit-

izens. The many illegal pyramid schemes hook the public by convincing them of the high returns in a short space of time. This poses a risk because they tend to col-lapse when it becomes difficult to attract new people to join. The schemes involve payment of purported returns to existing investors from the funds contributed by new investors. Through this process, illegal deposit-taking schemes promise investors that they will gain high returns if they invest in these funds.

C.N: In simple terms, what are pyramid schemes and how do they work?

NK: In general terms, pyramid schemes are illegal and very risky ‘get-rich-

quick’ schemes that can cost a lot of people a lot of hard earned money. Typically, promoters at the top of the pyramid make their money by having people join the scheme. Then they pocket the fees and other payments made by those who join under them. In a typical pyramid scheme, a member pays to join. The only way for the member to ever recover any money is to convince other people to join up and to part with their money as well.

CN: What should one do to avoid falling victim of the schemes?

NK: The answer is simple. As an individual, do your home work. Pyramid schemes often look like legitimate multi-level marketing schemes. To tell the differ-ence between them, ask yourself these two questions, amongst others:

• Are the rewards you have been promised based on product sales

(by either yourself or others you introduce to the scheme)?

• Are the products genuine products of real value, at a reasonable price and the type of things that consum-ers will want to buy time and time again?

If you are unsure or answered no to either of these questions, there is a real chance that the scheme is a pyramid scheme. If you have doubts about a particular marketing scheme, the Bank of Namibia may be able to help. As with any other investment decision, you should seek independent advice before you make a decision.

If you believe that an offer is a pyramid scheme, do not take part—it is very likely that you will lose your money and you could be breaking the law. If you believe that the offer could be a legitimate multi-level marketing scheme, make sure you get independent advice before signing up or investing any money. If you think you might be involved in a pyramid scheme, stop participating in the scheme immediately and contact the Bank of Namibia with detailed information (docu-mentary proof of participation, which will help the Bank to con-duct necessary investigation.

Keeping consumers aware of a

10 Consumer News

One of the clauses we added to the contract with our builder was a retention clause. He is to

receive 15% of his total fee 3 months after we have moved in and we are happy with the house. All the banks have this clause if you build with their money, I think. As you know, Swakopmund does not rain regularly; we don’t even have drains on our streets. So when it rained recently, we dis-covered our roof leaks. My husband was devastated. Our house is barely 2 months old! We haven’t paid much on the bond

and already we need to fork out money to fix things.

I know of a few people who don’t have the retention clause in their contracts, and honestly, I’d say it is such an absolute must have. Our building contractor still owes us money, if we are to count up everything that needs fixing or those we are not happy with. The leaks or holes on our roof are going to cost us 17k to fix. If we didn’t have this retention it would be a disaster!

The most important decision when building your own home is to make sure

you choose the right contractor. Have him give you references, go have a look at the buildings he has done, speak to the own-ers and see how their relationship ended. If they would recommend him etc. the answers to all these questions were nega-tive. Plus, we didn’t ask them before hand, we only started doubting the contractor when the house was roof height and we were clearly unhappy with things.

Good luck, and don’t forget to do your homework. It will be the most expensive mistake you’ll ever make if you don’t.

Tsumeb: 067 - 220 480

Windhoek:061 - 291 6703

Grootfontein: 067 - 242 075

Ondangwa: 065 - 240 117

Oshakati:065 - 302 378

Otjiwarongo: 067 - 302 378

Rundu:066 - 256 960

You Name it, we’ve got it

Retention is important

My poINT oF vIEW

11Consumer News

The Adventure Travel World Tourism Summit which is being hosted by Namibia in August

this year will boost the countries’ tour-ism industry thus adding to the country’s economy.

A total of 700 delegates from around the world are expected to attend this one of the kind event as a way to witness the country’s geomorphology and tourism resort destinations.

Consumer News managed to interview Namibia Tourism Board’s Public Rela-tions Officer, Maggy Mbako to hear more on the proceedings and how prepared the nation is for the event and this is what she had to say:

CN: May you give us an update on the proceedings of the World Travel Sum-mit? i.e how far are you with the prepara-tions and what still needs to be done?

MM: We have a dynamic team working on the preparations for the Adventure Travel World Summit made up equally of members of the public and private sectors – mak-ing this a partnership.

We have accomplished a lot so far, but we do have big plans for the Summit –plans to make it a Summit Never to be forgotten and therefore I am sure that the team will be busy all year long.

Currently, we are in a process of appointing a project Manager, who will oversee the day to day logisti-cal and administration issues for the Summit, and once that person is on board, you will notice much more speedy actions through dif-ferent media.

CN: How will the World Travel Sum-mit benefit the nation’s economy and boost the tourism industry?

MM: The Summit will host 700 influential leaders in adventure tourism, who will help carry Na-mibia’s message of conservation, adventure and culture to their com-munities of travelers. The Summit will boost our tourism economy by helping us attract tourists from new markets and introducing these influential leaders to our unique experiences.

CN: Does Namibia have enough facilities in terms of accommodation to host such a number of visitors during the event?

Yes, both Swakopmund and Windhoek have more than enough beds for our expected guests!

CN: What success stories can you relate so far on the proceedings?

MM: The success story thus far is the interest shown by the tourism

industry to partake in the summit, the number of people flocking into NTB Offices to enquire how they can be part of the summit,

Another success that I am proud of is the number of companies that are participating to date – hotels and tour operators who are hosting these delegates.

operators have been asked to provide severly discounted rates in order to show the best of Na-mibia to these delegates, and they have come forward to do so which shows a great commitment on the part of our tourism industry to band together to make this Summit a success.

Another success we can share is the 42% messaging, which was started with our delegation to Lucerne, Switzerland and it shall remain our key message until the end of the Summit in Namibia.

CN: Any other information you want to share with the nation?

MM: The Nation will be fully informed on the development and progress with the preparation through all types of media. Those whose service shall be required will equally be informed as oppor-tunities arise.

One of its kind

Namibia Tourism Board’s Public Relations Officer, Maggy Mbako

Adventure Travel World Travel Summit

12 Consumer News

The name change from the Polytechnic to a University of Science

and Technology means a lot especially to the students who in the near future will be graduating from the institu-tion with their degrees or certificates no longer being awarded by the polytechnic, but by the University of Sci-ence Technology.

The implications for the name change are much deeper and more complex than simply the awarding of certificates and degrees.

The Vice-Rector of Aca-demic Affairs and Research, Dr Andrew Niikondo who spoke on behalf of the Rector Dr Tjama Tjivikua said the implications will have pro-found consequences on the core business of the institu-tion from teaching and learn-ing, research and innovation to service rendered.

“Therefore, fundamen-tal changes relating to the nature of the business of the institution, its size and shape will take place which includes the types and levels of programmes and qualifi-cations offered the physical infrastructure that exists;

a description of the new

Quality, excellence & Success

As we plan into the future we need to keep in mind that no single division or institution, with a limited repertoire, can singlehandedly solve all challenges that face society as a whole. In our context these are challenges of, amongst others, poverty eradication, unemployment and inequali-ties,

”Dr ANDrEW NIIKoNDo

13Consumer News

The Namibia Tourism board recently launched an 11 day media and trade mission dubbed “Network Namibia US Road Show” targeting the U.S and Canadian Coast. This is meant to boost year-round tourism business to Namibia from the emerging North American travel market.

The Public Relations Officer for NTB, Maggy Mbako said the “Network Namibia US Road Show” programme will provide important networking opportunities for participating Na-mibia tourism industry partners with more than 200 qualified travel journalists, tour operators and travel agents.

A key component of this North America initiative, according to Mbako, is a partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) so as to maximize participation of North American travel trade and media sched-uled to attend the Mission’s networking events and to drive awareness and registrations leading up to the organization’s Adventure World Travel Summit in Namibia which will be held in Octo-ber this year.

The Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta is leading nearly 25 Namibian tourism representatives on the mis-sion, including NTB staff, 12 destination tourism product members and representatives from the North American Destination Marketing (NADM) campaign.

According to the Deputy Minister, “Experi-encing our endless horizons is an adventure. Na-mibia provides the North American visitor the opportunity to escape stress, experience peace and freedom, sit and admire the breath-taking landscapes and reflect.”

The delegation is expected to visit Denver, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle and Van-couver, B.C on the Road Show. The scheduled networking events will engage travel trade and media contacts in each city with the diversity of the destination’s tourism product, Namibia’s pioneering land conservancy programs that are being benchmarked globally and the develop-ment of adventure tourism experiences through-out the country.

In addition to a variety of networking events, NTB will also provide opportunities for Na-mibia partners to hold private business appoint-ments -- to refresh relationships with existing clients or build new ones appropriate for their specific products and services.

NTB launches the Network Namibia US Road Show

quality of and support provided to teaching and learning and research and innovation; and multi-interdisciplinary initiatives,” said Dr Niikondo.

Adding to this, Dr Louis Burg-er who also delivered a speech on behalf of Mr Niilo Taapopi, the Chairperson of the Council of the Polytech said the name change is not just simply about changing the name of the institution but also refers to significant transformation of the institution.

He said the changes will affect the future graduates in a posi-tive way and more importantly, changes that will further amplify the contribution of the institution towards making Namibia a knowl-edge economy.

This year’s theme, ‘building sustainable futures,’ according to Dr Burger, “ is appropriate given the precarious situation in which the institution has found itself financially and therefore a focus on building sustainable futures should in part help prevent recur-rence of a similar situation.”

But this, he says, is based on the premise that all stakeholders will come to the table with open minds, open hearts and open arms, which is the spirit of grace and generosity.

“ Fortunately, the fact that we

need to develop a new strategic plan together with the recent development in the name change, provides us an opportunity to focus on and strongly incorporate the question of sustainable futures into plans we are developing,” he said.

Dr Burger identified the area of relationship building in the institution as an area which needs to receive great attention adding that it is well known that building and maintaining relationships are critical for the success of many organisations and even whole countries.

“As we plan into the future we need to keep in mind that no single division or institution, with a limited repertoire, can single-handedly solve all challenges that face society as a whole. In our context these are challenges of, amongst others, poverty eradica-tion, unemployment and inequali-ties,” he commented.

NUST

Mr NIILo TAApopI

14 Consumer News

• MEMORY TATII

It’s that time of the year again were most people migrate from rural areas to the capital city, Windhoek hoping

to improve their living standards. Many are packing their bags trying to

escape their poor rural communities, in hope of landing jobs but that’s not always the case. The city can’t sustain so many people and some people still end up without a job or their income is way too less than their expenses. This is one of the major things that increases high crime rate of the city. Those who earn little or do not

work start stilling in order to survive. For most Windhoek is not always the

city where milk and honey flows the way many narrate or makes it look like to those who stays at the village. In order to earn a reasonable living in the city one have to be very hard working, bold and confidant, nothing comes on a silver plate. Short-cuts, free and easy ways of making a living always comes with a high price to pay.

In 2013 everyone is encouraged to have goals and rules set for your life before you go out for job hunting to avoid to be used or do something against your integrity like sex pleasure for a job. It is good for a

person to earn an honest living. people will not miss use you or look down on you.

To avoid too much stress this year find a job that you love and feel comfortable doing it. As long as you do not want to be identified with the company you are work-ing at it means you are doing something you do not love. Do something you will enjoy and get a sense of belonging.

For those who do not have jobs do not be discouraged or indulge in scam keep on trying looking for a job but do not be settle sell something so that you can eat while hustling. Do not lose focus remember why you came to the city and keep pushing.

Stay focus why you cAme To The cITy

Even though many people in the agricultural sector prefers running the same business of

trading cattle, sheep and goats because they lack revelation of new business Ideas and regard as other agricultural business opportunities as non-profitable trade, but Vetjavi Kauatuuapehi had a different vision and chose to do what many regarded as useless which is trad-ing chickens .

Kauatuuapehi grew up like most of the Namibian girls herding cattle and sheep in Ovitoto so when she chose poultry it was a disgrace to her family. They tried discouraging her but she was potent to pursue her dream.

Four years back Kauatuuapehi founded Ohunguriva Investment, a chicken company after she realized that most Namibians buy chicken meat more than red meat.

“While I was having my part-time catering company I used to get a lot of chicken meat orders so I always thought what if I start providing my own chicken it will be cheaper. That is what drove my passion to start my own business,” said Kauatuuapehi.

While working at the Ministry of Defense as a Logistic Clerk she started researching on the internet on the busi-ness opportunity in the chicken industry and how to take good care of chickens

until one day when she came across a one year poultry course at Kwazulu Natal in South Africa (SA).

Despite the discouragement from family members that she will not make a living out of chickens she went ahead and went to go study in SA. When she came back she started with the few chickens that were at home in Omu-panda a village close to Okakarara and advertised on Radio for anyone interested to sell their chickens.

“People made fun of me, calling me names but little did they know what I was up to. If they had discovered or learned what I knew by then they could have not laughed at me. My advertise-ment was the laughter in different villages but I did not mind them I just bought their chickens until I reached the total of 100 chickens to start with,” she said.

“After that I went and build a perfect shelter with a net that has small holes to protect my chickens from their predic-tors,” she adds.

She divided the chickens into three groups those for producing meat, reproduction and others for eggs.

“I started selling eggs at the close villages and used the money to buy their own food.

“The number of the chicken increased and people bought the meat those who

preferred …. chicken but they were very reluctant at first just imagine convinc-ing our society to quit beef and buy chicken meat. I had to be patient and work very hard to convince them to buy.

Through advertising many people started buying chicken meat. “Today I get orders as far as the entire country mostly from Oshakati and Windhoek.

In Otjiwarongo we have regular cus-tomers. We just slaughter and clean the chicken and take it to the people. We also make mince and braaiwors from chicken meat,”

According to Kauatuuapehi each day she gets more than 600 eggs that she sells. She also gets tenders at wedding, events and parties were she goes and braai chicken meat.

This year is a unique year so individu-als must strive to do something differ-ent from other, strive to be unique.

Most of the people like doing what most people do and there competition is very high but if you are few in the business sector the competition is low you get a lot of customers. Get busy this year, Use your own hands don’t seat at home make a living for yourself opportunities are there but you have to be very hard working and never be discourage

Thriving in an unventured business

15Consumer News

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We all like to think we are rational and prefer to think that we make decisions based upon

how much value an item has and other tangible factors such as price.

As consumers most of the things we buy are merely wants and not needs such as food, clothes and shelte. For instance, when we are thirsty- we do not want to drink water but instead want a cool drink. But how is it we make those decisions about what we want?

About 90% of the decision making process occurs in our subconscious minds, meaning that our conscious thoughts only acccount for a small percentage of the thoughts that occurs in our brain.

Marketers are very aware of the factors which affect our decision making and they try to place their brand in the best place to infiltrate our subconscious mind and these attempts range from subliminal messag-ing to more complex initatives which are made to make their brand ‘cool’.

One perplexing phenomenon which shows our decisions are not fully rational is wearing branded clothing. If I may

ask, why should two t-shirts of apparently equal value sell for vastly different prices simply because one of them has a Nike logo, or Ama Kip Kip, emblazoned on the front? Strictly in terms of actual value, the Nike shirt is not worth more than a shirt that has no logo- It is not warmer for example, nor will it last any longer, but in terms of percieved value the branded shirt has more value to most consumers.

Marketers work very hard to create this percieved value.The picture of Santa Claus we see today, fat and jolly, in a red and white uniform; symbolise the same colours which famous company?

While the notion existed previously, Coke’s campaign popularized the version we now know. Coke is thus not only sell-ing a brown sugar liquid in a can – they are also selling Christmas, family and holiday cheer.

Another way brands try to convince you of their value is by placing their brand within commercial content that already has credibity with the audience. This is known as product placement. Tobacco companies pay for actors to smoke ciga-

rettes in their movies. According to the New York Times

‘Associated Film Promotions,’ a firm now out of business, arranged with Sylvester Stallone for Brown & Williamson ciga-rettes to appear in a significant way in five of his movies, and to “incorporate personal usage for all films other than the character of Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV, where other leads will have product usage,” possibly at ringside.

The price tag for the five films was $500,000 and the films and their proposed titles in 1983 were: “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Godfather III,” “Rambo,” “50/50” and “Rocky IV.”

The Television show in the states Seinfeld was known for basing entire episodes around a product. Sanpplew and Pottery Barn were big companies that had episodes dedicated to their product.

This does not mean that product place-ment and branding are wrong but simply that consumers should try and be aware of all the things that go into their decision making processes.

-NawaZone

What influences

consumer decision making

Namibia can provide world class health facilities to its residents, and also become an earner of

foreign exchange. (The choice by Angelina Jolie to have her child in Namibia has proved that point.) To do so we need to use legislation and economic incentives to encourage structural reform and its com-mercialisation, or even partial privatisa-tion.

The present state health patient system, as well as PSEMAS the State operated and owned Medical Aid Fund could be joined into this new national health plan. (PSEMAS or Public Service Employee Medical Aid Scheme - is already admin-istered by a private company, Methealth Namibia Administrators).

How can this be done? Looking at Eu-ropean models such as Germany we find examples of how this can be done. First, we need to create a law that makes mem-bership of the National Health Insurance Programme (NHIP) mandatory. In the law we need to delegate the administra-tion of the programme to non-state bodies with representatives of the insured and the employers. Further, benefits and contri-butions must be related to earnings. The financing of the scheme must be secured through wage and salary taxes (much like the social security), levied on the employer and the employee.

The following are some of the tools that can be used in ensuring cost savings in both the National Health Insurance Programme and private providers:

• Procurement of medicines should be transferred to an autonomous central purchasing agency. This agency (and its tenders) will be supervised by a public committee or Parliament.

• Approved list of medicines will include generic medicines wherever possible and exclude expensive brands where generics exist.

• Establish an agency to monitor and regulate the private sector health-care provision.

• Franchising – this model works well in preventive care, family health and reproductive health (Kenya, Pakistan, Philippines)

Electronic patient recordsThe NHIP will have at its core an elec-

tronic patient record system. A private-public partnership company will need to manage the electronic records and ensure patient privacy.

The most important consideration is to ensure the individual becomes the owner and caretaker of their information. The patient will carry the information (on a smartcard for example), to where the service is provided rather than having their records on the servers of the healthcare provider. This will be in contrast to the Central Register where information is stored on Government computers.

Financing the Healthcare pro-gramme

The employer and employee should

each contribute of 5% of the gross salary towards the Health Fund.

To prevent abuse:• 20% of each medical claim must be

paid by the patient at the time of the examination or procedure (employ-ees under the taxable threshold must only pay a minimum fee);

• Fee schedules must be drafted and the patient can only claim according to these. If a patient wishes more expensive care, they must pay the difference.

ConclusionA national health plan will provide each

and every citizen the guarantee that should anything occur and they need first-class medical treatment – it will be available. After all, To paraphrase Julius Nyerere , we have to “face the basic fact that human values can only be measured in regard to individual human beings and their needs. The Government is properly instituted among men not to secure the material or cultural advantages of a few, but to pro-mote the rights and welfare of the many.”

Milton Louw is a writer, consumer activist and social entrepreneur. He is also the author of “Future Namibia” a book about the political, economic, social and technological environment in Namibia and what needs to be done to meet the goals of Vision 2030. Follow me on Twit-ter: @miltonlouw or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/namibia.politics.

HeALTHCARe

There are many benefits which come with the package for ‘Consumer’ network using the Axon Mobile wallet, but what stands out is how the wallet transforms the vendor-consumer relationship.

What Axon Mobile has done is give consumers the clout to negotiate a better deal for themselves; which is, in a way, a union for consumers which gives us collective bargaining power which has always been lacking as there has never previously been an effective means to organize consumers.

They are too diverse, and have too many divergent interests to be organized efficiently. Organizing consumers to bar-gain more efficiently is as difficult as herd-

ing cats but Axon Mobile’s technology gives consumers the platform to use their collective strength to negotiate a better deal from the vendors and the corporates. The wallet says consumers are here with a single voice and we want a better deal. How it works is as follows: We at con-sumer news are given a discount by the airtime resellers and everyone who sells airtime to a consumer gets a discount, but we pass on part of that discount to the consumer.

All you have to do to get on the net-work is sms the word ‘consumer’ to 77011. Please make sure that you spell the word correctly. From there all your questions can be answered through our automated

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Maybe you want to use the engine to sell airtime to your friends at a 7 percent markup or you may belong to a company that buys a lot of airtime and wastes trans-port costs going out and buying scratch cards. All of these scenarios will find a use for the Axon Mobile Wallet. Consumer News is pleased to be able to facilitate cheaper airtime for our loyal readers. For more information, please email media@openaxon.com or call 081 621 0524.

how to buy discounted airtime on the Consumer News network

18 Consumer News

The north west of Namibia is a great driving destination for tour-ism- heritage, cultural and many

other types of tourism.Along the C40 road, 90 kilometers

from Kamanjab and 23 kilometers from Palmweg stand a lodge that is a landmark in Namibia’s tourism industry. Perched on the edge of the Grootberg Plateau, the Grootberg is the first middle market lodge in the country that is 100% community owned.

Grootberg lodge provides the ideal midway stop over for travelers making a journey between Etosha and Swakop-mund.

During our tour to Kunene region, we had the pleasure of settling at Grootberg lodge where we stayed for two nights.

As we arrived at the bottom of the

Grootberg plateau, we were told to park our cars before the guides came to pick us up with two 4*4 wheel drive vehicles for a memorable drive up to the hotel, a distance of about 1600m.

As we drove up the Grootberg plateau, we were reminded of our African roots through the unbelievable sight of spring-boks that were relaxing in the roadsides under the shade of some trees and some kudus drinking water in a built in stream, an experience that was too good to be true.

The entrance to the main building is through a long, vaulted foyer which led us into the reception, a one large room with a lounge area, with some comfortable sofas in neutral colors. At the other side of the room there is a small bar and a dining room furnished with classic wooden tables

and chairs.The moment we got inside the recep-

tion, it seemed the Grootberg staff was waiting for us as immediately two ladies stood at the reception along the passage leading to the dining room, welcoming us with a glass of orange juice to cool our body temperatures from the heat outside.

We gratefully took our juices and went to seat at the outside veranda which has some balustrades and also furnished with tables and chairs and stairs which leads to the swimming pool. This is the best position to enjoy the stunning view of the klip valley.

In a short while, a lady who introduced herself as Memory, came to brief us about our stay at the lodge, the food and services on offer and then signed us in to our rooms. I was given room number seven

The beAUTy in nature

19Consumer News

(7), one of the 12 ensuit rock and thatch chalets built from local rocks, closer to the reception area which I was sharing with a colleague.

From the outside view, the chalets appeared to be just dry-stone walls topped by thatched roofs but as I got inside the site of the room changed my entire impression of the place. The room had an ensuit bathroom and a toilet and mosquito nets fitted to the doors and windows (though the place seemed not to have mosquitoes), twin beds, a wooden desk made from pine with a tea/coffee station. The cottages have no air-conditioning, ceilings fans or mosquito nets, yet mostly remain cool.

The place has a very relaxed and cool feel to it. Tea and coffee is served all day – on a ‘help yourself’ basis.

Activities from Grootberg Lodge include the moringa guided walk, visit to a Himba village, and tracking of desert-adapted elephants, following black rhino on foot and scenic drives down the Klip River. There are also hiking trails which you can explore on your own, or as part of a guided trip.

Grootberg lodge was funded by the European Union through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Development Programme as a community project targeted to empower the community to be self sustainable and equitable and benefit from the income that comes from the lodge. In the meantime, the private sector has been called into provide training and management skills to local people until the community becomes self-sustainable.

20 Consumer NewsCN 16

21Consumer News

All over the world people often complain about banks. This ranges from bank fees, interest charged, to repossession of vehicles and homes.

In Namibia this is the same. The late Hon. Reinhard (Kalla) Gertze, Member of Parliament, proposed an investigation into the financial institutions through public hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration. They held public hearings on bank charges and regulations in 2006 in Windhoek. One of the submissions outlined why interest is charged.

Why is interest charged?In the beginning of banking, interest was

used to offset the risk of providing the credit to the borrower. There are four risks (haz-ards):

• The costs incurred by the bank while providing the loan had to be repaid;

• Inflation means the lender will be able to buy less for the money as time passes;

• Scarcity – in other words once it is lent to a borrower at a specific rate, it can-not be used for another loan;

• That the borrower cannot pay back the loan

Of these four, the only real difference the government can make is in reducing the risk of the borrower’s inability to repay.

Being a client of a bankBanks and their branch network are a con-

venience. We can put our own money into an account, send money to someone else, and ap-ply for a loan. As consumers, we realise that we need the services of a bank to increase our money. In other words, we need some-one else’s money to pay for things like a car or a house, or even start a business.

But there is probably nothing as frustrat-ing as waiting in a queue at a bank “waiting for own money”, or dealing with an em-ployee who is rude to us when we need to ask a question.

If you are a client of a bank you have five basic rights, as well as five responsibilities.

These should be seen as an agreement be-

tween the banks and the Namibian consumer on how we treat one another.

• You have the right to be treated with respect and dignity.

This means every employee of the bank should treat you with dignity and be respect-ful of your cultur and gender. This also means they may not be abusive when collecting overdue monies.

• You have the right to decide which services or products you want to use.

You need enough information on the banks products to be able to choose the right one for your needs. This means the bank em-ployee may not pressure you into a choosing a product you do not want.

• You have the right to receive clear, truth-ful and complete information – as well as the time needed to make your decision

The bank must give complete information and answers to all your questions so you can fully understand the terms and conditions of the services and products you choose.

The staff member serving you must give enough of their time to ensure you understand the relevant information about the product. This should include information such as total cost of borrowing, cost of transactions, penalty fees (if any), and possible alternatives that might benefit you.

• You have the right to be heardYou are allowed to complain. When a ser-

vice does not meet your needs, or any of your rights have been violated, you have the right to inform the bank immediately.

The bank should have a customer hotline that will allow you to provide them with feed-back – and they will benefit from being able to deal with the problem as early as possible.

• You have the right to privacyYour personal information must be kept

confidential between you and the bank em-ployees dealing with your account. No one is allowed to disclose your personal information without your permission.

Understanding

BankingLet me start by repeating

the words of a friend who is a banker in Windhoek, “bank-ing is the profession with one of the best marketing departments around. Imagine trying to convince the first customer that their money was safer with the bank than in their own hands, and best of all, which the customer would need to pay fees to de-posit and withdraw their own money.”

Even now during the finan-cial crises throughout the world banks are still succeed-ing in motivating clients to give them their money. Today, most of us feel safe with our money in banks because “we are many and government will not let it fail”. The term “moral hazard” is used to ex-plain why we take these risks.

Fuel prices recently increased which came as a shock to most motorists who have been caught unaware by the price increase.One of the local newspapers broke the news that it is anticipated that the price of 93-octane lead replace-ment petrol will go up by 28 cents per litre and that of the 95-octane unleaded petrol by 25 cents per litre.The price of diesel is to remain unchanged. The last fuel increase was in November last year when 93- octane petrol went up to N$10, 34 a litre and 95-octane petrol to N$10,47 at Walvisbay. The price of diesel went up by 40 cents.The last increase was ascribed to the fact that the govern-ment’s National Energy Fund (NEF) could no longer carry the burden of high fuel prices on its own and had to divert some of the cost to customers.

Fuel prices on the rise

22 Consumer News

My poINT oF vIEW

The Wreck by now is an established restaurant in Swakopmund. My husband and I recently went there on one of our monthly date nights and what

an exquisite restaurant it is! They have a fairly big menu and offer beef, chicken and seafood dishes. Pasta’s and even curries. Their deserts are divine, and the portions are huge. The restaurant has large windows which allow you to overlook the ocean creating a romantic and intimate ambience. However once it goes dark outside, you cannot see the sea any-more.

We’ve been there twice since and I’ve been equally impressed each time. You are greeted at the door by very friendly well-dressed staff and presented with a menu

once you are seated. They offer you warm rolls with but-ter and the drinks arrive relatively swiftly. Their food and drinks are all fairly priced however a trip to The Wreck must be budgeted for though. One thing worth mention-ing though is that their chairs are very soft and comfort-able.

The only thing I don’t like about the Wreck is their parking; it is in the sand, outside the building. Would love to see paved or even shaded parking. I’m not a big beach person, especially on cold days, and the wind always blows on that side of Swakopmund.

I’d rate their food 9 out of 10. Ambience, 8 out of 10 and service, 8 out of 10. A definitely must go! Book in advance though, they are always fully booked.

The Wreck Restaurant

When dads travel for work it’s an acceptable practice, but when moms work away the dy-namics slightly change. Not only for mommy but for the entire family. As mothers we often do things we’d rather not for the sake of our children, and nothing proves to be truer than what we sacrifice as working mothers. Some-thing that looks so easy from far turns out to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. It is devastating that my husband will basically be our son’s primary care giver. I could never be a stay at home mom, but nothing prepares you for the first time you have to leave your baby behind for an extended period of time.

I’m all for women rights in the boardroom and, I believe in showing your children independence. It teaches them to stand their ground, work for what they want and that it’s okay, mommy is a woman too. Technology helps a lot. My husband sends me whatsapp pictures of my son every morning, I love see-ing his sleepy face. And video clips. What a treat of sunshine to wake up to in a cold hotel room.

As you can see, I am still trying to find ways to cope with my new role and my work load. I will share these with you as we go along, as for now; I’m a mommy in limbo, trying to be a fierce woman in business and a little baba’s mommy.

Motherhood

To advertise on this page contact Willem Gariseb at:Cell: +264 (0) 81 249 8161 - Fax2mail: +264 (0) 886 44443 Email: consumernews@iway.na/willemgariseb@yahoo.com

23Consumer News

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24 Consumer News

I believe, consumers can gain major benefits when unit prices are provided and are easy to notice, read and use. If a shop owner can show this together with an item’s selling price, it will increase price transpar-ency and competition. But without pressure from consumers, retailers and governments rarely do anything to provide, or improve, unit pricing.

This is why more consumer organisations and consumers themselves should campaign for grocery retailers to provide best practice grocery unit pricing - price per standard unit of measure (per kg/litre/each, etc.) - for pre-packaged food and other grocery items.

The main benefit for the Namibian consumer is that unit prices allow us the op-portunity to have value comparisons, includ-ing those between package sizes, brands, product types, package types, packaged/unpackaged products, and between “special offers” and regular prices. (I always joke and refer to these as Omo and Surf issues – in other words we are used to buying a certain product regardless of price, but these days we all need to be more price conscious.) The unit prices of the same product and of similar and substitute products are often quote big. So we as consumers can use unit prices to get much better value for money and this can result in a very big saving and substantially reduce our total expenditure on groceries. For most consumers, especially the poor, and underpaid, food and grocery products account for a high proportion of total expen-diture. Therefore, the benefits resulting from using unit price information can be signifi-cant for these and many other consumers.

Unit pricing also saves the shopper from spending time calculating unit prices them-selves and helps them to spot hidden price increases when, as is common, the amount in the package is reduced but the selling price is not. Personally, I was surprised when buying a chocolate for a special friend to notice how much smaller the packaging is from when I last bought.

At first I thought I was just remembering wrong from twenty years ago, but on closer examination I found chocolate bars are not

only more expensive, but they are packed in smaller amounts as well.

Previously, in this column and on national television, I have complained about the lack of consumer laws and this must also be addressed as an important issue within this context. However, I also believe consumer organisations such as Namibia Consumer Trust, Consumer Lobby or the Facebook in-terest and lobby groups such as the Namibia Consumer Protection Group can play an important role in persuading supermarkets to provide unit prices voluntarily.

After all, eve the retailer must understand their own cost price in this explosion in the number of package sizes used by manufac-turers. (This retailing revolution has also oc-curred, or is occurring, in many other coun-tries, especially developing countries where consumer laws are less than adequate.)

If we look around the world we can see some success. In Europe, pressure from consumer groups resulted in the compulsory provision of unit prices, initially only in sev-eral Scandinavian countries, and then in each of the 27 member nations of the European Union.

In 2009, the provision of grocery unit pric-ing became compulsory in Australia after a long and hard-fought consumer campaign.

I wonder is this will work in Namibia?Follow me on twitter, @miltonlouw0

how much does it cost?

As I spend most of my year living on a guest farm, I very rarely have to buy anything other than my for my sins of cigarettes and alco-hol. I have for some time bee complain-ing 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 pur-chases 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 kilogram but only showed a price for the item whether it was packed in 200g, 375 litre or even more ridiculously, a per 180g. Now how must I compare the prices between products if they are all packed in different sizes?

If we look around the world we can see some success.

In Europe, pressure from consumer groups

resulted in the compulsory provision of unit prices,

initially only in several Scandinavian countries, and then in each of the

27 member nations of the European Union.

”

25Consumer News

On the 18th of February, a wide range of 440ml canned Castle Brewing brands were launched

at a media and stakeholder even at Joe’s Beerhouse in Windhoek.

Present at the event were representa-tives from local media houses and broad-casters, as well as valued stakeholders of Castle Brewing Namibia.

Managing Director of Castle Brewing Namibia said that all SABMiller brands represent a consistency that has spanned two centuries.

“115 years ago, Castle Lager was brewed for the first time using the finest ingre-dients. Today the SABMiller group continues in this fine tradition, brewing beer products that still adhere to the finest quality standards in terms of ingredients and the brewing process... for products that are unmatched – both in taste and refreshment.” Taking heed of consumer trends and needs, it was decided to launch a wide range of 440ml canned beer brands in Namibia, in addition to the highly suc-

cessful launch of Castle Draught in a can in September last year. The range will now also include Castle Lager, Carling Black Label, Castle Lite, and Carling Black Label Draught.

All of these will be available in units, six-pack and cases of 24, making it easy and convenient for beer lovers across the coun-try to enjoy their favourite Castle Brewing brand straight from the fridge – while on a game drive, chatting around some braaiv-leis and kapana, or while just relaxing at home, watching the game.

Much engineering and craftsman-ship have gone into making sure that the packaging protects the individual character and quality of each of the brands. The cans are hermetically sealed and 100% protected from light, ensuring that the product is kept as fresh as the day it was brewed, to give that satisfying drinking experience.

Furthermore, there is a great benefit to the environmentally-conscious consumer, as beverage cans are 100% recyclable.

This range of 440 ml CANS (Castle

Draught, Castle Lager, Carling Black La-bel, Castle Lite and Carling Black Label Draught) will be available in the trade as from 18 February 2013 at selected outlets.

Range of 440ml CbN brands launched in Windhoek

26 Consumer News

The Mazdaspeed3 is the high-pow-ered, performance-tuned version of the Mazda3 hatchback.

The Mazdaspeed3 is a true “hot-hatch”, featuring a 263-hp, turbocharged, 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine. To keep all that power under control, it’s standard with a six-speed manual transmission, limited-slip differential, a torque management system, electronic stability and traction control, 18-inch wheels and tires and sport-tuned suspension

What really makes the car unique in the Mazda3 lineup is its 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine. The mill produced 263 horsepower at 5.500 rpm and 280 pound-feet of torque at 3000 rpm and pairs exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission.

Although all that power in a front-wheel-drive car results in some torque steer, particularly when driving on uneven surfaces or exiting corners with throttle pinned to the floor, it also propels in the car from zero to 60 mph in just over six seconds.

The Mazdaspeed3 was developed prior to the advent of Mazda;s lightweight and superefficient Skyactive engineering phi-losophy a fact reflected in its fule economy ratings of 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the high way.

Stiffer springs, higher dampings rates and a repositioned fromstabiliser bar compared to the normal Mazda3 ensure responsive handling. Otherwise the speed is much the same as the standard model. The interior utilises a wrap-around dash

top that contains radio and climate control information as well as a small optional navigation screen, while materials and fit are in the top half of the class. With nearly 44 cubic feet of cargo volume the split-folding rear seats in the down position, hauling space is ample.

Safety features include six airbags, four-wheel anti-lock brakes with brake assist, active anti-whiplash front head restraints and an engine immobilizer system. For those needing more creature comforts, an optional tech package includes a naviga-tion system, satellite radio, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, advanced keyless entry with push button start and a perimeter alarm.

For 2013, the Mazdaspeed3 is now stan-dard with a USB audio input, 18” MAZ-DASPEED dark grey alloy wheels, black mica door mirrors and roof spoiler.

mazda Speed 3

27Consumer News

Paulus ‘Hitman’ Moses will this month fight against the experienced South African Mzonke Fana in a box-ing match.

The two will fight in the main supporting session for the WBO ban-tamweight world title fight between Paulus Ambunda and Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand.

Fana has a record of 31 wins and five defeats and has won the IBF Super Featherweight title in Septem-ber 2010 whereas Ambunda is rated number four in the world and this match presents an opportunity for the Hitman to push up the ladder and take the third position in the world ranking.

Paulus was recently quoted by the local media saying that, “when I lost my world title, it was a wakeup call. So I started improving and throwing the correct punches and my timing improved.”

He added that in his last two fights against Cassius Baloyi and the Argentinian Castillo, he was concen-trating and throwing a lot of punches and controlling the fight so he hopes to do the same in the next match.

hitman takes on Fana