consumer news february 2011 issue
TRANSCRIPT
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CONSUMERNEWS
Y O U R V O I C E
FEBRUARY 2011FREE
w w w . c o n s u m e r n e w s n a m i b i a . c o mISSN: 2026-710X
Recycled
chicken
Escalatingfoodprices
INTECinvestigated
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The Team
Publisher
Consumer News
Printed by
John Meinert Printing
Design & Layout
Shapwa Hashali
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor
Victoria Kangombe
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: 081 236 0803
Journalists
Louis Maruwasa
E-mail: [email protected]
Rob Parker
Denver Isaacs
E-mail: [email protected]
Business Development Manager
Jacques Nieman
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: 081 203 7180
Advertising Sales Executive
Tabeth Nyahasha
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: 081 409 3448
Consumer News
PO Box 96366
Windhoek, NamibiaTel/Fax: +264 61 228 196
Enquiries
Editors Note
CONSUMERNEWS
You deserve more ...
Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if
everyone is for it. William Penn
Namibia Consumer Protection Group: Milton Louw. E-mail: [email protected]
Namibia Customer Service Institute: Jon Allen. E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.namibiacsi.com
Namibian Consumer Lobby: Bob Ziekenoppasser. Tel: 064-461 461 or 081 284 8000
Namibian Standards Institution: Tel: 061-386 400 / Queries: [email protected]
Website: www.nsi.com.na
Contact details
You deserve more ...
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.
Here we are, two months into the year and people still nd itappropriate to say complements of the New Year. Really now, is
it ok to wish someone Happy birthday six months after it actually
happened?
Anyway, we are two months into the year and already were
being bombarded with news of rising food and commodity prices,
taxi drivers striking because of an exorbitant rise in trafc nes, and
yet another increase in the number of matriculants that failed their
nal-year exam last year. It seems the economists were right; just
when we were being sceptical about their predictions.
Oh well, everybody is allowed a moment of cynicism,
especially if youre part of the Consumer News team where youll
realise that as consumers in Namibia, we do not get the recognitionwe deserve. For this issue, we investigated a claim by Henties Bay
residents about insurance providers refusing to make any further
payouts for electrical appliances that have been destroyed by
frequent power failures in the small town.
We followed-up on a claim by a father and daughter who
seemed to have been swindled out of their money and expectations
by controversial distance learning college INTEC. For those of
you that were taken by the story of recycled chicken being stocked
in South Africas Pick n Pay stores, we thought it wise to nd out
whether it is also the case here...you would want to turn the pages to
nd out what we discovered.
You will notice that we have introduced a few changes andsections; we hope you enjoy the changes we have brought about and
are looking forward to more. Happy reading folks.
Viki
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contentsFeature
The rising cost o ood prices
By Rob Parker
Editorial
Supremes nightmare chicken
By Louis Maruwasa
Efciency in the hospitality industry
By A. T. Software Engineering
Criminalising innovation
By Victoria Kangombe
INTEC investigated
By Rob Parker
Am I insured
By Denver Isaacs
NSI Metrology Department up and running
By Namibia Standards Institute
Entertainment
Valentines, here we go again
By Rob Parker and Victoria Kangombe
Sports
New appointment at NRU
table of
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I write to inform you and to seek your advice on the way I was
treated by the Area Manager of Lewis Store on Independence
Avenue.
I bought a sitting room suite from Lewis around the
months of November/December 2009. I used it for about two
months before the set started peeling and looking like it was
used for more than 5 years. I complained and in February 2010I was able to get another set same type but new. I used this set
for another two months and it started peeling and looking old
just like the other one. In May 2010 I went back and informed
them about the problem, someone came to analyse the situation
and I was informed that they will send a complaint to the factory
and they will let me know.
Since May, I have been contacting the store and nothing
was done and most of the time I was informed that the person
who helped me was no longer there and that I must give the story
to the new person. This went on until September 2010. At this
point I was very upset and I went to the store again and informed
the manager that I am really disappointed and that I really
needed them to do something. The manager, a very friendly
lady, apologised to me and informed me that she will make sure
that the set is picked up the same day as there were people who
worked there who know my case and who agreed with me.
The set was picked up and two days later I was informed
that I must go to the shop to pick up another set. I went to the
shop and unfortunately for me I could not nd something that I
liked. I was also informed by the manager who helped me that
day that I must wait till end of October as they were expecting
new stock. I went out of town and when I came back, around the
26th of November I went to the shop, that day I was told that no
pick up authority was received from the manufacturer and that
someone will call me on 01 December 2010. The person thencalled me on 02 December 2010 and told me they will not accept
my complaint. I went to the shop to seek clarity only to be told
that this is the instruction from the Area Managers. I demanded
to see the Area Manager who I was told gave the instruction. The
Area Manager, a very rude fellow, eventually spoke to me after
I waited for 30 minutes.
This man told me he was doing me a favour so I should
apparently just take another set that looked just the same as my
old set. When I informed him that I wanted value for money and
that I will not take the same set because even the one he is offering
me was brought back by a customer who was not satised, he
refuse to do anything. Speaking to me in a disrespectful manner,he then warned me that if I dont accept the set he is offering
me, he will process it as a repossessed item and it will be listed
against my name at ITC. I seek your advice in the matter because
I feel I do not have a choice but to accept the inferior good or get
my name listed. What right do I have as a consumer?
The area managers spoke to me in a way I can not speak to
another person.
I look forward to hear from you
Sincerely
W. Shivute
First of all let me congratulate all of you with the magazine
Consumer News; always interesting. I think it contributes
to making consumers more aware of our rights and maybe
obligations to be more alert when shopping. Good luck for the
New Year.
My question: Why do eggs not have a sell-by-date?
Often you are in the middle of baking and get the unpleasant
surprise of stale and old eggs. So many people complain about
that. Maybe Consumer News can tackle that issue.
Furthermore I would suggest at least a minimum of
training for shop assistants - e.g. packers. Why are they not told
- You do not put the big bottle of vinegar - or bag of sugar - ontop of the grapes /tomatoes.
Small things but they can make such a lot of difference
- groceries are getting more and more expensive these days.
Swakopmund can also do with an inspection from your team -
many a rotten apple amongst the others etc.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards
Waltraut
Ive read the article on Woermann Brock in Decembers issue and
would like to add that for many times Ive seen expired cheesesand in very bad conditions at Woermann Klein Windhoek.
There was a roll of pecorino cheeses that were in the
worst condition that a supermarket would possibly offer to its
customers especially with the prices that Woerman offers.
When will someone do something about it!? For me,
Woermann is only to buy cans and packs of pasta, but still
checking the expiring dates!
Thanks for your article!
Carolina Medeiros
Letters to the editor, with the writers name, should
be emailed to [email protected]
Letters may be edited for reasons of space and clarity
l e t t e r s
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What is behind the rising costs and what can be done about
it? There are several reasons for the skyrocketing cost of
food.The rise of global powerhouses China and India
contribute to rising prices of food as their populations are
gaining purchasing power and increase demand.
Primary among these reasons is the use of bio fuels such as
ethanol. Ethanol is an additive which is added to gasoline
to make it burn more cleanly and reduce emissions. What
we are doing in this case is burning food rather than using
it to feed people.
Actually it is worse than that. Farmers are being
subsidised to grow food for fuel, articially inating the
price of the food people actually eat. Increased demand,spurred by bio fuel production, also insures an increase in
the price of inputs such as land, seed and fertilizer, which
are, eventually passed on to the consumer.
This practice of blending ethanol with petrol does
nothing for the environment as claimed because at least
The
risingcosts
offood
By Rob Parker
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f e a t u r e
as much energy is used growing, harvesting, transporting,
and converting the food into fuel. It is a political decision
that may make sense in the lobbyist ofces of behemoths
such as Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.
The decision to burn food and subsidise farmers to
grow food instead is a political decision, an articial market
that only exists, and can only exist, because of a political
boondoggle. Easy lobbyist money and a politically popular
move to ensure farmers, who are a critical constituency for
many politicos, provide the rationale for this system.
When the price of staples such as corn, soy and wheat rise,
almost everything else in the aisle rises accordingly as
corn is an ingredient in a myriad of items including cattle
feed and breakfast cereal.
Another reason for the spike in prices is commodity
speculation. This is a matter of betting on whether food
prices will rise or fall. Essentially betting on whether
people will be able to afford food or not, which is a slimy
enough activity.
These are however not merely passive observersspeculating on whether the price will rise because when
you get a large number of people buying and selling
(speculating on whether the price will rise or fall), they
actually inuence the price. This often causes it to spike
beyond all semblance of supply and demand, skews
the market and ensures that some people go hungry.
Essentially, as a commodity speculator, you are gambling
on how many of your fellow human beings starve and are
attempting to prot as much as possible from this action.
A commodity speculator is essentially a parasite,
he does not create, grow or invent, he adds no value,nishes no product, yet makes more money than doctors,
lawyers and engineers. It is time to tax these people. It is
only the unholy grip that Wall Street has on Washington
that prevents initiatives such as the Tobin tax from being
introduced; that would reign in all of this destructive
capital.
Governments around the world are trying to
grapple with this issue and most are unable to do much
about it as the crisis is global. Governments have already
fallen due to the crisis such as Tunisia and now possibly the
Mubarak government in Egypt. In Namibia, some pricesare offset due to V.A.T exemptions and the special pricing
formula of maize meal. Longer term remedies include the
green scheme and efforts to support domestic agriculture.
As prices rise, the state may nd that further action needs
to be taken.
As an individual there is no magic solution to
combating these increasing costs to your household
but there are some things that can be done. One
is to buy local and support Namibian producers
which helps us all in the long-run. Other solutionsmay include bartering with people in your
community or starting a backyard garden. Here is
an example of how to grow potatoes in old tires in
your backyard.
Here is what you need to
do:1. Lay out your tyres.
Create some drainage.
The article suggested
digging up the soil to create
drainage. Since the soil
where I laid the tyres is rockhard clay, I put some stone
and broken block pieces in
to create drainage.
2. Put in some dirt and
growing material.
I covered the drainage
material with compost soil,
and then lled the rest with
leaves. Be sure to stuff the
soil into the sides. You can
use soil, leaves, or partially
rotten sawdust. You can
also use a little of all three.
3. Get the potatoes ready.
Youll want to use seed
potatoes, not just some
that youve had too long
in your cupboard. Seems
the potatoes you buy to eat
have been treated to not
grow. Those that do startgrowing will not do well.
Cut them in pieces so that
each piece has two eyes in
it.
4. Plant them.
Put three or four potato
pieces in each tyre, and
cover with planting
material.
5. Water
6. Wait. Next, I waited for
the plants to be about 20 cm
tall. Then I added another
tyre, and enough dirt,
leaves, or sawdust to cover
all but ve or seven cm
of the plant. The process
will be repeated until there
are four tyres stacked. Toharvest, simply remove one
tyre at a time, and remove
the potatoes. A four tyre
stack is expected to yield
about 11 kg of potatoes.
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The hospitality industry is undoubtedly one of the
biggest contributors to the Namibian economy.
Each year thousands of tourists, both foreign and
domestic, book into hotels, guesthouses and lodges
all across the country. This has an obvious effect on
the efciency of any given business in the hospitality
industry, especially during peak season when many
guests request for accomodation.Most visitors do their bookings well in
advance, often six months to a year to avoid
disappointment. This leaves businesses with a
mammoth task of recording, storing and keeping such
records, especially because many of these businesses
carry out such operations manually.
When there are changes to be made to the
booking, the person who had recorded the booking
will have to go back to the record and make the
necessary changes, manually calculate the new rates,and update the booking. There is no doubt that this
process is very inefcient and time-consuming. This
has led to extra charges being levied on changes done
to bookings in order to make up for the time lost while
amending the booking. This is very costly for both the
guests and the businesses.
Another area of concern is bookings done in
groups such as workshops, church groups, school
tours and corporate outings. These types of bookings
do not allow for very detailed information because
such records capture only the number of people, how
long they will stay and how many rooms are needed.
This may sound like adequate information.
Not having details on individual persons may however
pose a problem. For instance, there is no way to
tell whether the people booked to take up a certain
space will indeed need to make use of such spaces.
Also, corruption is very rife in group bookings done
manually because often the people will nd alternative
accommodation and pocket the money intended for
the bookings into a lodge or hotel.A recent example of this is the case of the
former employees of the national broadcaster who
were sent on an assignment and given money to book
into a lodge. Instead, they stayed with family and
friends and faked invoices for accommodation at a
lodge. The hospitality industry and the company that
sent these folks on the assignment have both lost out
as a result. Although rare, receptionists and booking
agents may be tempted to fall for kickbacks in order to
make a quick buck by forging and amending invoices
as well. In short, strict measures are needed to curb
corruption and kick-backs in the hospitality industrywhen it comes to group bookings.
What the industry needs is an automated
solution for bookings, reports generation and
invoicing. Such a solution is effective and efcient,
cost and time saving, and roots out possible corruption.
The answer to the problems identied above
is a semi-automated system that makes it easy to nd
available rooms and dates as well as to keep records
and generate reports and invoicing. In addition to that,
some of these systems have a full accounting systemthat will add up all the totals and generate reports on
these as well.
These systems will reduce the workload
surrounding the booking process tremendously
because it makes it easier to nd free rooms and
dates as well as to amend bookings and generate
invoices. All this can be done while every action is
being recorded for record-keeping purposes in the
accounting section. This will allow the business
owners, auditors and analysts to have a clear picture
of what is going on in the business during a given
time.
Such solutions offer both the customer and
the business an efcient means of booking for short-
term accommodation because the customer can check
online to see if there are available booking options
and send a request for booking. In the same breath,
the business will be able to check which rooms are
available and receive an alert as soon as the rooms
are available in real time. Such systems should be
considered a welcome relief to individuals as wellas corporate entities that send people to individually
book for accommodation when on assignment.
Vaino Tuhafeni Hangula is a Marketing and Sales
Consultant for A. T. Software Engineering.
Efciencyin the
hospitality industry
e d i t o r i a l
By Vaino Tuhafeni Hangula
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One can tell a lot about a society by the type of
criminals that come out of it and, of course (or perhaps
consequently), by what is criminalised. After observing
and entertaining this realisation, one gets to a point where
you are not sure whether to point ngers at how the lawis applied, at the police ofcer, at the criminal for not
seeking other means of survival, or at the government for
not making available the said other means.
Please note that by virtue, there is only one thing
that is certain about the law and its applications: the fact
that nothing is certain. Much, if not all, is apparently black
and white in the eyes of the law; no gray areas. We should
therefore not be surprised when a person who clearly
cannot afford their existence in a capitalist world is ned
for trying to feed their family. Legitimately.
The axiom on the mutability of the law was passedonto me by my Criminology lecturer a few years ago
during a lecture on The Law in Capitalism. Directing us
to www.capitalism.org, my lecturer noted: Governments
job is to protect rights... every man lives under a rule of
law, as opposed to a whim-ridden rule of men. Under such
a rule of law, all laws have only one purpose: to protect
the rights of the smallest minority that has ever existed
the individual. Is that the case with, among others,
Regulation 22 of the Street and Trafc Regulations?
At the time, it all sounded too idealistic. It did
not make sense to me until I graduated into the worldof monthly bills, taxes, and a newspaper report on an
unemployed pregnant woman who was ned N$2 800 for
stealing baby clothes worth N$282.
As do so many people, I blame it on the system.
The thing with the social system employed in Namibia,
contrary to popular belief, is that it does not necessarily
accommodate innovation, individuality and atypical
vocations; we are expected to follow where the path
may lead as it is apparently the only path to comfort and
success. If then you cannot follow the path and choose to
be innovative, you are forced into becoming a criminal
just to survive.
Take the education system for example, most of it
accommodates individuals who are academically inclined
and places those who thrive in vocational training at the
periphery. I am not disputing the fact that Vocational
Training Centres (VTCs) produce productive citizens,
what I am saying is that these guys hardly get the same
recognition as someone who scraped through their degree
from the University of Namibia. What I am pushing at
here is: If you cannot nd a job with your woodwork
qualication, what do you do?
Our education system has, without a doubt reared
brilliant individuals, but it also seduces multitudes of
talented youth into professions that are known for their
easy and abundantly owing nancial rewards while
avoiding those that require much greater raw intellectualcapacity like legitimate entrepreneurship. What is worse,
very early in their lives, our talented youth come to realise
that elds that improve the lives of others may not make
them rich, but moving money/goods from here to there
will.
We are not tackling the education system in this piece
however; we will be looking at how the law is applied
to apparently protect the rights of the minority. Consider
the Criminal Justice System (CJS; what praises can
you condently sing regarding Namibias CJS? What
can be said about our rehabilitation and reintegrationprogrammes?
Martin Gross, author of The Conspiracy of
Ignorance and The Government Racket: Washington Waste
from A to Z, once commented: ...laws are written by men
with considerable net worth, and with little understanding
of what wage-earners must do to make ends meet.
This is illustrated by recent newspaper articles
on car washers in the CBD being arrested for (apart from
spoiling the Citys denition of aesthetics) doing just
a quarter of the damage that car washing businesses in
Greenwell Matongos Eveline Street are doing on a dailybasis Monday through Sunday. Another newspaper
reported on a Zimbabwean female breadwinner for
a family of six who was sentenced to a year for selling
catapults without a business permit (please note wooden-
face expression). An alternative to the sentence was a ne
payment of N$2000 ne. She makes N$1500 a month.
These actions awoke a latent wave of anger and
dissatisfaction with the establishment throughout the
Namibian nation as it either directly affects them or they
view it as a pending occurrence in their own lives. Either
way, it has made many aware of what the role of law
actually is in our social system: steel chains for the poor,
spider webs for the rich and shing nets in the hands of the
criminal justice system. This implies that the poorer one is
the greater the impact of social exclusion. What I mean by
this is that the lower one stands in socio-economic class,
o p i n i o n
By Victoria Kangombe
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the farther one is pushed to the periphery, if not off the
edge.
So, what am I on about?
There is a less obvious aspect of our system that
I came to learn of recently: one nds that a stock broker
and a relatively junior retirement fund manager makes
a great deal more money in her career than would Peter
Arndt from Otjiwarongo who invented the OtjiToilet, an
invention that could drastically improve the lives of not
only Namibians, but millions of people around the world.
Take it as an idealistic way of thinking on my part, but
ponder upon the thought either way.
We have come to learn that a substantial
number of last years matriculants have not done so well
academically and are likely to nd themselves roaming the
streets, implying yet more growth in the unemployment
rate. With so many unemployed people in the country,
we still do not see broad-
based improvements that
could lure investors intoour midst; an action that
is clearly not in favour of
those whose rights are of
great importance to the
government.
To ice the cake,
the local media reports that
Namibia is doing quite well
with regards to investors
pouring money into the
country. Quite well? Arewe? Or is this a fact just
because Namibia is the
third largest producer of
uranium in the world? Can
someone tell me what that
means for the guy who leads
a hand-to-mouth life on the
outskirts of Windhoek?
No were not
doing well. Not when we
have our innovators andatypical entrepreneurs being underfunded, if at all, when
they request for assistance in advancing their inventions.
Those that do get funding are required to sign away their
intellectual property to a more educated individual or an
institution that has the capacity to further the creation.
How is it we have a government that makes
provision in its budget for formal and informal educational-
and community development programmes but it still
arrests the people for whom it made these provisions for?
Im really upset here because the current system does
not offer other alternatives for a means of survival but
to become a criminal. Soon, being a street kid will be
criminalised vagrancy.
Whats sad is that these innovators and atypical
entrepreneurs are being arrested and lling prisons for
trying to make ends meet. Even sadder, we are all assisting
government in offering these particular capital collective
creatives a hand-to-mouth livelihood in prison.
We need those guys to wash our cars while we
queue up to ll the assets management rms coffers.
We need someone to sell catapults and vetkoek at the
construction site around the corner. We need more people
like Peter Arndt to device means of reducing lower-
income households monthly expenses and risks of falling
ill. We need more people who build value not a bunch of
speculators who make money regardless of whether value
gets created or destroyed. We especially need lawmakers
that recognise the value that these people bring to the table
and innovative leadership that works to incorporate those
on the periphery into the mainstream.
Our leaderships actions conjures up questions
on what democracy actually is, who the actions outlined
in Vision 2030 actually include, why one even bothers
queuing to vote, when a
social reform is going to
happen, and whether oneshould even bother asking
such questions.
To the latter, I respond:
if you do not question, you
will not learn. If you are
not learning, you are not
living. What would be the
point right? The core of this
piece is to, if not initiate
the social reform, mobilise
a group of people who arehungry for change; people
who are inspired by the
work of individuals such
as Mohamed Yunus who
started the Grameen Bank.
It is not to offer a
solution; that is beyond
me. One of my colleagues
did however suggest that
a trust fund be opened for
those who bear the burdenof social exclusion: street vendors, car washers, you name
them.
These incidences are not conned to Namibia; such cases
have been reported elsewhere in Africa, the most recent
being in Tunisia where a fruit and vegetables vendor set
himself on re in deance of law enforcers order for him
to be arrested. (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/
world/africa/22sidi.html?_r=1 ).
The manner in which the law is applied in Namibia
is a thorn in the side because creative people with dreams
are running out of ways to survive legitimately. I really
hope I am off track here and someone will comment to
prove me wrong! Please join the discussion on www.
consumernewsnamibia.com. Our forum needs your voice
and our nation needs your enthusiasm. Log on now.
He may not afford the cheapest daily newspaper
but knows of the rise in food prices and
understands clearly what the petrol price
increase means for his future. He doesnt need
an economist to tell him that; every morning is a
reminder, to himself, of his social class.
News headlines dont bother him much
though; he is concerned about the unemployed
youth roaming the streets. To him it means more
Patrolling City Police ofcers forcing him tocede the most accessible and relatively legal
means of feeding his family.
This places him at a crossroads:
Perhaps I should pay my old friends a visit;
its quick and easy cash. Ill be more careful
this time; my reputation can do without another
stroke on my criminal record. Eish! But my wifes
pregnant again...what if I get caught again...?
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INVITATION
Corporate
fun day
We look forward to meeting you on 31stMarch 2011. In the meantime, please donot hesitate to contact either:
Tabeth Nyahasha (081 409 3448) orJacques Nieman (081 203 7180) for anyfurther information.
We take pleasure in inviting you to ourrst annual corporate fun day which
takes place at the Windhoek CountryClub Resort and Casino.
The day offers the perfect platform for
networking with the rest of the businessfraternity coupled with some soothing
greens and is followed by a tasteful livejazz performance and music during
the evening. To optimise on yournetworking evening we will spoil youwith a hearty and relaxing braai no
expense spared! The marketingmanagers and decision makers
from the biggestNamibian rmswill be present to celebrate and
interact withyour company
ConsumerNews providescitizens across Namibiawith a voice to address importantconsumer-related issues. Our new section,Business Watch, launching in March, will focus on nancialnews and economic trends with a focus on Namibian entrepreneurs.
The golf course is reserved between 07:30am and 17:00pm. Upon yourarrival and until 10am, tea, coffe, juice and mufns will be served and a lightlunch awaits every player at the halfway stop. Play will be followed by ourearly-evening prize presentation for the lowest team score and eveningentertainment.
Every team member will be handed a complimentary goodie bag.
The entry form can be downloaded from www.consumernewsnamibia.com,please feel free to copy these for your playing partners and dinner guests.
GOLF
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e d i t o r i a l
In October I received a letter from Mr Nico Smith, aresident of Windhoek, whose daughter had enrolled at
Intec College for distance learning courses. They paid
their fee in full and were told that the study materials
for the course would appear in one week. Those
materials, despite being paid for have never arrived
even until this day.
After waiting for months for the promised
material, Mr Smith got tired of being given excuse
after excuse for non-performance. He decided to ask
for a refund. Mr Slatter, who is the Business Manager
of Intec, replied on October 20th via an email I was
copied in to that the materials will arrive in 24-48
hours. Over 1100 hours have since passed and this
also did not happen. I was contacted again in January
by Mr Smith and I went to speak with him.He told me that his daughter, Rene, has
phoned and visited the Intec branch in Windhoek time
and again but did not receive the required assistance.
She phoned so often and was so diligent that the staff
at Intec would pick up the phone and just sit it on
the counter while she was on the line. We applaud
consumers like Rene who do not take these things
lying down and pursued her refund which was, and is
still, being wrongfully denied to her.
Mr Smith was, understandably, upset and
made the point that while he and his daughter could
afford such a school, many Namibian families would
indeed have to sacrice very much to pay the tuition at
a school like Intec. What happens when their money
By Rob Parker
intecsucks.com?
> >
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is taken? Do they have the skills and patience or even
the time to have a 6 month period of correspondence
with Intec to get their money back?
I did my own research on Intec and found that,
by no means, was this an isolated incident. There are
literally over a thousand similar complaints against this
school. The message board at sites such as hellopeter.
com were jammed with students complaining about a
lack of service and accountability. One enterprising
and obviously very displeased individual went to the
extent of creating a website intecsucks.co.za which
details the travails of hundreds of angry students
unable to get their course material or refunds.
The school seems to manage to collect money
though, all payments made to them clear in a few
days, and they also seem to nd the time to take out
full page colour advertisements in the Namibian and
other newspapers here. So what is the problem?
I went to the Windhoek branch, which happensto be in the same building as Consumer News. I was
helped by staff there, they said they were aware of
Renes situation but could not comment to the media
and I was given the contact number of Fanus Potgieter
in South Africa. I contacted Mr Potgieter and asked
him if he could assist me in retrieving the monies
owed to the Smith family. I was, like others assured
that this would happen. I called a few times after that
and my calls were not returned.
A few days later however, Dale Chaplin fromIntec contacted me and informed me that a refund was
in the works for Rene. I told him that I will wait a few
days before writing this story in the hopes that I would
have a happier tale to tell and that I would not have to
tip-toe past the Intec ofce on my way to work. A few
more days passed and I received this email explaining
Intecs side of the story and informing me that Rene
has been refunded.
Hi Rob,
Please nd attached the Proof of Refund for R. Tromp
(daughter of Nico Smith)
Thank you for allowing INTEC the opportunity to
respond to the student complaint regarding the late
delivery of study guides. INTEC has been offering
quality education for over 100 years to students
nationally and internationally and is committed to
continue offering a quality world-class service to our
students.
The short-term late delivery of study material is due
to the following reasons:1. The exceptionally high volume of student
registrations in 2010 peak enrolment period had
far exceeded our growth projections for that period
(based on previous trends). This then created a
backlog to supply study material to our students in the
busiest time of our business which is January to June
of every year. In light of this, we have been running
urgent interventions which are dependent on third
party involvement, outgoing calls and sms campaigns
to inform students of the backlog and to help identify
the students that are experiencing the late delivery
of study material. This will enable us to service them
according.
2. We migrated our Stock Management System at the
end of 2009 which subsequently malfunctioned in our
busy season. As a result, our Learner Management
System would indicate that the study material had been
dispatched only to discover that certain students did
not receive their material. Most of the IT issues have
been addressed and INTEC has now set themselves up
for the New Year and its student intake and have new
in-house systems in place to ensure smooth delivery
of all study material for new enrolments.The Student Support Call Centre number is
0860313131 or they can email us on
INTEC will ensure that no student who receives
their study material late due to the backlog will be
disadvantaged and all affected students will be given
an extension of not more than 6 months in order to
write their nal exams. All students who have been
affected by the above will be granted a 10 % discounton their next course registration with INTEC.
Regards
Dale Chaplin
National Commercial Manager
If INTEC is at fault then we denitely look at resolving
the complaint immediately by assisting the student to
complete their studies or else request from the student
that all cancellation processes and documentation
are completed correctly to enable us to process the
refund.
The problem is that when I contacted the family to see if
they have received their money, I was told that they had
not. Intec did attach a proof of payment but the branch
number did not match. I prefer to believe that this was
an honest mistake and that the refund will materialise
shortly. My advice to students, based upon all the evi-
dence put before me, all the broken promises which I
witnessed, would be to avoid this school until they haveproven themselves able to operate in an even-handed
and transparent manner.
*Intec has, at the time of going to print, just refunded the
money; we thank Dale Chaplin for his attention.
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So here you are January was the worst month ever, you are still reeling from a hazy spending spree atChristmas, add drunken binge spending on New Years Eve and after that you were broke. Then you have toget through January, school fees and other expenses. It is, hands down, the worst month ever.You are broke, broke, and broke, but the beginning of February heralds a gleam of light at the end of the
Here we go again...
e n t e r t a i n m e n t
By Rob Parker and Victoria Kangombe
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tunnel. Finally some relief: but hello? What freshhell is this? The gangsters from Hallmark and theirtoadying subordinates from the oral and hospitalityindustries are promising to wreak havoc on yourrelationship if you do not spend your last few dollarson wildly inated restaurant prices. If you do not skipfood for three days leading up to February 14 so youcan buy some roses, which mysteriously jumped1200% in price last week, than somehow you areunworthy of love.
This has always been a nonsense holiday; A holidayfor making single people marginally suicidal andhammering the rest of us with debt, just when we arerecovering from January. So what is it that makesone think that you should only give owers on thisday, chosen by Hallmark Freemasons and the FloralIlluminati, rather than, oh say, March 23 or July 7?Vast tracts of arable farmland land in developingcountries are occupied by distinctly useless rosesthat pass for signs of affection in the industrialisednations.
Ask yourself why your signicant other, whoostensibly cares for you, just has to go to a restauranton the day when the price is doubled? Why can yourpartner not be happy with the EXACT same foodfour days later, when everything is back to normal?Why are roses not acceptable February 28th, whenorists have regained their senses? Does your partnersecretly loathe you? Is this their nal act before theydump you via sms? I think its a good sign.
I think it is time to reclaim Valentines Dayfrom the corporate swine. Iran has banned theholiday as western propaganda. I am urging theNamibian Government to do the same. Save us fromthe depredations of Big Flower and the Criminals atHallmark with their syrupy sentiment that just makesit hard for the average guy to get his point across.
Here in Namibia, and on any other day, takinga girl to kapana makes you a mans man, especiallywhen you add on a Fanta and a vetkoek from thosememes at single quarters. If you then end off the day
with sundowners at Goreagab Dam, why would shenot want to do it again on Valentines Day? Its not asif the Dam is less dirty on Valentines Day.
Ah, a light bulb just ickered; since many ofthese Namibian ladies love those mindless means ofentertainment called soapies, hows about you havea picnic in the bush somewhere? Unfortunately, ormaybe fortunately, the plot always leads to misfortune:someone either falls into an old abandoned mineshaft, there might be an old ame lurking aroundpsychotically plotting to kill both of you, or you might
just run into the B1 Butcher, conveniently.Your partner might take you for a cheapskatebut if youve had it with Valentines Day, and apartner who is an avid believer in the day, try thesoapie move; it will save you from a shallow partnerand save you bucket loads of money. On this horridday, the average American consumer will shell out$116.21 on traditional Valentines Day merchandisethis year, according to the National Retail Federation.That is roughly N$1,200.
Consumers, unite and refuse to pay inatedcosts for owers and contrived N$200 restaurantSpecial Valentines menus. Declare that you havehad enough and refuse to participate in this charadeany longer. If anybody needs more information on thisboycott, it will be easy to nd me I will be sleepingon the couch.
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The Namibia Rugby Union is a mess and newlyappointed interim administrator Steph Nel will be hard-pressed to turn its fortunes around in just under sevenmonths. Nels primary objective is to help the troubledunion ensure smooth World Cup preparations for theailing national team.
However, his biggest challenge could be todouse the in-house squabbles that have become theorder of the day at the NRU, given that its presidentBuks Bock has in recent times admitted that his
organisation was dysfunctional, which prompted theIRBs intervention.
According to IRBs Head of Development andPerformance, Mark Egan, the NRUs troubles werenothing new in the rugby world as even the biggestof unions faced similar challenges. Apart from beingplagued by poor nances, the NRU also has a smallstaff made up mostly of volunteers.
Egan is however condent that with Nel at thehelm, albeit temporarily, Namibian rugby affairs wouldget back on track. Given that this is World Cup year,we need the union to be on top of its game, said
Eagan of the IRBs decision to appoint Nel. Nel hasa lot of experience and is a highly qualied coach andadministrator, the renowned IRB ofcial continued.
The union has limited funds with which to workwith but they have good structures in place. Nel, who
doubles as the head of the Western Province RugbyInstitute, assumes his new role on March 20 and willassist Namibian national coach Johan Diergaardt puthis development programme for the Welwitschias inplace.
The programme includes the annual SouthAfrican Vodacom Cup competition as well as the IRBNations Cup in Romania in June where Namibia will playtest matches against Romania, Georgia and Portugal.Three more matches against strong opposition
potentially against the Argentina Jaguars and the SouthAfrican Students have also been earmarked for Julyand August.
My job is to come up with a strategy that willaid the NRU and the national team, said Nel. Namibiahas a long history of producing good rugby players soI think we can get the current guys competitive for theWorld Cup. Its gonna be a challenge. But its one Imlooking forward to.
DOMESTIC TROUBLE
Despite the IRBs public backing of the NRU
management, local rugby clubs have submitted a voteof no condence with the Ministry of Sport. Last week,22 of the 25 NRU afliated rugby teams have launchedan urgent application with the line ministry requestingan urgent AGM to be held in order to oust the Bock
s p o r t s
By staff reporter
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Liezel Jansen - Jobs UnlimitedDo not just refuse the offer. You should at least inform your prospective employer of the situation in order for
them to decide what route to follow. It is important to be honest with them so as not to lead them on. In most
cases, companies appreciate it when you as the candidate are honest with them; it is after all a sign of good
character and that might just help you get the job despite your situation. Depending on the company policy
and procedures they will decide whether or not to employ you.
Coek Welsh - HR@WORKMany women struggle with this when trying to nd employment or when they are changing jobs.
The short answer to your question is No. The Namibian Labour Act prohibits discrimination against, among
others, an employee (or applicant for employment) on the grounds ofprevious, current or future pregnancy.
This provision regarding pregnancy is explicitly stated in the Labour Act so no confusion about it should
exist.
It is prudent to disclose the status of your pregnancy during an interview situation. Another aspect that you
need to keep in consideration: What is going to happen after your maternity leave is over? Some women prefer
to stay at home and raise the baby. If you are planning to stay at home you need to state that desire explicitly to
the new employer if you do decide to take the job as this could impact on your working relationship. However
if you plan to return to work after your maternity leave this should not impact on the relationship. A last word
of advice, make sure you are registered and that your SSC contributions are paid and up-to-date as the SSC
will in all likelihood cover most of your salary while you are on maternity leave.
C Williams - Seesa Labour NamibiaIn terms of Namibia Labour Act 2007, section 5, Prohibition of discrimination in employment, Subsection(5)
(2)(9), of same section, expressively provide for non-discrimination in the employment context, directly or
indirectly, or adopt any requirement or engage in any practice which has the effect of discrimination against
any individual as on (g) previous, current or future pregnancy.
The current law prohibits employers from discriminating against women that might be pregnant, and or hiring
a prospective employee who is, or plans to be pregnant.
Some companies and or industries have maternity policies, specically formulated for the operations of
industry and or the company.
Any contract of employment will be subjected to the law, notwithstanding the probation period, her
appointment was based on her professional work, she should therefore sit-down with her prospective
employer and inform employer of her pregnancy. The possible impact may have on business operations, if
only, and a possible stand-in for her absence.
I received a call from a company at which I applied a few months ago telling me that my
application was successful and that I had made it through the interview process. I am to
start about a month from now. My problem however is that I recently found out that I am
pregnant and that I am three months along. Is there a law against hiring pregnant women?
Seeing that I will only ofcially work for about three (the other three are for probation and
I take it, do not count), should I just refuse the offer? They might consider me more of a li-
ability than an asset.
Every month we pose a question sent in by a reader to our panel of experts.
Send questions to [email protected] or fax to (061) 228 196
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