FREE

CONSUMER
NOVEMBER 2010

Y O U R V O I C E

NEWS
History of
Consumer
Rights
featuring
Gwen Lister

This is
Renovating Vitamin water
Chicken? Or
sugar
Education
Really? water

ISSN: 2026-710X w w w.consumernewsnamibia.com

 CONSUMER
The Team NEWS
Publisher
Consumer News
Editor’s Note
Printed by
John Meinert Printing

Design & Layout

Shapwa Hashali Reading through some of these articles and consumer complaints, we
E-mail: shapwa@consumernewsnamibia.com came to realise how angry and distressed some consumers are. Many
of the complaints we receive from citizens may sound like attempts to
Editor be nasty but we believe this reflects upon the poor service delivery in
Victoria Kangombe the country.
E-mail: viki@consumernewsnamibia.com
Cell: 081 236 0803 It is to be expected for our contributors and complainants to sound
harsh. Our hope is that you as a business owner, target of criticism,
Journalists complainant or even a student development officer see these complaints
Louis Maruwasa as eye-openers to the myriad of spin-off business opportunities. That is
E-mail: louis@consumernewsnamibia.com why you should consider Consumer News as a platform to network and
materialise those business ideas that have been brewing in your mind.
Sylvanie Beukes
sylvaniebeukes@gmail.com In this month’s issue, Denver Isaacs talks to The Namibian editor Gwen
081 395 5190 Lister, and other opinion leaders, on the history of consumer rights in
Namibia – from Independence, the progress since then and where we
Rob Parker are today. We took a look at formal education – is it actually promoting
rob@consumernewsnamibia.com and inspiring creative thought among our youth or is it turning them into
robots (for lack of a better word)?
Kaarina Nairenge
We would like to extend our gratitude to Milton Louw from the Nami-
E-mail: knairenge@gmail.com
bia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) for his timely and satisfactory
response to customer complaints. We are indeed proud to be associated
Marla Chaneta
with the NCPG.
E-mail: marlachaneta@yahoo.com
Happy reading folks and look out for our jam-packed bumper issue.
Denver Isaacs
E-mail: denver@consumernewsnamibia.com
Viki
Business Development Manager
Jacques Nieman
E-mail: jnieman@consumernewsnamibia.com
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic
Cell: 081 203 7180 words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the
good people.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Advertising Sales Executive
Tabeth Nyahasha
E-mail: tabeth@consumernewsnamibia.com
Cell: 081 409 3448 You deserve more ...

Photography 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
Norman Skrywer
advertising and poor quality products and services. You deserve more, and together we
E-mail: norman4all@gmail.com
haveYou
powerdeserve
in numbers, more
so we welcome
... your contributions, feedback, acknowledgements
Cell: 081 430 4003 and your voice on products and services that need our investigation.

Leitago /Narib
E-mail: leitago@yahoo.com
Cell: 081 363 2712 Contact details
Namibia Consumer Protection Group: Milton Louw. E-mail: miltonlouw@gmail.com
Consumer News Namibia Customer Service Institute: Jon Allen. E-mail: csinstitute@iway.na
PO Box 96366
Website: www.namibiacsi.com
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel/Fax: +264 61 228 196 Namibian Consumer Lobby: Bob Ziekenoppasser. Tel: 064-461 461 or 081 284 8000
Namibian Standards Institution: Tel: 061-386 400 / Queries: query@nsi.com.na
Enquiries
Website: www.nsi.com.na
info@consumernewsnamibia.com
CN 01
contents
table of

Feature

History of Consumer Rights

Featuring Gwen Lister 04
Editorial

Weight of prepacks and bread

By Bob Ziekenoppasser 06
Do you know who I am?
By Victoria Kangombe 08
Coca-Cola brand investigated
By Kaarina Nairenge 12
A standard of protection
By Louis Maruwasa 14
Beauty, the promise of chemicals
By Rob Parker 18
Formal education: innovation or deception
By Sylvanie Beukes 20
Consider training as motivation
By Jon Allen 22
Product labelling
By Kaarina Nairenge 27
Entertainment

Imke Rust
Arts and exhibitions 24
International

NCPG (Namibia Consumer Protection Group)

Local Number Portability (LNP) 26
Sports

IRB Rugby World Cup 28

 how about
A LIT TLE MORE OF THIS... A N D A L I T T L E L E S S O F T H AT ?
element creations / tn / how / 2010

T E A M N A M I B I A M E M B E R S A N D S U P P O R T E R S C R E AT E LO C A L W E A LT H .

T E A M N A M I B I A . B E N A M I B I A N - B U Y N A M I B I A N . C R E AT I N G J O B S . S U P P O R T I N G LO C A L B U S I N E S S .

www.teamnamibia.com
 feature

Consumer Rights in Namibia -

Two decades and counting
By: Denver Isaacs

The Oxford dictionary quite thinly defines the Issues such as rent control, for example, are not
word democracy as a state governed according to even issues here in Namibia and they should be!
the will of its people. Property prices are astronomical and unaffordable
even to middle income buyers,” she says.
But even within such a sparse explanation, one can
imagine that this ‘will of the people’ was intended She mentions the property bubble set in motion
to mean more than just the political symbolism of back in 1991 after the arrival of UNTAG at Inde-
queuing up at the community hall every four years pendence, which is yet to burst.
to cross off the names of your favourite politicians.
“Our capital, Windhoek, is especially known to be
You would not, for example, in a country ruled on very expensive with regards to property, whether
this premise, expect citizens to have to buy stale one rents or buys. Consumer goods are no excep-
bread because they have no other option. Because tion. People do complain a lot about these things,
here, consumers have rights. but nothing effective ever really gets done.

And in this capitalist system, defending these “Also, consumers themselves are far too apathetic.
rights may very well be the true test of that de- They care about high costs of course, but are not
mocracy. prepared to march, demonstrate or boycott or do
the things people in most other democracies would
Namibia has been on her own feet for the last 20 do when faced with escalations” she says.
years now but when talking about property prices,
electricity hikes or just the price of basic com- “I do think that government did something about
modities, the Namibian consumer is never easily certain basic foodstuff being tax exempt, but be-
defined as pushy. cause we don’t have active monitors, one is never
sure whether the retail outlets observe these ex-
A bird’s eye emptions and put the price up to accommodate
“I certainly do believe that consumer rights have that,” Lister says.
a connection with the broader struggle for democ-
racy. In fact, this is what it is all about” says Gwen On the ground
Lister, editor of the country’s longest running in- One group that has taken it upon themselves to
dependent newspaper, The Namibian. change that perception is the Khomasdal-based
Workers Advice Centre, whose members can often
The daily dedicates a page a day to readers’ text be found in court representing communities who
messages, widely comprised of both complaints feel wronged by corporate interests.
and praise on consumer issues, as well as political
matters. And with over 20 years of reporting on While the organisation’s practice of including
local matters, Consumer News gauged her views themselves as applicants in clients’ cases (from
on whether consumer issues have changed at all home evictions to pension recoveries) has made
between now and Independence back in 1990. them quite unpopular in legal circles, their pres-
ence often results in the type of demonstrations
“Yes, they’ve changed. And the situation has prob- and public displays of consumer dissatisfaction
ably gotten far worse as costs escalate on all fronts. that make media headlines.

04 CN
The Centre is most notorious for its persistence in
calling for the retrieval of N$116 million which it
says belonged to the workers of the now-defunct
TCL mine in Tsumeb, and which the company in-
sisted was used in its liquidation process.

“To be honest, the state of consumer rights here is

dire. It’s just plain daylight robbery. There’s no
price control, there’s no active regulation. And the
main reason is because South African businesses,
who run the biggest share of industry, see Namibia
as no-man’s-land,” says Hewat Beukes.

“There are (international) companies that have

agents responsible for selling here, but they don’t
have anyone catering for customer service. This
place is merely a dumping ground for them,” he
says. As far as the level of apathy among Namib-
ian consumers goes, Beukes blames the national
trade union movement for what he says is a lack
of leadership. implement the law. To date, the agency says it has
dealt with more than 70 cases since its inception,
“By Independence there was this strong trade which could be an indication of positive change
union movement. But while it had large populous on the way.
setup, it was in fact undermined by a strong na-
tionalistic leadership. So to speak of a trade union Deputy Permanent Secretary of Trade and Indus-
movement that is there for the people is a complete try, Daniel Nghidinua, in his speech at the NCC’s
farce,” Beukes says. December launch, had high hopes for the commis-
sion: “It is a known fact that while trade undoubt-
“But take our fight against TCL, and other cases, edly brings wider product choices for consumers
and you’ll see. We’re on the brink of a revolution,” through imports, and allows our economy to inte-
adds fellow WAC, Amilcar Beukes. “People are grate as part of the regional and international mar-
starting to see that only through educating them- ket and economy, it potentially has implications
selves on their issues, and standing up for them- for local industrial capacity and competition of lo-
selves, is there really a future to speak of. People cally produced goods and production.”
are starting to self-organise. You see it with all
these evictions by the municipalities; people aren’t Still, it’s early days in the life of the Commission
standing for it anymore,” he says. and the sceptics already have their theories. “I
doubt they’ll do anything for the smaller man on
Enter the Commission the street. To me it looks more like the new elite
On the positive side, the Namibia Competition trying to get their foot into the door of territory
Commission (NCC) recently came into being in held by an opposing cartel.
December 2009, after already starting to show its
teeth around August that year. The commission is Look at the sales of Mercedez Benz, Toyota etc.
meant to protect the business market from mono- Your Pupkewitz and your M&Z have run these
polies and bullies, from mergers that would result forever. They’re the official agents so you have
in cartels and prevent or lessen competition, and to buy through them. And that makes it difficult
also to look out for the interests of SMEs. for anyone else to enter the market. So unless they
prove me wrong, I think this Commission will
Namibia is currently one of only two countries in only be trying to move the business between one
Southern Africa (along with SA) to have compe- cartel and the other. I don’t think it will show any
tition laws such as this in place, and agencies to relevance to the man on the street,” opines Hewat
Beukes.
CN 05
 editorial

Weight of prepacks
and bread
By: Bob Ziekenoppasser

The time is seriously overdue for the Ministry of Trade and Indus-
try, which is, according to their website, responsible for the devel-
opment of appropriate policies, legal framework and programmes
for business, to start checking, at random, the weight of imported
pre-packed vegetables and fruits.

On doing regular checks on fruit and vegetables, by placing the

packets on a scale at supermarkets, I found that many of these pre-
packs are underweight, hardly overweight.

Products to be on the look-out for are: apples, pears, carrots,

beetroot, bananas, potatoes and tomatoes. I have also found that
vegetables packed in netting bags are mostly underweight. Really,
when last were those scales checked for the correct calibration?
One might even be in for more shocks if all the scales in outlets
were checked on a regular basis.

On checking bakery products such as loaves of bread wrapped in

cling wrap and price-labelled by the supermarket outlets, it was
found that special loaves of 400g mostly weighed 50-70g less. The
consumer is still being dealt the short end of the stick. It seems that
there is not one shop in Namibia that has the correct weight for
bread and brötchens. I speak under correction though, as I am yet
to walk into such a shop!
If I am well informed a brötchen should weigh 55g. I have so far
failed to find one that is 55g. I also don’t understand why ham-
burger buns cost ± 70-80c more than brötchens do. How many
more grams of flour do they use to produce a hamburger bun? I
have also come to realise that years ago, when buying a hotdog,
one would find that a vienna sausage would be longer than the
brötchen.
I again question, why hotdog rolls with the same quantity of flour
must cost 55c more than a brötchen. Are we as consumers made
to believe that we are simply too dumb to understand that it takes
more time to get hamburgers and hotdogs correctly shaped?
It’s also sad to see how, on a regular basis, certain products go up
in price but have shrunk in size. I went to a supermarket recently
and was shocked to see how custard doughnuts have diminished in
size. I could go on and on about shrinking product sizes and their
respective escalating prices. So can you by the way, it will make a
difference.

All things considered, all consumers should be vigilant in purchas-

After helping out at an uncle’s corner shop sometime, I was the ing goods that have been pre-weighed and are encouraged to test
resident hotdog-maker guy by the way and I realised how shorter such weights in-store with the scales provided. And don’t be too
and shorter the vienna sausages were becoming. I know for sure complacent to demand for what is deservedly yours. You are the
that it wasn’t the rolls that were getting bigger! consumer after all. And you are always right.
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The available installment options are:
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editorial
Do you know who I am?
By: Victoria Kangombe
Just recently, I was standing in a queue in one of
Windhoek’s very affordable clothing retail stores,
when I realised that there are only two tellers for a
queue of fifteen people. I peeked over to the opposite
end of the teller’s booth and realised there was a third
teller who had been sitting there just twiddling her
thumbs. Waiting for knock-off time I guess.
Being the Namibian that I am, I swiftly rushed over
to her before anybody realised that there is an escape
route out of the queue.
Getting there, and with my friendliest smile, she gives
me one of those mid-month-I’m-broke looks and un-
couthly said: “You people must wait until I call you. I
also have other things to do you know.” Dumbstruck,
I just stood there and contemplated on whether to keep
my cool and be complacent, being the Namibian that I
am. Or take the matter up and remind her of who I am.
I opted for option B. I asked her whether she knew
who I am, making sure to raise my voice at the second
go so as to alert the other ‘you peoples’ to an available
teller. Her mid-month smile faded into a humble ‘she
must be another minister’s child smile’. “No ma’am.
But would that be cash or card?” I was still not sat-
isfied. It’s not everyday that one can throw compla-
cency out of the window you know.
So I asked her again: “Do you know who I am?” after
assuring me that she doesn’t, I reminded her that I am
a consumer and deserve better treatment. “I make sure
that you can sit there and have a loaf of bread to take
home every month-end” (twiddling your thumbs hap-
pens to be your choice). I shop till I drop to assure that
you get a bonus at the end of the year. Do you know
who I am now? Do you still have other things to do?
This piece may seem fury-filled, but how exactly
should one react to a rude teller or shop assistant who
feels, and clearly displays, that your presence is a nui-
sance to them?
Everybody’s thought of a teller is, well at the most
part, someone who will do what they are hired to do to
make your shopping experience as pleasant as possi-
ble. Yes, some customers can be extremely frustrating
but as a service provider bite your tongue and smile
through it!
08 CN
?
If you think about it though, such behaviour is a re-
flection of what is happening at top management. If
those at the frontline are not motivated enough to
provide good service, it could be an indicator that
management is either not paying them enough, is not
making their work conditions conducive for growth,
or maybe management has not outlined what it is that
is required of them and have not communicated the
company’s mission and goals.
I will assume it is also safe to say that perhaps man-
agement should reassess their recruitment processes.
Some companies often disregard the need for a prop-
er recruitment process for low paying positions. One
would often find that tellers are asked to bring in a
friend or relative to fill in the position. These friends
and relatives are given one-day training on how to
scan an item, how to use the cash register and how to
cash up. That’s it. Mind you, this is all done during
working hours.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I did not mention
a course in customer service provision. Recruiters of-
ten disregard that function, assuming that everybody
knows how to work with people,ignoring the fact that
this is the most difficult aspect in the workplace.
Perhaps it is not fair, for consumers, to chastise tell-
ers and other frontline workers. It is however very
little to ask for frontline workers to be trained on how
to communicate with consumers, and to handle con-
sumer inquiries. Frontline workers should be trained
on how to handle difficult consumers so they don’t
have reason to assume that all consumers are difficult
and deserve a ‘mid-month I’m broke and have better
things to do look and attitude’. So next time you have
the rude teller experience, tell them you understand.
Be a fellow consumer to them and ask to advocate for
them to their manager.
?
CN 17
 Martha advises consumers not to
use the kettle unnecessarily as she
has noticed that as soon as she
Don't Waste a Watt!!
switches the kettle on, the available
units dwindle fast. Through all
SMS COMPeTITION WINNeRS
the energy savings methods her
household adopts, she uses on
Farmer, average only N$20,00 electricity Congratulations
Marthandhoek a day.
Wi to all our
other winners:

Lona’s advice to all electricity Daniella Brown

users is to use electricity
wisely. Through doing so, Acquillah Tjaveondja
her household consisting of
thirteen family members, only
Cecilia Mutanga
uses about N$200,00 worth of
electricity a month.
Marlien Hansen
Lona Sw She says it can be done, by
Okahan artz, adopting simple measures like Johanna Hoeses
dja enjoying a braai at least once
a week and switching off all
appliances not in use. Gertruid

Schluckwerder

Jambelelu

Kauhangenge
My message to all electricity
consumers is to switch
off all devices like cell
David Hangome
phone chargers at the
plug socket when not Florence Litabula
i, being used.
r c e la G a onakgots
Ma ngo Katewa Beatrice
Otjiwaro
Mika Shiindi

Shikwa Lucas

Matheus switches off all lights and Theopolina Rukoro

appliances not in use and has
replaced all conventional bulbs with
CFL energy savings bulbs at home.

Matheus Kondjeinaso,
Rehoboth

For more information please visit our website at www.nampower.com.na


Martha switches off all
appliances when not in use
and makes a conscious effort
on a daily basis to save energy
Marth wherever possible.
a Lydia H
WindhoEmvula,
ek
As a farmer, it is essential that
energy savings becomes a part of
good farming practice. Tienie has
built timers into his 150 litre geyser
which only switches on in the early
hours of the morning for an hour
and again in the early evening for
an hour. From 36 units used a
day, the geyser now only uses 22
units, which converts to a saving
Tienie Boetkh
a,
of 14 units a day. Over the period
Windho of a year, the saving is enormous
just from implementing this one
energy savings device.
“I tell my family to switch off
lights and unplug all appliances
not in use. It really helps, and I
have noticed a difference, and by
doing so we save up to N$100,00
Hilma Shind
aadi- electricity a month.”
Windhoek Malima,
My message to all electricity
consumers is to switch off all
appliances not being used. It is not
necessary to leave the television
on while cooking meals; leave the
iron on when doing something else;
or vacuuming small spaces when
Gerhard N a broom can do the job just as well.
a
Windhoenkgula, By doing so, I save N$120,00 on my
electricity bill monthly.
My message to all electricity consumers
is not to use all electrical appliances at
the same time.
Please save electricity because life is
expensive, and use it wisely.
Okahanawaes,
dja
Naomi was all smiles when
she received the N$500,00 free
electricity prepaid voucher. She
puts all lights off when there is
no-one in a room at home and
uses electricity sparingly. oender,
Naomi Drahgoh ek
Wind
Patricia saves electricity by
switching off lights not needed
and using the CFL energy saving
bulbs. In addition, during the
summer months the geyser is
usually set very low.
andorozu,
Pa t r i c i a K
Windhoek
Abel switches off all
appliances when he goes
to work and when he gets
home, uses electricity
sparingly.
Abel Ko
ngje
Oshakani Gerson,
ti
 Vitaminwater
brand manipulation
By Kaarina Nairenge

Coca-Cola is one of the largest beverage company, Africa with 36 billion bottles of Coke consumed
manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-al- every year. Moreover, Coca-Cola Company dis-
coholic beverages. Coke is extremely popular in tributes sparkling and still beverages such as wa-

12 CN
ter, and fruit drinks. The first Coca-Cola drink was
bottled between 1885 and 1886 by John Pemberton.
John marked it as ‘patent medicine’ and claimed that
it would cure whatever ailed the consumers, includ-
ing headaches, impotence and acted as morphine for
those who needed it.

The name Coca-Cola is derived from it’s two origi-

nal medical ingredients ‘Coca’ a derivative of the
Coca leaf from which cocaine is produced. The
drink contains Cola from the Kola nut from which
caffeine is extracted. The Company decided to cut
out the active cocaine-effect inducer after public
speculation that the drink had similar effects to co- Drug Administration on May 19, 1994. This is a
caine and morphine. rule against unfair labelling and is meant to pro-
tect consumers. The rule is there to prevent just
The controversies surrounding labelling and the in- the type of misleading advertising perpetuated by
gredients of Coke products have continued to this Coca-Cola in this instance. The rule states that you
day. So can it really be news to everyone’s ears that cannot add a healthy ingredient (like vitamins) to
Coca-Cola Company’s Vitaminwater has an inter- a product which is fundamentally unsuitable like
esting storyline behind it? This is what I mean: on a jelly bean, just so the company can claim it is
May 25, 2007, Coca-Cola Company announced healthy.
news about acquiring the “energy drink” brand Vi-
taminwater at the acquisition of $4.1 billion in cash. Coca-Cola was sued recently, and lost, over these
Vitaminwater claims, because the Vitaminwater
The story of Vitaminwater adverts and the message put across is misleading
Vitaminwater began in 1996 in New York City when to consumers. The lawyer of Coca-Cola had the
adventurer J. Darius Bikoff was suffering from a rag- audacity to assert that “no consumer could reason-
ing thirst and low energy. He was feeling rundown ably be misled into thinking that Vitaminwater
and gargled a vitamin C tablet and chased it with a was a healthy beverage” even after the company
swig of water. The combination of flavour and nour- deliberately marketed and branded their product
ishment inspired Bikoff and he developed Vitamin- as such.
water. It was marketed as an active lifestyle bever-
age that is packed with nutrients. It was launched at Come to think of it, what kinds of nutrients are
the start of the new millennium. found in Vitaminwater that can build you up into
‘more muscles than Brussels’ or ‘keep you perky
While the product purports to be a healthy lifestyle when you are feeling murky’. Is Vitaminwater re-
choice the truth is that the product is little more ally a healthy product or does Coca-Cola use a Jel-
than sugar water with a handful of synthetic vita- ly Bean rule to claim that Vitaminwater is healthy
mins thrown in. These tactics seem to break the when it is not? The results of the lawsuit suggest
‘Jelly Bean Rule’ established by the U.S Food and the latter is true.
 editorial
A standard of protection
By: Louis Maruwasa
On October 14th, the world celebrates World Standards
Day. The day honours the efforts of the thousands of experts
who develop voluntary standards within standards develop-
ment organisations such as the International Electrotechni-
cal Commission (IEC), International Organisation for Stan-
dardisation (ISO), and the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). The aim of World Standards Day is to raise
awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to
the importance of standardisation of the global economy.
But why are standards required in the first place?
National standards at their most basic level ensure a qual-
ity of performance. They protect consumers from bad per-
formance and even from fatal consequences. Medicine, air-
planes, car components are all products that, if they were to
fail or be improperly made, could have fatal results for those
consumers using them. This is why standard bureaus and in-
stitutions of standards were created.
In Namibia the role of ensuring that products adhere to stan-
dards falls on the Namibia Standards Information and Qual-
ity Office or simply through its active arm the Namibian
Standards Institutution. Here is a brief background on the
organisation and its role:
NSIQO Standards
The Namibia Standards Information and Quality Office
(NSIQO) was established on 1, January, 1996 as a govern-
ment department and operates under the Ministry of Trade
and Industry. The office developed a National Quality Policy
(NQP), which was adopted by Cabinet on 1 June 1999. The
NQP is designed to improve the quality of life in Namibia,
as reflected in the living conditions of the people, by making
improvements in the country’s products and services a cen-
tral focus of the implementation of all development projects.
The objectives of the NSIQO include:
• to provide information on standards and technical
specifications used worldwide;
• to facilitate the access and flow of information on
quality infrastructure;
• to promote the concept of quality awareness within port licenses for Namibia?
industry as well as in the general public; and
• to encourage Namibian companies to produce quality There has been a clamping down on some low quality goods
and safe products.
During June of 2010 the Namibian Standards Institution
signed a memorandum of understanding with the SABS
(South African Bureau of Standards) in order to obtain help
in the formulation and development of NSI technical capac-
ity in standardisation, conformity assessment and quality as-
surance.
This was part of the government effort to grow their capac-
ity, thereby ensuring that products that are made in Namibia
14 CN
or end up on Namibian shelves are of sufficient quality.
A standards bureau investigates issues such as whether a
milk product made in Namibia or elsewhere is really safe
and contains what the package says it contains. We have
seen the effects of simple products like these not being made
to standard in the way that several times children in China
have gotten sick and even died from tainted milk. Or the
case of home-brewed beer that killed and left blind people
in Kenya.
A standards bureau is also necessary to stop shops from hav-
ing expired products on shelves by forcing manufacturers
of all perishable goods to display expiry dates and therefore
protect consumers from buying expired produce.
It also dictates the manner in which certain product classes
must be manufactured. For instance, it was these types of
standards and the effort of consumer rights organisations
that made it mandatory that all cars have seat belts.
Detailing standards also allows Namibian industry to make
goods that can be exported to other countries as they meet
international regulations for quality required in that prod-
uct class. It also gives the nation a framework for improv-
ing quality of locally-produced goods for export purposes.
It also ensures that when these goods are sent oversees the
chances of them being rejected by authorities in the destina-
tion country are minimal.
Standards are set at the international level via organisations
like the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and collectively
agreed upon by nations to avoid Technical Barriers to Trade
Agreement (TBT) which are regulations, standards, testing
and certification procedures that create unnecessary obsta-
cles to trade.
Yes, Namibia is trying to keep products to standard but there
is a thorny issue that, adhering to standards raises, specifi-
cally in what category do the low quality Chinese goods that
are being allowed on the Namibian market fall? Should they
be banned or analysed by the bureau before being given im-
on the Namibian market, but it is hoped that in future the na-
tion becomes even more proactive in defending the consum-
ers of services and goods in Namibia, by ensuring that only
those that meet the standard remain in the market space.
The Namibian Standards Institutution aptly uses as its slogan
“creating peace of mind.” As long as standards are vigor-
ously maintained, the people of Namibia should have peace
of mind when buying goods within the country, as should
consumers in international markets when buying Namibian
products.
 bumper edition
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CN 15
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Make it last
 editorial
Beauty, the promise of
chemicals
By: Rob Parker
Do you know what ingredients are used in your beauty
care products? Are the everyday products that you are
applying to your face, skin and hair really safe for use?
For everyday use? Canadian scientist David Suzuki,
through his foundation, recently released a list of the
dirty dozen chemicals and elements contained in make-
up which may be harmful to you.
The foundation (no pun intended) states that they recruited
6,200 volunteers to check ingredients listed in 12,550 everyday
cosmetic products. The list included shampoo, toothpaste, lip-
stick and skin cleansers.
The team attempted to identify products which contained 12
chemicals the foundation says are linked to cancer, severe aller-
gies and asthma, and reproductive disorders. 80% of the prod-
ucts checked, or four out of every five, contained one of the
twelve flagged chemicals.
Lisa Gue, the group’s health specialist spoke about the results:
“Our survey results indicate the widespread presence of a ‘dirty
dozen’ ingredients in products that we use on our bodies every
day. Clearly we need more effective regulatory action to keep
these potentially harmful chemicals out of consumer products.”
Many of the labels are misleading due to loopholes in the regu-
latory framework, she says. “The blanket term of “perfume”
for example disguises a cocktail of harmful chemicals. The fra-
grance loophole clearly fails the sniff test,” Gue said. “Cosmet-
ic manufacturers should be required to specify which chemicals
they use as fragrance ingredients, and potentially harmful ingre-
dients should be replaced with safer alternatives.”
The ‘dirty dozen’ as the chemicals are known are listed below.
The dirty dozen:
1 – BHA and BHT. Used in moisturisers as preservatives,
the suspected endocrine disruptors may cause cancer and are
known to be harmful to fish and other wildlife
18 CN
2 – Coal-tar dyes such as p-phenylenediamine and colours list-
ed as CI followed by five digits. Used in some hair dyes, may be
contaminated with heavy metals toxic to the brain.
3 – DEA, cocamide DEA and lauramide DEA is used in some
creamy and foaming moisturisers and shampoos. These can re-
act to form nitrosamines, which may cause cancer and are said
to be harmful to fish and other wildlife.
4 – Dibuytl phthalate is used as a plasticiser in some nail-care
products. This chemical is a suspected endocrine disrupter and
reproductive toxicant. It is also harmful to fish and other wild-
life.
5 – Formaldehyde releasing preservatives such as DMDM hy-
dantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, methenamine,
quarternium-15 and sodium hydroxymethylglycinate are used
in a variety of cosmetics. These slowly release small amounts
of formaldehyde, which causes cancer.
6 – Paraben, methylparaben, butylparaben and propylparaben
are used in a variety of cosmetics as preservatives. These are
suspected endocrine disrupters and may interfere with male re-
productive functions.
7 – Perfume. This is any mixture of fragrance ingredients used
in a variety of cosmetics. Some fragrance ingredients can trig-
ger allergies and asthma. Some are linked to cancer and neuro-
toxicity. Some are harmful to fish and other wildlife.
8 – PEG Compounds such as PEG-60 is used in some cosmetic
cream bases. It is said to be contaminated with 1.4-dioxane,
which may cause cancer.
9 – Petrolatum. Used in some hair products for shine and as a
moisture barrier in some lip balms, lip sticks and moisturisers.
A petroleum product can be contaminated with polycyclic aro-
matic hydrocarbons, which may cause cancer.
10 – Siloxanes: cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane, cy-
clohexasiloxane and cyclopethicone are used in a variety of
cosmetics to soften, smooth and moisten. These are suspected
endocrine disrupters and reproductive toxicant (cyclotetrasilox-
ane). These are also harmful to fish and other wildlife.
11 – Sodium laureth sulphate. Used in some foaming cosmetics,
such as shampoos, cleansers and bubble bath. Can be contami-
nated with 1.4-dioxane, which may cause cancer.
12 – Triclosan is used in some antibacterial cosmetics, such as
toothpastes, cleansers and deodorants. This chemical is a sus-
pected endocrine disrupter and may contribute to antibiotic re-
sistance in bacteria. This chemical is harmful to fish and other
wildlife.
Courtesy the David Suzuki Foundation- Via Canadian Broad-
casting Corporation.
Visit the site at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
CN 17
 opinion

Formal education:
Innovation or
Deception?
By: Sylvanie Beukes

We are living in an age that is rich with informa- esting anymore?” It than becomes clear that the
tion. Cellular phones, Car Phones, Fax machines,
Voice mail, Call forwarding/call waiting, Email.
There’s a paralysing menu of communication
tools. In this blizzard of information overload,
our education system has not advanced to meet
the increased flow in data. Children are still being
taught in conventional classroom settings with a
board and a teacher, and we ask ourselves: “Why
are there so many school drop outs?” Perhaps the
question we should ask is “what is wrong with the
education system that children don’t find it inter-
education system is strongly contesting against iP-
od’s, PlayStation, DSTV, Wiifi etc. for children’s
attention. These seem to be far more interesting
than the ordinary classroom setting.
However if we do not find the answer to this ques-
tion, our children don’t stand a fighting chance
in this global information wave. The truth is the
world is changing at an ever accelerating pace.
Life, society, and economics are becoming ever
more complex. The nature of work is radically

20 CN
shifting. Jobs are disappearing at an unprecedent- ply that the latter have worked out some effective
ed rate. It is an age of uncertainty. And whoever strategies for learning. It’s not just the acquiring bits
hesitates is lost! Therefore the speed at which the and pieces of general knowledge. It can’t simply be
world is changing demands a matching ability to measured by grades and exam results. It’s not just
learn faster. As a nation we urgently need to im- taking onboard what other people know. Learning
prove the quality of our education system. Wheth- is a lifelong adventure. It’s a never-ending voyage
er you have school-age children or not this subject of exploration to create your own understanding.
is of vital importance to you. It affects you as a Learning must begin much earlier than the child’s
taxpayer, citizen and member of the work force. first day at school and it must continue well in to
retirement. We need to make changes urgently. We
We are all aware that automation is replacing low- need to help all parents create a rich, stimulating,
skill repetitive jobs; this is an age of technologi- thought-provoking environment in the pre-school
cal unemployment. Our own unemployment rate year’s. In the primary school years, we need smaller
is over 50%, our grandparents often held one job class sizes and the active collaboration of parents
for their rest of their lives. Our parents probably with the school to provide their children with inter-
had one or two jobs. Today’s school dropouts face esting, challenging, and relevant projects that stimu-
the intimidating prospect of three or four career, late curiosity and thought.
changes during the course of their lifetime. Careers
not just jobs, it is no longer relevant to ask: “What In the early secondary school years, we need to en-
do you want to do when you grow up?” The ques- sure that students become capable of learning on
tion should instead be: “What do you want to be their own so they can fully utilise the dazzling oppor-
first?” We have gone from being resource rich in tunities of the interactive learning aids. They should
the old economy to being resource poor in the new also be working collaboratively to tackle problems,
economy almost overnight. And that is because such as community issues that engage their interest
our public education system has not successfully because they are relevant to their lives.
made the shift from teaching the memorisation of
facts to achieving critical thinking skills. The investment should be in attaining the vision of
lifelong learning through a partnership that involves
The current education system does a wonderful students, parents, teachers, business executives and
job of educating a minority to a good standard, but government leaders. A partnership which recognis-
huge advances in the standards of education of the es that education is a mutual shared responsibility.
majority need to be made in the next few years. Data is the new oil and to tap into this rich resource
Children are leaving schools poorly equipped for we need to develop our minds and that of our chil-
all the jobs of the future: the jobs that will require dren. After all, wasn’t it Winston Churchill that said
very high standards of analytical thought, creativi- “The empires of the future will be the empires of the
ty and flexibility. In fact, who really knows exactly mind!”
what these jobs will be? An Education system that
will be far more useful for Namibia would be of
raising the educational standards of everyone – not
just the elite minority. And an emphasis on person-
al growth rather than just material advancement.
This is an important solution to the challenges to
come. The focus of schooling must be broadened
from the acquisition of knowledge to include the
development of wisdom and emotional maturity.
Our technical competence as society is far out-
stripping our ability to make wise choices.

Most education and training, however, still con-

centrates almost exclusively on the content and
not the process. A significant difference between
people who are labelled as “poor learners” and
those that are labelled “effective learners” is sim-

CN 21
 editorial
Creating Opportunity,
Changing the Face of
Customer Service
CONSIDER TRAINING AS MOTIVATION
Jackson Brown Jr., an American author, once said:
“Don’t waste time learning the ‘tricks of the trade.’
Instead, learn the trade.” Perhaps we can modify it
to suit the purpose of this piece: “Don’t waste time
teaching the ‘tricks of the trade.’ Instead, teach the
trade.” Teach your staff the trade and you wouldn’t
have to be foraging around for tricks.
Invest in your people. Empower your people. We
all want to be motivated on a daily basis. We all want
motivation to get us through what often is a day in
which we’re not following our passion.
We’re most often ‘stuck’ in a job where all we want
to achieve, is working for our rent/bond, our car
payment (if we’re fortunate to own one), and to
have our Edgars and cellphone accounts paid suc-
cessfully on a monthly basis. We’re not in the least
22 CN
bit interested in putting in any effort beyond the end
of our shift because there’s absolutely no incentive
to do so.
Those most prepared to have customer service train-
ing done in our country at the moment are the ’wor-
ried well’. Those that are actually in the greatest
need for training either don’t realise the desperate
need or don’t think it’s important enough to invest
in. I read something years ago which read ‘If you
think training your staff and having them leave, is
hard; try not training them and having them stay!’
Imagine the effect on your business then?
As people, continuous education and constantly
upgrading our knowledge is vital for development.
Learning is a non-stop process. Since the onset of
the internet, we all have an infinite amount of in-
formation at our disposal substantially more easily
accessible than ten years ago.
There are so many training courses available in the
local market today, that’s if we’re not training our
staff continuously, then we’re still in the stone-age.
There are a number of training institutions offer-
ing customer service training specifically, including
ourselves, that is truly worth your while investigat-
ing. As far as content, cost and medium-term effect
on your business is concerned, training alone is not
going to do it, but it’s a great start.
Training is right up there alongside caring for your
staff and motivating them as well as effectively and
proactively managing them. The effect on your
business will be remarkable. No time like the pres-
ent especially with Christmas fast approaching. The
season for shopping (being inundated by customers
– the reason why we’re all in business, remember?).
Think about it. Invest in your business by investing
in the development of your staff.
Creating Opportunity, Changing the Face of
Customer Service
 entertainment

New Works
By Marla Chaneta

New Works is a combined art exhibition by Imke Rust
and Silke Berens that opened on the 18th of October at
Studio 77. The artworks showcased personified meta-
phorical expressions of human figures and illustrated
the difficulties and hardships encountered in human
relationships.
This theme is made manifest through the use of digital
print and the traditional painting. The pieces by Imke
originated from photographs that she later overshad-
owed using a paint brush and acrylic paint. This com-
bination of digital art and painting creates a transition

The Dream II by Imke Rust

24 CN
between rough and smooth strokes, producing a multi-
textural feel.
The use of multi-texture creates a deeper, dreamier
tone to the art. Making it mysterious yet easy to un-
derstand and relate to. Silke Berens’ work however
employs the traditional painting approach. Both artists
have a shared interest in human figures, yet a contrast
is drawn through the use of oil paint in these works.
The use of oil paint adds weight and heaviness to the
art. This, in turn, creates an atmosphere of moods that
move the viewer into an imaginative air, allowing one
to escape into the painting and respond subconscious-
ly to the imagery portrayed.
Consumer News had a heart-to-heart with Imke and
this is what she had to say about her work and her
inspiration:
1) How long have you been painting?
For as long as I know, I have been drawing and paint-
ing and just love being creative. In 1999 I started to
take this passion more seriously and decided to make
it my profession, so I enrolled for a Visual Arts Degree
at the University of South Africa.
2) What is your biggest source of inspiration?
I find inspiration in so many things. I am fascinated by
any interesting visual stimulation, thought-processes,
relationships between things and symbolic stuff. When
something catches my eye or my mind’s attention, I
would try to connect more and more dots visually and
conceptually and see where it leads me to.
3) Why the interest in human figures?
The human figure is intriguing because it is visually
beautiful and interesting, but almost more importantly
it is so “close to home”. It immediately establishes an
emotional, psychological and personal connection be-
tween the viewer, the artist and the artwork. Everything
becomes more personal when a person is involved.
4) What does it mean to use a multi-textural combina-
tion?
The choice of the media I use in my artworks usually
forms an important and integral part of the artwork and
ideas behind it. I am fascinated by the complexities
of life and my subjects and I express this through my
art. I therefore find the choice of combining different
media, elements, textures, shapes etc. an appropriate
extension of these complexities. I just love how these
combinations add more layers to the meaning and the
visual adventure.
5) On the “Jurell” website (http://www.jurell.com/en/
konst/it-all-boils-down-single-word), Torsten Jurell
describes your pieces as a metaphoric representation
of current events or situations. Was that the case with
“The Dream II”? What does it mean? What does it rep-
resent?
This image was inspired by a newspaper photograph
of one of my most favourite artists, Max Neumann, a
painter from Berlin, walking in front of one of his huge
paintings. I love the image and used some elements
from it as a starting point for this work. It then took on
its own life, as my art usually does.
The more I worked on it, it kept on reminding me of the
ancient tradition of rock painting by shamans. Which
are believed to have been painted images of great
hunting successes. Through these, they gave the idea
a concrete shape and thus made it real and the next
hunt would be successful because they imagined it,
put it into a picture, named it and then created the
reality.
I would like to share a concept I have been extensively
thinking about: does an image or any physical expres-
sion from a person hold much more spiritual power
than we can imagine? Does a rain dance maybe really
influence the weather because of the intention and en-
ergy set free? Are we creating our own reality by what
we are expressing?
In my mind this work also has a subtitle: “Advent of
the Graffiti Man”. Besides the spiritual idea behind it, I
thought it was also a humorous link to the modern day
graffiti culture (which I am also a great fan of). Consid-
ering the age-old rock-painting tradition, the modern
and ‘civilised’ man is not so much different – we still
love to make marks on our walls.
 editorial
Keep your number
change your
By Milton Louw
network
The Namibia Consumer Protection Group welcomes number por-
tability for ushering in greater freedom of choice, spurring com-
petition and encouraging technological innovation in the telecom-
munications industry.
Local Number Portability (LNP) removes barriers to switching net-
works and provides consumers with a greater choice of telecom-
munication service providers and the convenience of keeping their
existing numbers. It really benefits the ratepayer; the consumer.
Whether they have switched mobile telecommunications service
providers or not, customers have already started reaping the ben-
efits of lower prices as well as attractive packages offered by wire-
less carriers as inducements to keep customers from switching.
LNP is, according to web-based encyclopaedias, the ability to
transfer either an existing fixed-line or mobile telephone number
assigned by a local exchange carrier (LEC) and reassigning it to
another carrier.
Most countries around the world have opened their telecommunica-
tions markets to competition. This has accelerated the deployment
of telecommunications services more quickly and cost-effectively
than past monopolies.
Some of these liberalisation efforts are being driven by regulations
that call for number portability. For example, the European Union
(EU) Universal Service and Users’ Rights Directive (2002/22/EC),
Article 30 – effective since July 2003 – imposes on all EU member
states the following obligations:
• Member states shall ensure that all subscribers of pub
licly available telephone services, including mobile
services, who so request, can retain their number(s)
independently of the undertaking providing the service;
• In the case of geographic numbers, at a specific
location; and
• In the case of non-geographic numbers, at any location.
As consumers, we must have the choice of which service provider
we want to use. Most cellular and telephone subscribers however
do not wish to lose their present number and therefore stay with
the present provider. One of the toughest responsibilities facing the
26 CN
regulators in the Namibian telecom markets involves modernising
our national numbering policies, numbering plans, and dialling
plans.
We have to establish a numbering policy that provides a legal, leg-
islative, and regulatory basis for competition. Then, our regulator
must decide on numbering and dialling schemes, services, tech-
nologies, and billing and tariff methods that support its chosen
numbering policy.
Lastly, it must also establish a fair, neutral office for numbering
administration. I have heard the argument of the costs of imple-
menting such a system – this however is always only the argument
of the company with the biggest client base.
As part of a consumer education action, the Namibia Consumer
Protection Group (NCPG) has posted the issue of number portabil-
ity on the web pages of all three mobile service providers, namely:
MTC:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTC-Namibia/
Switch (Telecom): http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=11597
5076023&topic=14590
Leo - could not find a postings page so sent an email.
Please follow the discussion, participate. Let us find out what these
large corporates do when a person on the street has something to
say? We will follow-up on this issue next month to see what you
and the telecom companies have to say on the issue.
Milton Louw is the founder of the Namibia Consumer Protection
Group. The NCPG is active on the streets and has a presence on
the Internet.
E-mail: miltonlouw@gmail.com
 international

Product Labelling
By Kaarina Nairenge

The picture you see here looks like strawberry Soft Serve Namibia has not had aggressive legislation in place to
ice cream doesn’t it? Well looks can be deceiving. This deal with food security since 1990. It was only recently,
is nothing other than chicken. Chicken that has been me- in 2006, that experts from the Namibian Government, the
chanically separated. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and

Have you ever wondered why your chicken products taste

the way they do? What ingredients they have muddled up
to produce that tasty Vienna, chicken burger, and meat pie
sausages?

Mechanical separation is a process which creates a paste-

like meat product. This is produced by forcing beef, pork,
turkey or chicken bones with attached meat tissue, under
high pressure, through a sieve or similar device to separate
the bones from the meat tissue.

This process is done by machines and not humans. This

method is also referred to as “advanced meat recovery”.
This process has been in use since the 1960s. The separa-
tion of chicken mechanically is a means for meat proces-
sors to make greater profits from chicken, turkey, pigs and
cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat.

The end result of this process gives you a product used in

burger meat, hot dogs, Vienna sausage and polony. Hot
dogs and similar products also usually contain a high
amount of extenders and fillers such as breadcrumbs, flour
and starches, and up to 25% water.
The regulation in many countries on food labelling has
been voluntary and states that all the information on food
labels must be true and not misleading or deceptive. The
Canadian Food and Drug Acts published on January 1,
2003 for instance, states that it is mandatory to label food
products and to update all nutrient content claims when
the need arises. Additional regulations stipulate that hot
dogs, for instance, can only contain 20% of mechanically
separated pork.
stakeholders in the agriculture and trade industries met to
draft a Food Safety Bill which was to replace a law dating
back to 1919 as well as the Public Health Proclamation of
1920 of South Africa, under which the Namibian territory
fell until Independence in 1990.
The significance of labelling is to provide the consumer
with information that they can use to make intelligent
choices about what foods to buy and eat. Often we are
bombarded with information that is confusing and not ac-
curate.

According to a UK-based food standards agency “Food

authenticity is all about whether a food matches its de-
scription. If food is misdescribed, not only is the consum-
er being deceived, but it can also create unfair competition
with the honest manufacturer or trader. The description of
food refers to the information given in relation to its name,
its ingredients, its origin, and the processes undergone.”

If our government cares for us as consumers, why are food

products in our country not labelled as “mechanically
separated” to inform Namibian consumers and help us to
make healthy choices on what food to buy and what not?
This graph shows the huge amount of mechanicaly separated poultry imported by just one company
into south africa, rainbow chicken farms. 81 tons of mechanicaly separated chicken in 2009 alone.

CN 27
 sports

Points a must for Namibian rugby at World Cup

By Staff Reporter

NAMIBIA’S Welwitschias stand a better chance to
record a win at their fourth IRB Rugby World Cup
tournament set for New Zealand next year.
The Namibians have never won a match in all their
previous appearances and can be close to record-
ing their first victory at the world showpiece, judging
from their improved performances over the past two
seasons.
The side has put up competitive challenges in the
South African Airlines (SAA) Vodacom Cup earlier
this season and that against formidable South Afri-
can franchise sides. They also won the International
Rugby Board (IRB) Nations Cup this year.
Winning the Nations Cup was boosted by the front-
running Vodacom Cup which virtually exposed most
of the players to the tactical and technical scenarios
of the game at the highest level. The Namibian side
won several matches in that competition, especially
on home soil and it improved their performance and
game skills overall.
Their sense of urgency in getting over the advan-
tage line and with coach, Johan Diergaardt, employ-
ing a speedy back-line, made a huge difference for
the Namibians. As a result, this made them square
up equally against the skilful South Africans from the
different sides who possessed good ball handling
skills, sleek back-line moves and solid front rowers
who could dominate play upfront.
Namibia relied heavily on the experience of their
front-rowers led by the likes of Nico Esterhuizen,
Jane du Toit, Johnny Redelinghuis, Jacque Niewen-
huizen and Pieter-Jan van Lill. The back-line consist-
ed of many younger players who possess the pace
and were rather credible in their defensive work too.
Some of these players who set the stadiums on fire
with their blistering pace included winger, Crysander
Botha, full-back, Jacky Bock, Eugene Jantjies and
the de La Harpe brothers, Daryl and Ryaan.
But during the IRB Nations Cup, the man who set
the tongues wagging was team captain and flanker
Jacques Burger, who is currently hot property in the
European leagues. That same momentum shortly

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after the Vodacom Cup was carried over to the Na-
tions Cup which pitted Namibia against its African
counterparts which included countries such as Mo-
rocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
All were credible contenders for the title and Na-
mibia were the outsiders, but came to the fore with
their blistering performances which eventually car-
ried through to the last match that secured them the
trophy.
PREPARATIONS
At this stage, the team is looking forward to attract-
ing major rugby playing nations to strengthen vari-
ous aspects of their game. Media reports recently
suggested that the Namibians are set to face Spain
and Portugal as part of their preparations, where
they will also once again compete in the Vodacom
Cup just to further sharpen their skills before going
to the New Zealand rugby battle fields.
According to Diergaardt, who has been at the helm
for just over two years now, the team aims to en-
gage more stronger nations ahead of the World Cup
as it will give them a competitive edge and will put
them on par with the other contenders at that level.
That will in fact be right the choice by Diergaardt,
a former Western Suburbs player and official, as it
will empower his players with the knowledge of what
to expect from the rigid and uncompromising world
rugby powerhouses.
Namibia is also paired with their neighbours, South
Africa, two-time World Cup champions, and it will not
be easy for them to pass that hurdle with a relatively
lower score-line if they do not already face stronger
nations now.
Namibia initially must look at countries such as
France, Italy, Argentina, Scotland and Wales to get
their house in order before the World Cup, but the
costly nature of attracting these countries remains a
challenge for the small local Namibia Rugby Union
(NRU). With the Government intending to give them
a push just before the World Cup and their main
sponsor, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC)
also behind them with rather limited funding, the
team will find it a bit difficult to lure these rugby play-
ing nations to improve and further hone their com-
petitive skills.
TRIES AND POINTS
Namibia has never won a match at any of the previ-
ous three World Cup tournaments they competed in,
but have managed to score tries, especially at the
last one in 2007 won by South Africa on European
soil.
This time around, the team will be expected to im-
prove dramatically in the areas of getting over the
advantage line and landing those elusive and rather
hard-to-get tries, while they will also have an im-
proved kicking record from any resulting penalties.
Namibia is generally a passionate unit on the field of
play and can take the game to the opposition if given
that chance, but has a knack for conceding points
easily or when under immense pressure.
The pack of players who do duty upfront also know
very well that a clean ball can set-off their quick-fire
back-line and they too work tirelessly to emit such
a ball to the scrum-half. The secret for the Namib-
ians to score tries lies in their youthful back-line of
players, but the forwards must also be wide-awake
as they can also find themselves in try-scoring posi-
tions.
This time, the Welwitschias will not come back home
empty handed, but will score a handful of tries and
they will put slot through those valuable penalty
shots, while they will also make better use of the ball
in their possession. They will also be more result-
oriented and much more solid in defence and their
attack will be more organised and potent.