Leo Bringing a Knife to gun fight

shutterstock.com

When I first came to Namibia I was shocked at how cheap texting and calling is on MTC then soon realized that everybody has an MTC number and only a few people have a Leo number. And I thought wow talk about having the lions share.

    

Now with the recent sale of Leo for only two dollars and a threat to liquidate got me thinking, and eventually came to the conclusion that the mobile telecommunication industry in Namibia is a monopoly and the only reason why sms and calls are cheap is based on predatory pricing by MTC so that Leo can get chewed up and fail.

zapiro.com

Now here is a funny story; Leo was owned by Guinea Fowl Investments which is actually a joint venture by two banks NedBank and Investec Bank, Leo was then was recently sold to Telecom Namibia. Bearing in mind that all of telecom Namibia shares are in the hands of  Namibian Post and Telecommunications holding (NPTH) which is 100% owned by the government of Namibia. Which means Tax-payers money is going to pay for loses made by Leo which could have been an indirect effect of MTC's pricing and marketing strategies. Now here is the pun the government owns 66% of MTC through NPTH. So in a nut shell the private sector is getting bailed out with tax payer’s money, due to anti-competitive behavior of MTC.

yaerd.org

 Nobody in their right mind will buy Leo unless its to acquire  infrastructure or a total takeover. I mean with reported exposure of NAD 450 million and monthly losses of over NAD 2 million clearly indicates that Guinea Fowl Investments did not adopt a hands on approach in protecting its investment.  So to the rescue was none other than a government entity which will eventually  create a monopoly in the Namibian Telecom industry that will have cartel tendencies and legally is neither a monopoly nor a cartel.

 The communication authority (CRAN) to me is just another tool used by the puppet master, to justify his actions in producing a good show for the audience. Any way I put my hat down for a game well played by NPTH in maintaining the wealth in the hands of the people of Namibia.

If its not Consent must be Rape

http://www.namibian.com.na/

 Over the weekend a friend of mine told me that a couple  high school student got beaten up at a house party because the apparently raped a girl.He told me that when leaving the party and they heard some screams from one of the rooms but they did not sound like screams for help just another drunk girl having fun or misbehaving so the paid no mind.

Sebulon Nghimtina and Benjamin Imalwa Bothe where arrested lastSaturday night and released the next day simply because the girl was giving the police contradicting stories. Then they were arrested again on Wednesday this week, and only got Bail last night.

http://girl-wonder.org/girlsreadcomics/?p=49

http://girl-wonder.org/girlsreadcomics/?p=49

Now I am thinking in Namibia women can easily claim that she got raped by two people in one night on separate occasions at a party with a story that’s not straight and you still get arrested have to pay bail and given the condition you do not make contact with the girl you just meet that one night.
   

I am just saying in cases where the police arrive on scene protocol should be in place that evidence should be provided and not based on he said she said they saw. And to be honest if the guys where foreign students they will still be in jail with a high chance of denied bail. Why because that’s the perception of foreign students they like to take advantage of Namibian women they meet on random parties.

Whindhoek 061

So I have been reading a whole lot of blogs and have decided to start my own blog  about my experiences, opinions, and news updates on Namibia. Naturally my first post will be on  my general view of Namibia.

http://kylereed.com/Pictures/ForeignTravel/Africa1/index.html

I came to Windhoek in Feb 2010 it seems just like yesterday, in retrospect it  has been a great learning experience for me. Namibia aka the land of the brave is not well known by many people, in other the words the friends in my circles before I came to Namibia did not know much about the place as well. Its a city a have grown to love, and has allowed me to grow as a person.

Windhoek on the other end is nothing like any African city I have been too.  It’s Very similar to Gaborone in many ways but totally different from cities in East Africa. First thing you notice in Windhoek is that its super clean and there not that many people around so maybe that’s why its easy to keep clean. Even the informal settlements to me are relatively clean big ups to the municipality in their efforts to keep the city clean. 

  

http://www.racafrica.co.uk/namibia_photos.htm

The taller the buildings the bigger the dreams.  Clearly South African Bankers and Insurance companies have the biggest dreams in Windhoek.  Windhoek gets very busy the first week of the month then activity goes back to snail pace. The 10% rich benefit the most as majority people in Windhoek depend on SALARY! that’s why I think Namibia sucks when it comes to wealth distribution and the entrepreneurial spirit among youth is almost known existent! This for me is an opportunity to take advantage of .

http://www.peterbennett.co.uk

                                                                            I like to think of Namibia as a 10^th province of South Africa. Every shopping mall in Windhoek looks like any random shopping mall in South Africa especially Gauteng area. 

You can use the South African Rand to buy anything in Namibia and the Namibian dollar does not get the same privilege in South Africa. So the Namibian dollar is a currency to make its people feel like the own a currency and an illusion of economic independence.

I want to talk about the culture shocked I experienced when I first came to Windhoek but I think that will have to be a whole post on its own but for now this post will serve as my general view of Namibia as of today.