NO STRINGS ATTACHED

FREE, independent, personal help with consumer issues is hard to come by, which is probably why readers regularly ask me how much I wifi charge for taking up their case.

Some people are actually suspicious of anything offered free of charge and that's not a bad thing, because many a supposedly free offer ends up costing consumers dearly.

But the help and advice being offered to consumers regarding their money issues by an entity called iMali Matters is indeed free and it comes with no strings attached.It's a joint venture between the Department of Trade and Industry, the credit ombud, Fin-Mark Trust and African Bank to give consumers informed advice on all sorts of money issues. Best of all, it's face-to-face advice.

The first office was officially opened in Wynberg, Cape Town, the week before last, the second in Durban's CBD last Thursday, and this week a third iMall office will open in Germiston. The project will also partner with Cape-based NGO You and Your Money, provincial consumer affairs offices, the various financial ombudsmen, the National Credit Regulator, debt counsellors and law clinics.

"The advice will be unbiased, not based on any brand or institution, and will not result in a sale," said credit ombud Manie van Schalkwyk at the Durban launch. In other words, there's no catch.

"We have our own brand  'iMali Matters' and will not be linked to any commercial venture," he said.

"Yes, African Bank does give us money and time," he added quickly, anticipating that question, "but there are no bank staffers on our premises and no bank advertising or branding." Each of the three pilot offices will be staffed by two highly qualified counsellors who will not only deal with individual cases, but conduct free workshops and lectures on topics most needed in their areas.

The idea for the initiative was hatched some time ago when Van Schalkwyk was visiting rural towns in the Eastern Cape.

"In one town we came across a consumer complaints office with a queue of people around the block," he said. "I asked the young man in charge what he did with the cornplaints. He said he didn't know what to do with them ... he was creating hope, but he couldn't deliver." It got Van Schalkwyk thinking about the role of the various ombudsman offices.

"We can't as ombudsmen sit in our offices in Joburg and expect to help people who really need help," he said. "We have got to create offices in communities, giving people meaningful access to redress." Research showed that a lack of education on consumer issues left black consumers "open to abuse" at the hands of banks and the retail sector, Van Schalkwyk said."There is a need for free advice and guidance for the lower LSMs." The ombud expects that most people will seek help with debt issues, particularly emoluments attachment orders, commonly referred to as "garnishees".

Of the 18 million South Africans who are credit active, 46 percent of them currently either have a negative credit bureau listing or are four months behind in their payments.

"That's 8.4 million people who wifi struggle to have access to credit in the future," he said.

The offices will also give advice on opening bank accounts, wills, taxes, burial societies, stokvels and the like.

The three offices will be run as a year's trial project, and a big slice of the budget wifi be spent on an outsourced study into the impact of the advice given.

"We want to know whether the person took the advice we gave and applied it," Van Schalkwyk said.

If the response is positive - and I can't see how it won't be - iMali Matters offices will spring up all over the land.

"iMali Matters demonstrates the wonderful things that can happen when government, NGOs and the private sector come together in the interests of South Africans," said Ebrahim Mohamed, the DTI's chief director of consumer protection, consumer and corporate regulation.

The offices were opening "against the backdrop" of the longawaited Consumer Protection Act coming into force (on October 24), he said.

"We expect business behaviour to change and to become much more consumer friendly and to improve the quality of service and products offered to consumers. NGOs need to play a much more relevant role in consumer protection because they are closest to the people on the ground and interact with them on a day-to-day basis. More than this, we would like to see consumers who know when to say 'No' to a sub-standard product or service."

Ditto! Where to find the iMali Matters offices: Ma Main Road Wynberg Tel: 021 761 9420/9324. 
Fax: 021 761 7662. 
Consumer Watch is published twice weekly. E-mail consumer@knowlerco.za or fax 0866 038145.

Every week I receive emails from people who have lost their jobs and are desperately seeking employment, but keep getting told they would have got a position but for negative listings on their credit records.

Mr Khoza is a typical case: "I would just like to know what I can do to get a job, as creditors have listed me on ITC, and I don't have a job any more to pay off my debts," he wrote in an e-mail to Consumer Watch last week.

"Will they ever remove my name so that I can get a decent job and start paying off my debts again? Please advise me of a solution, because I've been attending interviews but the problem is my bureau listings. I believe that I have learnt from my past mistakes and I'm a responsible citizen. Please advise as I'm losing hope now. - - it's now the fourth month that I'm sitting at home without a job." Credit bureau information is intended to give credit providers an indication of your ability to meet your financial commitments; it's not meant to affect your chances of getting a job.

In 2007, when the National Credit Act came into effect, the Credit Information Ombud, now known as the Credit Ombud, put out a press release on this issue, headed "Negative listing can't be used to deny employment".

It said: "Despite a good CV and good references from previous employers, quite a few potential employers might tell a person that because he or she is blacklisted they would not be able to hire them." It quoted Credit Ombud Manie van Schalkwyk as saying: "According to the National Credit Act which came into effect on June 1, 2007, information on a consumer's credit report at the credit bureau cannot be used as a basis of denying employment to the consumer". The only time this information can be used for such purpose is when considering the candidate for employment in a position that requires trust, honesty and entails the handling of cash or finances.

Even so, this must be done with the full consent of the candidate prior to the report being requested from the credit bureau. Three years on, it appears the practice of denying suitable candidates a job solely because of their credit record is still rife.

And with 8.4 mfflion South Africans being either "blacklisted" on a credit bureau or at least four months behind on their repayments, that's a lot of potential prejudice.

And here's another legal requirement which often gets overlooked: a credit provider is compelled to give consumers 20 working days notice of its intention to negatively list them on the credit bureau.

"If credit providers did not follow the right procedures as stipulated in the regulations, the blacklisted consumer can dispute the blacklisting, which may be deemed invalid by results of investigation by dispute resolution bodies like the credit Ombud," Van Schalkwyk said.

Everyone's entitled to a free credit report from the credit bureau once a year, and it's a really good idea to take advantage of this.

If you find a negative listing you feel is unfair, you should bring this to the attention of the credit bureau in question.

If they fail to resolve the problem, you can contact the Credit Ombud's office on 0861 66 2837 for free help.

For general enquiries on credit matters, the office can be contacted via e-mail on ombud@creditombud.org.za

Gone are the days when developing countries were consigned to perpetual victim status. The latest research shows countries can choose to overcome poverty.It is a hard choice, involving everyone. It is not the path of least resistance. But it is possible.

One of the most authoritative examples is the International Growth and Development Commission's Growth Report which studied the 13 so-called miracle countries that have sustained high growth (7% or more) for 25 years or longer.

The commission found fast, sustained growth is possible for developing countries, as long as their leaders are committed to achieving it and taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the global economy. This is a welcome departure from the victinihood that has often characterised discussions of poverty in Africa.

It is encouraging these ideas are beginning to take root in national government. President Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan have begun talking of achieving the growth target of 7%. Also encouraging is the emerging consensus that accelerating economic growth is a key condition if we are to win the war on poverty

Here are some of the key things we must do if we are to increase growth.

-Defend the Constitution. Without a working Constitution that limits power abuse, we are destined to embark on the same path as the many failed states on our continent. States fail because they are turned into a vehicle for the enrichment of the cronies at the top instead of the development of all citizens. 

-Stop corruption. It's not as difficult as the ANC makes out. It is often a question of political will more than policy~ If the ANC was serious about rooting out corruption, it would shut down its funding arm, Chancellor House, it would end cadre deployment, order a judicial commission of inquiry into the arms deal and it would not have made Jacob Zuma its presidential candidate until he had stood trial.

-Prioritise education. A Newsweek magazine survey this month ranked our education system 97th out of the 100 countries surveyed. We were ranked lower than countries like Mozambique - countries that are less wealthy, that spend less on education and where citizens enjoy fewer constitutional rights than ours. The answer does not lie in throwing more money at education. It lies in what Ann Bernstein calls 'militant interventioif' As she notes: "Leadership, incentives for performance and penalties for lack of delivery, effective support for teachers can increase the scores of poor learners 20% to 30% within three to five years.?" We agree. This is why, in the Western Cape we are introducing performance contracts to hold principals and deputy principals accountable for learner outcomes.

-Review the soda! welfare system. It is a great irony that SA is the most redistributive state in the developing world but also one of the most unequal. And the more we redistribute through the fiscus, the more we seem to entrench this inequality. The problem is, the poor have been locked into poverty. Instead of tackling the root of the problem, it merely treats the symptoms. Mamphela Ramphele made the following observations about this approach in the Sunday Times. She said: "(It) is turning citizens who should be holding government accountable into supplicants and recipients of government hand-outs."

The resultant dependency syndrome fosters a vicious cycle of dependence by political elites on the dependency of the electorate:     "I Instill a culture of personal responsibility The extreme abuse of rights under apartheid led to the pendulum swinging the other way. We have now emphasised rights to the exclusion of another crucial concept on which democracy and progress depend: the ethos of personal responsibility" We must get the balance right.

The lack of personal responsibility contributes to some of the greatest social problems we face. Social pathologies are complex, but I think we must agree promoting a culture of personal responsibility is essential to addressing all these things.

-Ensure sound macro-economic fundamentals If we are to succeed in growing our economy, we need to manage it properly. And this means ensuring that we have the macro-economic fundamentals in place: low inflation and a well-managed fiscus.

-Embark on an aggressive jobcreation strategy Nearly five and a half million South Africans of working age are unemployed. Their hopes of finding work are dashed by the inflexible labour regime. The unions are hell-bent on preventing a 'two-tier' labour system which would effectively open the door to a mass based 'apprenticeship scheme' and enable first-time workers to enter the economy and gain the necessary skills and experience. This would require a more flexible working environment (with respect to minimum wages and other bureaucratic procedures) as long as the safety of workers was not compromised.

These first-time job seekers are locked out of the economy by the inflexibility some unions are determined to retain.

How can we do this?

We need to start by changing the way we think about jobs. Earning a low starting wage is better than remaining permanently unemployed. As experience in high-growth economies shows, the economic growth that comes from lowering the cost of hiring eventually enables wages to rise, so equilibrium is reached.

-Voters must exercise their right to change their mind Just because poverty has defined Africa?s recent past, does not mean poverty must determine our future.

Poverty can be avoided. It is the result of bad or self-interested policy choices - decisions that can be reversed if politicians summon the will to do so.

Ultimately, it is they who will decide whether we beat poverty or not.
Helen Zille is the leader of the DA.

HELEN ZILLE

When one of her daughters died, Elizabeth Thame from Tantyi offered to look after one grandchild while her other daughter took care of the other two.

But Thame, who is trying to raise her grandchild on a R250 child support grant, says she was discouraged from applying for the R710 foster child grant she qualifies for.

Her daughter, who applied for a grant in January and is still waiting, is an example of why  grandmothers in Grahamstown are giving up on getting what is owed to them.

Simply put, many  grandmothers who are entitled to R710 grants are settling for the R250 allocated to single unemployed parents because it is easier to obtain.

Applying for the foster child grant is a very lengthy process and requires many documents, including the deceased parent’s death certificate, proof that foster child is attending school, and a court order.

According to Notheko Mpashu, a social worker at the Department of Social Development (DSD), there is a backlog at the department because of the high application rate.

She says that most people eventually receive the grant but that the process is lengthy. The DSD must do an on-site assessment, take a report to the Magistrate’s Court and help applicants to get a court order.

Then is it finally possible to apply for the grant from the South African social security Agency (Sassa). Sassa spokesperson Luzuko Qina says the agency registers an average of 40 foster care grant applications every day.

But Qina says there is no backlog because once all necessary documents are in place the claims are processed immediately.
The turnaround time for Grahamstown, for example, is two hours, he says. However, the challenge for many grandmothers starts before even applying for the grant.

Getting co-operation from family members is a problem for Nonzima Vasi from Hlalani, who is raising her 11-year-old granddaughter.
According to Vasi, her deceased daughter-in-law’s family refuse to go to the police station for an affidavit to prove the mother’s death.
Vasi claims her in-laws are not assisting her because they also want the grant. Nomathemba Kobunzi from Etembeni township is struggling to get proof that her 13-year-old grandson goes to DD Siwisa Primary School.

She says he skips school regularly because he gets teased for still being in Grade 2. Without proof of school enrolment she also has to make do with the R250  grant.

Jabez Aids Health Centre liaises with the DSD on behalf of families affected by HIV/Aids whose grant  applications have been rejected.
The centre's manager, Goodwill Featherstone, is worried that some foster parents do not even know about the R710 grant.

Featherstone also says that careful investigation is  needed because “a lot of people”, including grandmothers, try to abuse the system.
“They lie to us to get something. People are desperate because they are hungry. They have nothing,” he says.

What you need to apply for a foster care grant
• A court order to say that you are eligible for a foster child grant
• Proof of address
• If you are married, the marriage certificate
• The foster child’s birth certificate or ID document
• Proof that the foster child is in school
• The deceased parent’s death certificate