The advent of MNP (Mobile Number Portability), though it has not generated as much excitement as I would have hoped, has certainly got me thinking. Could it be that the future of service levels and offerings from South African banks lies in this idea.
The main reason why people stick with their banks is not because they are happy...or even satisfied....it is because it is such a hassle to switch banks. Switching banks means you change your account number...and you have to change your debit orders. Even those banks which offer 'switching services' still do not get it right...you will still have to spend a significant amount of time either on the phone or at a branch, telling them to reverse some debit order or cancel another....
Now, imagine if you could change your bank without having to change your account number...and without having to switch your debit orders?...Account Number Portability...
If this were to be made possible, would it not force the banks (particularly the big four) to really come up with better products?...would it not force them to cut out the fees they really should not be collecting in the first place?...would it not force them to work harder to deliver better service?
Just imagine...
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Not for the faint-hearted...
A while ago, there was a lot of hullabaloo over a sentence that had been passed on one Amina Lawal of Nigeria for bearing a child out of wedlock. The sentence passed by the Sharia court was that she was to be stoned to death.
Now, at the time (and until now), I have always maintained that if she were to be stoned to death, so be it…I was to be no part of the whole racket. Granted, stoning someone to death seemed a tad bit barbaric (if I may dare use the word), especially in given the more ‘civilised’ options such lethal injections, firing squads, electric chairs and hangings. Initially, I thought this is what the whole excitement was about. Then as I listened on, it appeared I was mistaken. The issues, as it turned out, were that she was being punished while the man ‘responsible’ went free…and of course, that having a child out of wedlock was not something punishable by death (and certainly not death by stoning!).
My initial thoughts were ‘Here we go again, the West telling us how we should run our affairs’…then this stance changed. While I empathised with Anwar (facing death by such painful means can not be pleasant), I still felt believed that if the court held that she was to die by stoning, then she should die by stoning. Why? Because she KNEW that this could happen if she got caught. She knew the possible consequences of her actions. Now, if she had been raped, that would have a different issue altogether, but she engaged in a pleasurable act, and she knew what the consequences would be if she were caught. She also knew that according to Sharia law, she would be punished and the man would go free. Is this fair? I think that is neither here nor there. It is the law.
Now I hear of this call for four months’ maternity leave for school pupils! Have we totally lost our minds?! I personally have a huge issue with allowing pregnant girls into school. I believe in the whole system of if you fall pregnant, you leave school immediately, and resume after you have had your child (or resume at a private college where no one will care whether you come for class or not). The South African society is largely a very literal one. Letting pupils who fall pregnant stay in school and collect child grants does not put any incentive on any young girls to not engage in sexual activities. The number of pregnant school girls is alarming! More than the pregnancies, I am more alarmed by the fact that these very young girls are engaging in unprotected sex in this day of HIV/AIDS! What, did someone just say ‘what if they make sure that their partners are tested’? Well, that only works to raise my anger levels! If these girls have the presence of mind to make sure that their partners are tested, why do they not have the presence of mind to not get pregnant?! I’ll tell you why…here is no material consequence to them falling pregnant. They will stay in school, and the government will give them my tax money as a reward for falling pregnant!
What are we doing to our young? We speak of them as though they are adults. They are NOT adults. They are children. We need to treat them as such. We need to make the best choices FOR THEM!
I can’t believe some of the situations we get ourselves into as societies!
Did I mention that one of the reasons why girls are kept in school is because nothing happens to the boys who are the counter-parties to the pregnancy? Back to my Amina Anwar story…the girls know that should they fall pregnant, the most impact is suffered by them…they carry the baby for nine months…they have to deal with all the physiological implications of being pregnant. The boys feel nothing. This is why the onus should be on the girl to make certain that should she choose to be sexually active, she takes every precaution to make sure that she does not get infected with any STIs and does not fall pregnant. We need to empower our girls to enable them to either say ‘no’ (best case scenario) or to tell their partners to wear condoms! Letting them stay in school and giving them grants does nothing to help them! We keep breeding a dysfunctional segment of society!
Yes, some girls do get pregnant because they were raped…but no one can ever convince me that the 72 000 girls who missed school last year because they were pregnant were all raped…or that the 14 744 girls under 18 who are registered to receive the child support grant were raped.
Time for tough love. Should my son impregnate a girl, he will indeed suffer my wrath…should my daughter fall pregnant while still in school, she will suffer more than just my wrath.
Boys and girls are not equal…and because of this simple fact, they can not be treated the same! Should my son find himself in this predicament, he will continue with school, but he will find part time work and support his new family. My daughter will leave her conventional school, and enrol in a private college…she and her baby’s father will pay for all their baby’s needs!
I hope my son is listening!!!...he better be listening!!!
Now, at the time (and until now), I have always maintained that if she were to be stoned to death, so be it…I was to be no part of the whole racket. Granted, stoning someone to death seemed a tad bit barbaric (if I may dare use the word), especially in given the more ‘civilised’ options such lethal injections, firing squads, electric chairs and hangings. Initially, I thought this is what the whole excitement was about. Then as I listened on, it appeared I was mistaken. The issues, as it turned out, were that she was being punished while the man ‘responsible’ went free…and of course, that having a child out of wedlock was not something punishable by death (and certainly not death by stoning!).
My initial thoughts were ‘Here we go again, the West telling us how we should run our affairs’…then this stance changed. While I empathised with Anwar (facing death by such painful means can not be pleasant), I still felt believed that if the court held that she was to die by stoning, then she should die by stoning. Why? Because she KNEW that this could happen if she got caught. She knew the possible consequences of her actions. Now, if she had been raped, that would have a different issue altogether, but she engaged in a pleasurable act, and she knew what the consequences would be if she were caught. She also knew that according to Sharia law, she would be punished and the man would go free. Is this fair? I think that is neither here nor there. It is the law.
Now I hear of this call for four months’ maternity leave for school pupils! Have we totally lost our minds?! I personally have a huge issue with allowing pregnant girls into school. I believe in the whole system of if you fall pregnant, you leave school immediately, and resume after you have had your child (or resume at a private college where no one will care whether you come for class or not). The South African society is largely a very literal one. Letting pupils who fall pregnant stay in school and collect child grants does not put any incentive on any young girls to not engage in sexual activities. The number of pregnant school girls is alarming! More than the pregnancies, I am more alarmed by the fact that these very young girls are engaging in unprotected sex in this day of HIV/AIDS! What, did someone just say ‘what if they make sure that their partners are tested’? Well, that only works to raise my anger levels! If these girls have the presence of mind to make sure that their partners are tested, why do they not have the presence of mind to not get pregnant?! I’ll tell you why…here is no material consequence to them falling pregnant. They will stay in school, and the government will give them my tax money as a reward for falling pregnant!
What are we doing to our young? We speak of them as though they are adults. They are NOT adults. They are children. We need to treat them as such. We need to make the best choices FOR THEM!
I can’t believe some of the situations we get ourselves into as societies!
Did I mention that one of the reasons why girls are kept in school is because nothing happens to the boys who are the counter-parties to the pregnancy? Back to my Amina Anwar story…the girls know that should they fall pregnant, the most impact is suffered by them…they carry the baby for nine months…they have to deal with all the physiological implications of being pregnant. The boys feel nothing. This is why the onus should be on the girl to make certain that should she choose to be sexually active, she takes every precaution to make sure that she does not get infected with any STIs and does not fall pregnant. We need to empower our girls to enable them to either say ‘no’ (best case scenario) or to tell their partners to wear condoms! Letting them stay in school and giving them grants does nothing to help them! We keep breeding a dysfunctional segment of society!
Yes, some girls do get pregnant because they were raped…but no one can ever convince me that the 72 000 girls who missed school last year because they were pregnant were all raped…or that the 14 744 girls under 18 who are registered to receive the child support grant were raped.
Time for tough love. Should my son impregnate a girl, he will indeed suffer my wrath…should my daughter fall pregnant while still in school, she will suffer more than just my wrath.
Boys and girls are not equal…and because of this simple fact, they can not be treated the same! Should my son find himself in this predicament, he will continue with school, but he will find part time work and support his new family. My daughter will leave her conventional school, and enrol in a private college…she and her baby’s father will pay for all their baby’s needs!
I hope my son is listening!!!...he better be listening!!!
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