Title:	E-PAYMENTS AND E-LEGISLATION IN NAMIBIA
Author(s):	Anicia Peters
ISBN:	978-972-8924-78-2
Editors:	Piet Kommers and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2009
Edition:	2
Keywords:	E-Legislation, E-Payment Systems, E-Commerce, E-Tourism.
Type:	Reflection Paper
First Page:	265
Last Page:	268
Language:	English
Cover:
Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	Namibia has attempted to create an enabling environment for electronic commerce ever since the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Heads of State signed such a declaration in 2001. A “Use of Electronic Transactions and Communications Bill” has subsequently been drafted in 2005, but it somehow failed to be tabled in Parliament to date. In a country that is considered as the important tourist destination amongst least developed countries, the absence of such an important piece of legislation certainly raises many questions. During September to November 2007, research was conducted in Namibia to investigate web-based online electronic payment (e-payment) solutions without manual intervention such as cards-not-present systems. The tourism sector had been selected as focus area because e-tourism was a fast growing industry, yet online e-payment solutions were conspicuously absent in Namibia. One of the key research questions was whether the regulatory framework was aiding or restraining e-payment solution adoption. The research methodology comprised survey based instruments coupled with on-site interviews amongst tourist operators, structured interviews and a panel discussion with key stakeholders. Findings pointed out how Namibian businesses resorted to taking risks in hosting e-payment solutions in different countries and then also opt to transact under those countries’ jurisdiction and its e-legislative instruments. Furthermore, the notion that functional equivalence between the cyber world versus the real world made the need for e-legislative instruments obsolete, was proven wrong by the research findings. Although stakeholders expressed many fears associated with e-payment solutions and the legal vacuum, 79% of tourism operators surveyed indicated that they would indeed make use of such e-payment solutions if offered. However, without e-legislation in place, most operators would refrain from declaring taxes for e-transactions and thereby deprive the Namibian Government of revenue.
	Go Back