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Benchtest Newsletter
Issued February 2023
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In this newsletter
Benchtest 01.2023 – What is a service worth to you? Insurance policies and the ITA and more...
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Jump to...
Important notes & reminders
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NAMFISA levies
- Funds with February 2023 year-ends must submit their 2nd levy returns and payments by 24 March 2023;
- Funds with August 2023 year-ends must submit their 1st levy returns and payments by 24 March 2023;
- and funds with March 2022 year-ends must submit their final levy returns and payments by 31 March 2023.
Repo rate increases once again
The Bank of Namibia announced an increase in the repo rate from 6.75% to 7%. The interest rate on funds’ direct loans will increase to 11% effective 1 March 2023. Loan repayments must be adjusted accordingly
Registered service providers
Certain pension fund service providers must register with NAMFISA and report to NAMFISA. Download a list of service providers registered as of June 2022, here... |
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Retirement calculator
Use our web-based retirement and risk shortfall calculator for your personal retirement planning. Find it here...
If you need help with your financial planning, get in touch with
- Annemarie Nel (tel 061-446 073)
- Christina Linge (061-446 6075)
Toolbox for trustees
RFS provides comprehensive support for trustees. Find a list of download documents to assist with governance and management of private funds, registered as of June 2022, here...
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Newsletter
In this newsletter, we address the following topics:
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In 'Tilman Friedrich's industry forum' we present...
- Monthly review of portfolio performance – 31 January 2023
- The Default Portfolio is well-positioned for future political developments?
- What is service worth to you (part 2)?
- Insurance policies and the Income Tax Act
In Compliments, read...
- A compliment from a pension fund member
In 'News from RFS', read about...
- Long service awards complement our business philosophy
- RFS sponsors musical equipment for school
- RFS sponsors Rehoboth Mommies in Need
- Important circulars issued by RFS
In 'News from NAMFISA', read about...
- More FIMA Standards issued by NAMFISA
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In 'Legal snippets,' read about...
- Trustee Moneys Protection Act to be replaced
- Death benefits payable to major beneficiaries paid to beneficiary fund
In 'Snippets for the pension funds industry,' read about...
- Billionaire Bill Ackman’s investment rules
- An easy and affordable way for anyone to invest – even in global companies
In ‘Snippets of general interest', read about...
- Big inequality red herring in South Africa
- University fees – how much it costs to study in South Africa
And make a point of reading what our clients say about us in the ‘Compliments’ section. It should give you a good appreciation of who and what we are!
As always, your comment is welcome, so open a new mail and drop us a note!
Regards
Tilman Friedrich
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 Tilman Friedrich's industry forum
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Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance
to 31 January 2023
In January 2023, the average prudential balanced portfolio returned 5.5% (December 2022: -0.9%). The top performer is Namibia Coronation Balanced Plus Fund with 7.85%, while Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund with 3.1% takes the bottom spot. For the 3-months Namibia Coronation Balanced Plus Fund takes the top spot, outperforming the 'average' by roughly 1.99%. Hangala Prescient Absolute Balanced Fund underperformed the 'average' by 4.4% on the other end of the scale. Note that these returns are before (gross of) asset management fees. The Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 31 January 2023 provides a full review of portfolio performances and other insightful analyses. Download it here...
The Default Portfolio is well-positioned for future political developments
In this column of last month’s newsletter, I described the Ukraine conflict as the defining event for global markets and economies. Unless the US-led anti-Russia and anti-China alliance prevails in this conflict, the world, its economies, and its markets will look different from todays. We will have a multi-polar world not dominated by the US Dollar and the US financial system. There will be more customs and currency controls and less free global trade and flow of capital. As the result, countries will have to become more self-reliant, and people will experience more shortages in many areas. If the US-led alliance should prevail, we will have a much more dominant and autocratic US advancing its economic and financial interests above everything else. China will not be an economic factor anymore but will be harnessed to advance US interests. In the worst-case scenario, the nuclear powers will use their nuclear arms, which will cause massive disruption in every respect across the world. Under all scenarios, we will experience a lot of uncertainty and volatility. One will find it difficult to invest elsewhere but a home, and it may not be possible to repatriate one’s foreign investments
In such a scenario, the cautious structure of the Default portfolio should produce better returns than the average prudential balanced portfolio. It can still underperform the average prudential balanced portfolio, particularly when shares do well. So, will shares do well or continue doing poorly as they did since the beginning of last year? The reason shares have done poorly is that central banks started to drain liquidity from the financial system and increased their policy interest rates. An investor now earns interest on interest-bearing investments and sometimes even earns a positive real return after inflation. The investor can no longer borrow money cheaply to invest in shares and other assets, which drove up the price of these assets until the end of 2021. Supply chain disruptions resulting from COVID lockdowns and a drastic increase in energy prices because of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, paired with a strong consumer demand recovery after the lifting of COVID lockdowns, led to a rapid increase in inflation, forcing the Fed, the ECB, and other central banks to unwind their super-accommodative monetary policy. The Monthly Review of Portfolio Performance to 31 January 2023 also reflects the editor’s views on current developments and their impact on investment markets. Download it here...
What is a service worth to you? (Part 2)
In our previous newsletter, we posed this question and commented on, what we believe to be a distorted focus on the cost of services in the retirement fund industry.
Our service philosophy is to be sensitive to the needs of our clients, first and foremost. In accordance with good corporate governance principles, we believe it is essential that retirement funds place emphasis on independence between their service providers (e.g., administrator, consultant, actuary, insurer, investment manager) to ensure that adequate ‘checks and balances’ are in place throughout.
Often, this produces higher aggregate costs for a fund than placing all services with a single service provider. However, what value do you place on improved governance and a significantly reduced risk? In the absence of such independence, trustees are exposed to legal sanction in the event of things going wrong or member expectations not being met. Our philosophy is to focus on the area where we believe to offer a superior package, namely day-to-day fund management.
When appointing different service providers, however, trustees are well advised to ensure that compatibility exists between them so that they are not continually required to arbitrate or to fear that their fund will be disadvantaged through intense competition between its service providers.
We also believe that ongoing administration services require broadly based management experience, in-depth knowledge of administration, finances and accounting aspects, pension, tax, and related laws, and these are best provided on a ‘retainer’ basis (i.e. agreed range of services on an on-going basis for an agreed fee). Although fund management costs can be a factor, they are relatively ‘immaterial’ in relation to asset management costs and reassurance premiums. They should be viewed in the context of the level of experience, resources, skill, and qualification employed. Typically, inferior fund management becomes evident only after many years, when it is too late, and the ‘wheels have come off’. Short-term cost advantages can, in this manner, prove to be very expensive in the long term.
Trustees can thus rest assured that an exceptionally high level of expertise will be always applied to the business of their fund. Trustees who approach their fiduciary responsibilities towards their fund without proper regard to the requirements of the Income Tax Act, the Pension Funds Act, the rules of their own funds, and other peripheral statutes will experience our services as frustrating at times. We shall protect the interests of the Fund, its members, and the trustees without compromise, thereby living up to our credo to provide ‘rock solid administration that lets you (the trustee) sleep in peace’!
How much do you think you can afford to pay for this additional assurance or ‘peace of mind’? Alternatively, can you afford to shoulder the increased risks your fund may shoulder for a lower fee on offer?
Insurance policies and the Income Tax Act
As reported in last month’s newsletter, the Income Tax Act was amended by Act 13 of 2022, effective 30 December 2022. Through this amendment, the aggregate tax-deductible annual contribution to retirement funds and certain insurance policies (children’s education policy; life, disability, or severe illness policy) was increased to N$ 150,000. It also deleted section 17(1)(w)(i).
Section 17(1)(w)(i) was deleted probably for being superfluous, confusing and stating the obvious. It stated that if an employer takes out a group life policy but adds its premiums to the employee’s taxable income (as a fringe benefit), the employer cannot deduct this premium, which is obvious.
However, if the employer adds the premium to the employee’s remuneration to compensate him for paying the premium, the employer can deduct it as remuneration. Section 17(2) would allow the employee to deduct the premium added to his remuneration as a part of the total of N$ 150,000 per year that an employee may now deduct. The policy must comply with the four requirements set out below, though.
Alternatively, the employer could carry the premium for insuring the life, disablement, or severe illness of an employee and deduct it as a general business expense, subject to –
- the employer (or the employee) owning the policy;
- the policy having no cash or surrender value before its maturity;
- the policy not being the property of another person, except if it has been ceded for debt to the other person;
- there not being a scheme obliging the employer to pay the proceeds to an employee, director, their estate, or their dependants.
After NAMFISA started to refuse registration of rules and rule amendments if they provide insured benefits subject to the conditions contained in the relevant insurance policy, several funds removed insured benefits from their fund rules. The employer then took over the insurance policies. Section 17(1)(w) allows the employer to deduct the insurance premiums if the policy meets the above four requirements.
In practice, where employers own a life insurance policy, and the employee passes away, the employment contract or conditions of employment would oblige the employer to pay the benefit to the survivors of the deceased employee. Where this is the case, requirement 4 prohibits the employer to deduct the premium. The insurance proceeds would then be an income of a capital nature not taxable in the hands of the employer. The payment of the proceeds to the deceased’s survivors would most likely be gross income and taxable in the survivors’ hands under subsection (b) or (c) of the definition of ‘gross income’ and can be claimed as an expense by the employer.
If there is no contractual obligation on the employer to pay the proceeds to the survivors, the employer may deduct the premium. Still, the policy proceeds constitute gross income and are taxable in the employer’s hands. Voluntary payment of the proceeds to the survivors would not be tax deductible by the employer and would not be taxable in the hands of the survivors.
Tilman Friedrich is a chartered accountant and a Namibian Certified Financial Planner® practitioner, specialising in the pensions field. He is co-founder, shareholder, and Chairman of the RFS Board and retired chairperson, and now a trustee of the Benchmark Retirement Fund.
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 Compliment
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Compliment from a pension fund member
Dated 6 February 2023
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“Thank you all for the excellent service.
Where do I give you a badge or rate you?” |
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Read more comments from our clients here...
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Benchmark: a note from Günter Pfeifer
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Important circulars issued by the Fund
The Benchmark Retirement Fund did not issue any circulars since circular 202207 on changes to the Benchmark Default Portfolio. Clients are welcome to contact us if they require a copy of any circular.
Günter Pfeifer was the Principal Officer and a trustee of the Benchmark Retirement Fund for many years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Cum Laude). Günter completed his articles with Deloitte & Touche in Windhoek. He completed the De Beers ‘Program For Management Development’ at Gordon Institute for Business Science, and the Advanced Development Program at the London Business School. He was formerly Financial Manager of De Beers Marine.
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News from RFS
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Long service awards complement our business philosophy
RFS’ business is primarily about people. Whenever a fund changes its administrator, it loses fund information and knowledge. Similarly, every time the administrator loses a staff member, our clients lose corporate memory. As a small Namibian organisation, we cannot compete with large multinationals technology-wise because of the economies of scale, and sophistication global IT systems offer. We differentiate ourselves through excellent personal service and commitment to our clients, and IT systems that are more flexible, versatile and adaptable, and more appropriate for the Namibian environment. We are proud of our staff retention as we know that it is the key to our success!
Louis Theron, Associate Director: Support Services, celebrated his 15th anniversary on 1 February. We express our sincere gratitude to Louis for his loyalty and support over all these years and look forward to his continued dedication and commitment to the company, our clients, and our colleagues!
RFS sponsors musical equipment for school
“Music creates social cohesion, it speaks to all when words can fail, and wherever you go in the world, it is understood. Music is a universal gift, and its power to connect people is without question. It is an art form with human interaction at its center.” (author unknown)
In the endeavour to share the gift of music with learners, the music academy of the Karstveld Academy approached RFS for support, to which we acceded. Here are a few photos of the handover ceremony.
RFS sponsors Rehoboth Mommies in Need
When it was back to school time earlier this year, many children were not looking forward to this day as they don’t have school shoes or the proper clothing to attend school.
Jolene Diaz-Farmer, an RFS staff member, took the initiative to arrange RFS sponsorship for children who have outgrown their school shoes, grey pants, white shirts, and backpacks. She also organised a collection amongst our staff for this laudable cause, of school clothes their children had grown out of.
The Rehoboth Mayor Mrs. Amanda Groenewald extended her sincere appreciation and gratitude to RFS and each staff member for making a difference in the lives of so many children.
In the photos, Jolene, in the middle, handed over the donation by RFS and its staff to Mayor Groenewald, in the photos on the left and right.
Important circulars issued by RFS
RFS issued the following circular in Febuary. Clients are welcome to contact us if they require a copy of any circular.
- RFS Circular 2023.02-01 New standard fund forms.
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 News from NAMFISA
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More FIMA Standards issued by NAMFISA
NAMFISA sent out circular FIM/07/02/2023 to ‘its regulated industry’ [sic] with 68-page Government Gazette no 8026, containing new draft proposed standards under the FIMA. It invites the public and requires ‘its regulated industry’ to review the standards and submit comments (in the prescribed format!) by 8 March 2023. It contains the following standards:
GEN.S.10.21 (7 pages) – Treating consumers fairly; applies to all registered financial institutions and intermediaries;
CIS.S.4.6 (3 pages) - actions that may be taken by NAMFISA against a manager or person
connected with a foreign country pursuant to section 220(1); applies to a person connected with a foreign country and is operating or intends to operate a collective investment scheme;
GEN.S.10.2 (43 pages!) - fit and proper requirements for any person registered under the act, and for directors, members of a board, principal officers, other officers, trustees, custodians, auditors and valuators of financial institutions and financial intermediaries, and for any other person subject to the Act; applies to all persons required to be fit and proper under the Act;
[Comment: For the sake of an immediate appreciation of who will have to submit to the requirements of this standard, we provide the following definition of ‘officer’ in the FIMA:
- “officer”, in relation to -
- (a) a corporate body, means any natural person who is designated as an officer by the board of directors of that corporate body; and
- (b) any other juristic person or other unincorporated entity, means any natural person who is designated as an officer by the board, members or owners of the entity, and includes -
- (i) the members of the board, the principal officer, the person responsible
- for compliance and the person responsible for finance and investment; and
- (ii) any other natural person designated as an officer by NAMFISA by a written directive issued to the corporate body or another juristic person, or other unincorporated entity, or a group or class of natural persons designated as officers by NAMFISA by notice under subsection (4)(c); Act]
GEN.S.10.10 (13 pages) – outsourcing of functions and responsibilities by financial institutions and financial intermediaries; applies to every registered financial institution and intermediary.
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 Legal snippets
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Trustee Moneys Protection Act to be replaced
The Ministry of Justice circulated the Trust Administration Bill for comment. The Bill is to
- regulate the control and administration of trusts;
- regulate trust services providers and to provide for matters connected therewith;
- impose duties on trustees, accountants and auditors;
- specify matters that would disqualify a person from being appointed or continuing to act as trustee;
- provide for the removal of a trustee who becomes disqualified to continue to act as a trustee;
- specify information that must be kept by trustees in relation to basic information and beneficial ownership information in relation to trusts;
- require the Master to maintain a register containing information relating to basic information and beneficial ownership information of trusts, and providing for access to information regarding beneficial ownership;
- specify offences; and
- provide for incidental matters.
Once enacted, the Bill will replace the Trust Moneys Protection Act.
The draft Bill can be downloaded here…
The template for comments can be downloaded here…
Death benefits payable to major beneficiaries paid to beneficiary fund
Upon the death of its member, the board of the Old Mutual Superfund Provident Fund (“fund”) resolved to make payment to Fairheads Independent Beneficiary Fund (“beneficiary fund”), the benefits payable in respect of two of the deceased’s major sons, who were 20 years old at the time. Dissatisfied with the board’s decision pertaining to the mode of payment, the sons lodged a complaint with the Adjudicator requesting relief that the benefits be paid into their respective bank accounts.
The complainants submitted that the monthly income received from the beneficiary fund was insufficient to cover their daily expenses and was only enough to pay for rent payable to their father who was also their landlord. They submitted that together with their father they had engaged with the beneficiary fund for the termination of the trust held therein but achieved no success. In response to the complaint, the fund submitted that it had received submissions from the complainants’ older brother that indicated that the complainants intended to squander their benefits on luxury items such as cars and overseas holidays and that they were not mature enough to handle their own financial affairs. A special condition was attached to the payment to the beneficiary fund in terms of which the fund stipulated that neither the complainants nor their father were allowed to withdraw their capital until the complainants completed their schooling or reached the age of 23. The reason for the condition was mainly because the complainants were not deemed mature enough to handle their own financial affairs.
The fund stated that it had informed the complainants of its decision to safeguard their benefits in the beneficiary fund until they completed their schooling or reached the age of 23 years. In this regard, the complainants had indicated their desire to complete their schooling. The fund had also received submissions from the complainants’ father indicating that the complainants signed a lease to rent a cottage on his property and they were in arrears with their rental payments. Further, that failure to pay the arrear amount will result in summons being issued against them. He further stated that it was not up to the fund and beneficiary fund to pronounce on whether the complainants have completed their schooling and that the complainants completed grade 10, just like him, who runs a successful business.
The fund stated that when it informed the complainants’ father that it could not contact the complainants, the complainants’ father advised the fund that he is taking care of the administration of the beneficiaries as they do not have email addresses. The fund submitted that section 37C (2)(a)(iii) of the Act provides that payment by a registered fund for the benefit of a dependant shall be deemed to be a payment to such dependent if payment is made to a beneficiary fund. The beneficiary fund stated that in all their dealings with the complainants, the complainants themselves have never requested that the trust set up for them be terminated. All requests for termination of the trust have always been received from the complainants’ father. It provided a copy of the latest correspondence received from the complainant’s father which read as follows:
“...I would like for you to ignore their request for paying their outstanding R120 000.00 rental that is owed. They signed a contract with me that they will pay me 10% interest per month on outstanding money owed to me which amounts to R12 000.00 per month. There are 28 months left before they receive their trust so the interest will be R336 000.00 excluding the R120 000. I will never get revenue like that from any financial institution, so I am happy to wait! I also informed them that they cannot go for any courses or studies until they receive their pay out because I don’t think there will be much left after they pay me their R446 000.00.”
The beneficiary fund submitted that, according to its rules, clause (a) of the definition of “termination date” is the date that “a member requests his fund credit... unless ... the transferor entity concluded that the member is not able to properly manage the fund credit, in which case the termination date is extended until ... the board determines that the member is able to properly manage the fund credit”. It agreed with the fund that the complainants would not be able to properly manage their fund credit if paid to them as a lumpsum now. It stated that the requirements for termination have not been met and that it currently pays the complainants a monthly income which covers their rent (which they have indicated is paid to their father) and other basic requirements including clothing, toiletries and living expenses. Should the complainants further their studies, same will be paid from their fund credit held by it.
In determining the matter, the Adjudicator held that the preferred method of payment must be duly cognisant of a beneficiary’s best interests. There must also be a link between the preferred method of payment and the rationale behind such preferred payment. As a general principle, in instances where a major dependant’s benefit allocation will not be paid in a lump sum, written prior consent should be given. It appeared that the board of the fund simply relied on submissions received from the older brother. The board failed to conduct further interviews with independent individuals to corroborate those submissions. The board also failed to carry out its own independent investigations to probe the complainants’ living circumstances and assess their ability to manage lumpsum benefits.
In this case, there was no evidence to suggest that the complainants were mentally incapacitated nor had a curator been appointed to administer their financial affairs and the board, therefore, incorrectly relied upon the Adjudicator’s previous decision in Mahomed v Argus Provident Fund [2016] JOL 35406 (PFA). Accordingly, the fund’s decision on the mode of payment was set aside and it was ordered to conduct a proper investigation into the complainants’ ability to administer their own financial affairs and thereafter decide on the mode of payment.
Extract from the OPFA annual report.
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Snippets for the pension fund industry
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Billionaire Bill Ackman’s investment rules
“Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman has made billions by following a strict set of principles to decide where to invest his and his clients’ money.
Pershing Square Capital has around $15 billion in assets under management, with $12 billion in a publicly traded hedge fund.
Ackman’s hedge fund has comfortably outperformed the S&P 500 over the last two decades, which made him Wall Street royalty…
Bill Ackman is a well-known hedge fund manager and investor who has developed a set of investment rules that he follows in his investing strategy. Some of his key investment rules include:
- Invest in what you know: Ackman emphasizes the importance of having a deep understanding of the industries and companies in which you invest.
- Be patient: Ackman believes that good investments take time to play out and that investors should be prepared to hold their positions for the long term.
- Focus on the downside: Ackman focuses on identifying potential risks and downside scenarios in order to minimise the potential for loss.
- Be disciplined: Ackman believes that discipline and consistency are key to successful investing, and that investors should stick to their investment strategy, even when markets are volatile.
- Have a margin of safety: Ackman’s investment approach is built on the principle of having a margin of safety, which means investing in assets at a significant discount to their intrinsic value.
- Do extensive research: Ackman is known for his extensive research and due diligence on companies, he spends a lot of time understanding the business and industry in which the company operates.
- Don’t be afraid to go against the crowd: Ackman is not afraid to take positions that are contrarian and that may be out of favour with the market.These rules are aligned with Ackman’s investment principles – but more closely resemble Warren Buffett’s way of describing how to invest…”
Read the complete article in Daily Investor of 7 February 2023 here…
An easy and affordable way for anyone to invest – even in global companies
“…The availability of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) in South Africa has made it easy for anyone to become a global investor, or to enhance and diversify their existing investment portfolio across asset types and geographies.
“ETNs and ETFs (which together are known as Exchange Traded Products, or ETPs) are an incredibly efficient and user-friendly way for any investor to access a wide spectrum of investment assets from around the world,” Zwane explains, “but to derive the maximum benefit from these innovative investment solutions, you need to ensure that you fully understand what they are and how they work – so that you can make educated and informed investment decisions.”
Zwane explains that ETPs are essentially investment products that track the performance of one or more underlying security, financial instrument, or an index made up of many different instruments. So, when you invest in an ETP, you get exposure to the underlying share(s) that it tracks, without having to actually invest in those shares directly… Zwane points out that the way ETNs and ETFs are structured means they offer many benefits for investors. For one, they allow an investor in South Africa to invest in a product that tracks the performance of many of the world’s biggest and best listed shares, including the likes of Coca Cola, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Netflix, and many more. ETPs allow you to invest in these shares without having to pay the full price that they are listed for on their overseas stock exchanges. “If you wanted to invest directly in a leading global share, you would have to fork out hundreds, even thousands, of rand just for one share,” Zwane points out, “but with an FNB ETN or ETF, you can invest from as little as R10 and still expose your money to the performance those shares deliver.”
What’s more, when you invest in one of these ETPs, you get access to important geographic diversification of your investments, without having to use any of your foreign investment allowance, because your investment takes place locally, but provides international share exposure.
“Best of all, investing in an FNB ETN or ETF is extremely easy…”
Read the article in Cover of 31 January 2023 here…
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Snippets of general interest
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Big inequality red herring in South Africa
“Inequality is a widely used term by politicians and activists as an economic evil which has to be fought and conquered.
The ANC government, for example, lists inequality alongside unemployment and poverty as a triple threat to South Africa… To measure a country’s inequality, economists typically look at its Gini coefficient.
The Gini coefficient is a mathematical measure of wealth distribution across a country’s population. The higher the value, the more unequal the wealth distribution between the poorest and richest…
China’s economy saw incredible growth after it went through economic reforms in 1979, creating huge increases in productivity… While China experienced strong growth and people became richer, the country’s inequality also increased.
China’s Gini coefficient had a significant increase from 1990 to 2010, rising from 32 to 44… In China and South Korea, the average citizen was far wealthier after their economic expansion than prior to the expansion.
In 1990, 75% of the Chinese population still lived in rural areas in extreme poverty. In Korea, prior to 1987, the population lived under authoritarian rule and had very little income… Like South Korea before 1987, South Africa has a major unemployment problem, especially among young people.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the biggest source of South Africa’s inequality is “not because there are people who are earning too much or too little.”
“The biggest reason for inequality is because there are people earning, and there are people getting zero income – called the unemployed.”
The data from China and South Korea shows that the government should focus on economic growth rather than income inequality.
In fact, focusing on income inequality can be a big hindrance to economic growth as it is merely an inevitable byproduct of creating a wealthier nation.
Inequality should, therefore, be removed from the “triple threat” to South Africa. The only focus should be economic growth, which will address unemployment and poverty.”
Read the full article by Drikus Greyling in Daily Investor of 7 February 2023 here…
University fees – how much it costs to study in South Africa
“There are over 20 public universities in South Africa, and tuition fees vary depending on their policy, the type and the length of studies.
According to Times Higher Education’s latest ranking, 15 of these local universities are also listed among the world’s top tertiary institutions for 2023…
BusinessTech looked at the cost of a year’s study at universities around the country.
The fees apply to first-year studies for 2023 and only act as an approximation and exclude other fees such as textbooks, travel and residency.
The fees sourced include the following undergraduate degrees:
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom);
- Bachelor of Arts (BA);
- Bachelor of Science (BSc);
- Bachelor of Law (LLB, undergraduate);
- Bachelor of Science/Engineering (BEng).
Fees are typically charged per module needed to make up the credits of a given degree. Therefore, the fees represented below give a broader idea of the cost of a single year of study rather than a comprehensive overview.
A Bachelor of Science in Engineering is featured for institutions where no Bachelor of Engineering is offered.
Some universities calculate their fees per module, require student registration, or do not provide an estimated value for the degrees by the time of publication.
Read the full article by Staff Writer in Businesstech of 22 January 2023 here...
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 And finally...
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Great quotes have an incredible ability
to put things in perspective.
"Instruction does much, but encouragement everything." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Disclaimer
Whilst we have taken all reasonable measures to ensure that the results reflected herein are correct, Benchmark Retirement Fund and RFS Namibia (Pty) Ltd do not accept any liability for the accuracy of the information and no decision should be taken on the basis of the information contained herein before confirming the detail with the relevant portfolio manager.
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