Chronicle Editor
Senior Business Writer
THE Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has received praise from an international consumer watchdog institute for its outstanding efforts in advocating for consumer protection laws in the country, with its influence extending to regional countries.
Speaking during the official unveiling of the CCZ Academy on Friday in Harare, Stefan Hall, Deputy Director General of Consumers International, highlighted CCZ as a valuable consumer information hub and acknowledged its substantial contribution to the review of the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection.
“Your Lobbying and advocacy is exceptional, lobbying for consumer protection legislation is not easy if you are just an independent organisation but you managed nevertheless,” she said.
“Your consumer education also surpasses our expectations, you managed to educate masses within your country, and assist us in training African consumer organisations in Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria and you also trained at SADC level in South Africa and Namibia.
“At the regional level you are strengthening the COMESA. This shows you have a vast wealth of experience. At standardisation level, you are representing us at the ISO-COPOLCO level.
“We are confident that as CCZ you can impart the necessary knowledge to the suppliers of Zimbabwe and globally because this wealth of knowledge is critical.
“We are grateful that you have seen fit to share your knowledge because indeed you are a great source of consumer information. In addition, we are going to train Governments on the importance of supporting independent consumer organisations,” she added
CCZ is the main consumer watchdog in the country and is a registered welfare organisation in accordance with Zimbabwean laws. Its main activities are lobbying and advocacy, consumer education, complaints handling, consumer representation, and other functions as stipulated in the organisation’s Constitution Added to that, she said CCZ has also contributed immensely to the revision of the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection. She noted that businesses that are known to treat consumers fairly will gain a good reputation and become more sought after.
“This increases their profitability and competitiveness which will also lead to economic growth in the long run. Consumer protection policies, laws and regulations guarantee that businesses are kept in check.”
On the other hand she noted that consumers need to be able to obtain accurate, unbiased information about the products and services they purchase. This enables them to make the best choices based on their interests and prevents them from being mistreated or misled by businesses.
” Consumer protection policies, laws and regulations help increase consumer welfare by ensuring that businesses can be held accountable,” she said.
She added that consumer protection contributes to dynamic and effective markets for businesses to grow.
“Consumer demand drives innovation and economic development as businesses are required to maintain fair prices and good quality of their products and services. With the emergence of cross-border and digital trade, cooperation on consumer protection amongst jurisdictions becomes a necessity.”
In her remarks, CCZ chief executive director Mrs Rosemary Mpofu said the training of Business and Consumers is very critical as it is a process that gives credibility and order in the marketplace.
“To achieve this, we appreciate the Government of Zimbabwe through our parent Ministry, Ministry of Industry and Commerce for an enabling environment and unwavering support.”
The academy will target to train ordinary consumers, business operators, entrepreneurs, marketers, front office staff on international best practices on consumer protection, empowering them with knowledge, skills on how to conduct themselves in the marketplace.
Online Reporter