Govt makes strides on consumer protection law

Melody Mashaire:Business Correspondent

Government has made significant progress towards the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act which will result in the establishment of a court and a Protection Commission, a senior Government official said.It is expected that the Consumer Protection Commission will co-ordinate and network consumer activities, promote fair business practices and protect consumers from unreasonable, unjust otherwise improper trade practices, deceptive, misleading, unfair and fraudulent conduct.

The Commission will also improve consumer awareness and encourage responsible, informed consumer choice and behaviour.

Addressing delegates at the customer service week breakfast meeting, Minister of State for the Harare Metropolitan Province Miriam Chikukwa said the enactment of the law will go a long way in improving service delivery.

“I am happy to note that significant efforts have been made towards the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act. This will be a huge milestone for the consumers and a boost for service delivery improvement.

“I applaud the strides which CCAZ and its partners have taken to conduct the National Customer Service Satisfaction Index report. We believe this will be key not only to the business but to the policy makers and investors,” said Minister Chikukwa.

The Commission is set to promote consumer confidence, empowerment and development of culture of consumer responsibility through individual and group education, vigilant advocacy and activism.

In addition the Consumer Court will be a special court for the purpose of enforcing rights and serve as a court of record.

Contact Centre Association of Zimbabwe chairman Herbert Nklala said consumers should be aware of their rights and should not accept mediocre services.

“We would like to have regulation to protect customers but we believe that every manufacturer, every supplier, every provider of a service does not need a law to protect the customer.

“What the law helps is that every supplier should actually protect the customers but also customers themselves should be aware of their rights and they should not take mediocre service,” said Mr Nkala.