Message from the Executive Director

neglected by both government and the business sector.
It is exactly 50 years ago when J. F. Kennedy, the former US president, issued the Declaration of Consumer Rights which acknowledges the importance of consumers having basic rights and the need for the marketplace to honour these rights.
In Zimbabwe, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has been on the forefront of championing consumer rights which encompass the following:
1.  Right to basic needs.
2. The right to information.
3. The right to choose products and services with an assurance of satisfactory.
4.  The right to safety.
5. The right to be heard.
6. The right to redress.
7. The right to consumer education.
8. The right to a healthy and sustainable environment.
But also attached to consumer rights are consumer responsibilities which consumers have an obligation to uphold as follows:
1. Action
2. Solidarity
3. Environmental awareness
4. Social concern
5. Critical awareness
In the last 10 years, and more so, the last two years, the CCZ has been advocating for Zimbabwe to develop and enact a Consumer Protection Law that protects consumers from the excesses of the market which among others have included;
l Poor quality products
l Price disparities of basic products
l Lack of security for consumers’ monies in banks, insurance and other financial institutions.
l Lack of consumer protection legislation in current banking laws especially depositors’ protection.
l High cost of utilities and other services.
The theme for this year’s World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD), “Our Money, Our Rights: Campaigning for real choice in financial services”, particularly focuses on financial services and has deliberately been so for the past three years owing to the global financial meltdown and the financial crises that gripped Zimbabwe’s  financial sector.
The past few years have been tumultuous for the local consumer and the CCZ would like to challenge any consumer who has not had any issue to raise with this sector especially in terms of the high cost of banking, access to funds especially during the times of high demand; i.e. Christmas and Easter holidays; poor service and customer care; lack of change; and the general lack of consumer confidence that their savings will be kept safe. 
As we celebrate WCRD, the challenge the CCZ puts out under the 2012 theme is firstly to Government, to expedite the enactment of the Consumer Protection Law.
This call is supported under Sadc as well and Zimbabwe is lagging behind other Sadc member states.
The enactment of this law will pull together all the elements of consumer protection that have been lacking, which consumers have been crying for. Secondly, consumers want to see the inclusion of explicit consumer protection guidelines in the Banking Act, as well as the strengthening of the Deposit Protection Board.
We do not want the repeat of 2006/7 scenario when consumers lost all their valuable deposits in banks, pensions and insurance companies.
Consumers want to receive “real” change — not sweets, matches or writing pens. Consumers want to retire knowing that their retirement is supported by monies that they paid to pensions and insurance.
The CCZ through its programmes of education and information dissemination wants to see all consumers fully cognisant of their rights and how to demand them.