Mangaliso Ndlovu
The 2026 Annual Consumer Conference is a vital platform for advancing Zimbabwe’s consumer protection agenda.
This year’s conference came at a time when the proliferation of counterfeit and unsafe products remains a pressing concern, undermining consumer confidence, business integrity and national economic performance.
The scale of the counterfeit and illicit goods problem is a growing global concern.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for approximately US$467 billion in global trade in 2021, equivalent to 2,3 percent of total global imports.
The challenge has also expanded beyond clothing, footwear and other consumer goods to hazardous counterfeit products such as medicines, cosmetics, food, toys and automotive components, posing serious risks to consumer health and safety.
In Zimbabwe, this challenge is particularly pronounced at the retail level, with industry estimating annual losses of approximately US$1,2 billion through counterfeit and illicit products.
The scale of the challenge is further reflected in the work of the Consumer Protection Commission, which in 2025 inspected 54 443 businesses, removed 86 962 non-compliant products from the market and secured 5 656 prosecutions.
Of particular concern was the prevalence of counterfeit automotive products, including approximately 593 boxes, equivalent to 16 849 units, of fake brake fluid.
These figures are more than statistics; they speak to the real risks that counterfeit and unsafe products pose to consumers, legitimate businesses and the integrity of our markets.
National response
What we are confronting, therefore, is no longer simply an issue of intellectual property or commercial losses.
It is a consumer protection, public health and economic governance concern that requires a coordinated and sustained national response.
Building on the progress we are making, through inspections and prosecutions, the ministry will continue to enforce the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Trade Measures Act through the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) and the Trade Measures Department.
Our enforcement efforts will continue to focus on critical areas such as product quality, accurate labelling, ensuring businesses conform to correct weights and measures, counterfeit products and other practices that undermine consumer rights and market confidence. Under a whole-of-Government approach, we will continue to work closely and collectively with all sector regulators and various MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) and other stakeholders to intensify the fight against counterfeits.
To further strengthen this momentum, the Government has capacitated the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) through the Standards Development Fund (SDF).
This support is intended to enhance the commission’s capacity to deliver more effective consumer protection and to ensure that consumer rights are safeguarded in practical, everyday transactions.
But strengthening the institution is only one part of the equation.
We must ensure that this capacity translates into stronger action on the ground and a more visible presence in the everyday lives of consumers.
The CPC must, therefore, continue to strengthen its ability to inform, investigate, enforce and provide redress, while ensuring that businesses understand and uphold their obligations.
This is particularly important because the relationship between a consumer and a business is not always an equal one.
In many instances, the business has greater information, resources and bargaining power, while the consumer is in the weaker position.
Consumer protection, therefore, plays an important role in restoring that balance.
Where a consumer is disadvantaged, misled or exposed to an unsafe product, there must be an institution capable of listening, investigating and taking appropriate action.
That is the responsibility we have entrusted to the CPC.
Awareness
As the Government, we also want to build a culture of consumer awareness that begins early.
Consumer education must not only happen when a problem arises; it must become part of how we prepare our citizens to participate confidently in the economy.
We, therefore, need to strengthen consumer education and awareness, including exploring how consumer rights can be incorporated into our education system so that our children, from primary school onwards, grow up understanding their rights and responsibilities as consumers.
An informed consumer is better-placed to make sound choices, identify unsafe or substandard products and seek redress when necessary.
Government wants you to have confidence in the marketplace.
When you purchase food, medicines, cosmetics, household products, agricultural inputs or any other goods, you must have confidence that the products placed before you meet the required standards.
When you buy milk, for example, you should have confidence that the necessary systems are in place to ensure that those producing and selling that milk meet the required standards.
When you purchase a vehicle component or any other product that can affect your safety, you should not have to wonder whether you are putting yourself or your family at risk.
Where products are found to be unsafe or non-compliant, the necessary action must be taken promptly.
Going forward, the CPC must make effective use of the powers available to it, including the recall of products where necessary, while ensuring that manufacturers and suppliers take greater responsibility for the products they place on the market.
We cannot wait for widespread harm before we act.
Prevention, early detection, effective enforcement and accountability must become central to our consumer protection framework. Ultimately, this is the standard we are setting for consumer protection in Zimbabwe: an informed consumer, a responsible business, effective regulation and a marketplace in which safety and quality can be trusted.
We will continue to provide the policy direction and support necessary to strengthen this work and to ensure that consumer protection becomes a lived reality for every Zimbabwean.
Mangaliso Ndlovu is the Minister of Industry and Commerce. He was speaking at the 2026 Annual Consumer Conference in Gokwe, Midlands province.
