Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Features Reporter
AFTER paying US$2 for a large box of fresh potato chips, *Mrs Nobuhle Ndlovu feels cheated and is left wondering if it was worth her hard-earned money. Three-quarters of the chips in the box looked burnt or like they were cut from rotten potatoes.
Sitting at the City Hall benches, her 10-year-old daughter, hungry and tired after participating in sports at school, looks inquisitively at her mother as she seeks approval on whether to eat the chips or not.
Considering that it would take them about 45 minutes to get home and left with no other choice, she selects those that she thinks her daughter can eat and the rest she has to throw away.
Such is just a tip of the iceberg of some nasty experiences that the consuming public is exposed to often times as they struggle to get value for their money in a situation that has blatant disregard for the rights and welfare of the consumers.
Driven by the desire for economic gain and profiteering, some businesses boldly put it out that there are no returns or refunds for goods and services they offer, thereby blatantly disregarding the health and safety, economic, social and cultural, even physical and psychological benefits of the consumer.
Among other key challenges faced by consumers, these include ill-treatment by shops attendants, marginalisation, tampered scales that distort the quantity of products, price marking of goods that tell a different story to the ones in the system and proper exchange rate not being followed with a way higher margin to the official bank rate.
With varied efforts and measures being taken by the Government, unscrupulous businesspeople that have over the years engaged in multi-tier pricing, charging unfair prices or displaying unpriced goods will now face prosecution as new laws are in the pipeline to penalise them.
In an interview, Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) chairman Dr Mthokozisi Tafadzwa Nkosi said consumers have suffered enough at the hands of unscrupulous service providers.
He said dirty rewards in the form of undeserved profiteering are not sustainable.
“It’s time for businesses to take stock of their behaviour and do the right thing. We expect businesses to trade ethically and legally at all times. The Commission is there to ensure that vulnerable consumers get the protection they deserve.”
Dr Nkosi said the Commission last year carried out a country-wide tour consulting the public and stakeholders on regulations designed to ensure that service providers comply with the new law, the Consumer Protection Policy and Legislation.
“The process was done and through our parent, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, we have since sent them to the Attorney-General’s office. We will advise on progress in due course,” said Dr Nkosi.
He said the Consumer Protection Policy and Legislation will augment the Consumer Protection Act and was being developed for the purposes of safeguarding consumers against unfair practices in the market place.
Of late, several consumers have indicated that they are not only being short-changed by providers of goods and services, but also exposed to health risks, among others. In some cases, products have gone beyond expiry dates, but they are still on the shelves.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) Matabeleland region manager Mr Comfort Muchekeza said among consumers’ rights violated on the market, these include non-disclosure of prices of goods and services, false labelling of products and rampant use of disclaimer clauses.
“We have also seen sale of substandard and poor quality products, some retail shops and wholesalers are not accepting local currency for transacting, while some shops were not giving change for smaller denominations, instead trinkets are given,” said Mr Muchekeza.
He said there were instances where customers have been turned away for torn and worn-out both local and foreign currency notes, against Government’s directives that they should be accepted.
Mr Muchekeza said there were no complaints redress systems in place for most service providers, while there were major pricing disparities as consumers are charged more when transacting in local currency.
“In some supermarkets, retailers, wholesalers and even pharmacies among others, products and services are indexed on the informal market rates. We also witness the sale of expired products in the market.”
He said under the CPC Act, the goal will be to penalise errant businesses.
“Section 26 on price disclosure level 5 states that there will be fines or imprisonment of three months or both. Section 42 on use of disclaimer clauses level 12 says the penalty will be fines or five years’ imprisonment or both. While, section 33 on right to seek redress in courts, there shall be alternate dispute resolution by the CPC or arbitration.”
Mr Muchekeza said the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act Chapter 14.44 in December 2019 was a milestone in protecting consumers against unfair, unethical business practices, levelling the playing field that over decades had left consumers at the mercy of businesses that were ripping them off owing to lack of comprehensive legislation to protect them.
Non-governmental consumer rights organisation, National Consumer Rights Association (Nacora)’s advocacy and campaigns adviser, Mr Effie Ncube said despite the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, consumers are facing a myriad of challenges.
“These include continuously rising prices, expired goods, and shortage of quality products. This is caused by, among other things, rising cost of doing business, speculative pricing, profiteering, supply monopoly and anti-competitive behaviour. There is therefore, an abiding need for measures to protect consumers from unethical business practices that result in poor quality commodities being sold at exorbitant prices.”
Mr Ncube said the major challenge was enforcement. While new measures are needed, the biggest problem has been lethargic enforcement of existing provisions. He said businesses that violate consumer rights and flout protective standards are either ignored or fined insignificant amounts that frankly amount to nothing, while in other instances the businesses just pay a bribe.
This publication took a look into the regulations that are soon to be gazetted and lead to the operationalisation of the Consumer Protection Act, which outlined prohibited business conduct and gave specific offences and the applicable penalty levels.
Some of the offences covered by the regulations include deceptive acts or misrepresentation.
An example being a specific price advantage of a consumer product exists when in fact it is not there (Was $10. Now $7). A consumer product or service has the sponsorship, approval, performance, characteristics, ingredients, accessories, uses, or benefits it does not have.
The regulation will also prohibit conducts such as deceptive packaging, changing prices at the till-point, accepting payment with no intention to supply; “the bus will take you to this destination when they know they will not reach it”.
Just to name a few, businesses will also be penalised for failure to honour agreements (guarantee) as they unreasonably blame the consumer for a defective product, unreasonable/poor service, selling expired goods and promotion on expired goods without informing the consumer among others.
Meanwhile, globally, according to the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) with over 200 member organisations in 100 countries, the Consumers International is building a powerful international movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere.
Consumers International is the membership organisation for consumer groups around the world and they believe in a world where everyone has access to safe and sustainable products and services.
*Not her real name
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