The call was made during the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe Consumer Protection Bill consultation meetings here last week
“When we buy our goods, be it foodstuffs or furniture, we are subjected to the risk of purchasing Zhing Zhong (sub-standard) products. Some of them don’t even last a day and when you try to return them, the shop owners will tell you that they don’t allow refunds.
“We urge government to make sure that we are protected as consumers. SAZ should play a role in this issue, we want products that make it on the market to be certified for our own good,” said Joice Munei.
Her sentiments were shared by a cross-section of consumers at the meeting, who said SAZ should be given the authority to assess the quality of all imported and locally made products.
Manufacturers also weighed in by indicating that sub-standard imports, mostly from South Africa and China, posed a great threat to locally produced, high quality goods.
Mutare Bottling Company plant manager Erik Makarimayi said the SAZ should play an authoritative role in the quality of products on the market. “The beverages sector is suffering from cheap products from South Africa that are penetrating our market at the expense of locally made goods of standard quality, even in the dairy sector.
At the moment SAZ has no legal basis to force companies to submit their products for standard certification at the moment. It can only certify products on a voluntary basis.
“Our role is limited. We are not an authority and can’t storm into industries and supermarkets forcing them to take certification tests. We don’t have that legal footing. So we have been lobbying government to give us that authority and hopefully we will be successful,” said SAZ regional official Maxwell Nyanungo.
He urged consumers to use their discretion when selecting products from the shelves until certification becomes mandatory.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is working on the Import Bill that will certify the standard of products that are imported into the country.
CCZ has been holding consultative meetings around the country where consumers have been giving input on what they want to be included in the Bill.
It is set to meetings in Mutoko and Harare before rounding off with the National Consultative Forum on February 18 in the capital.
The director, Rosemary Siyachitema, said the new Consumer Protection Bill would look into all factors raised by consumers.
The aim of the exercise is the establishment of a Consumer Protection Commission comprising representatives from EMA, farmers associations, Competition and Tariff Commission, SAZ, Zimbabwe Editors Forum, legal practitioners, registered consumer organisations, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Post published in: Business