* The commemoration serves as a means to raise awareness about consumer rights and the challenges that consumers face
* As well as allowing them to demand for decent, quality goods and services at affordable prices
* And at the same time hold torchbearers accountable when such rights are abused
By Duncan Mlanjira
As Malawi joins the global village in commemoration of the 2024 World Consumer Rights Day Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA) appeals to consumers to be responsible citizens and always fight and demand for their consumer rights.
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Traditionally, the World Consumer Rights Day — the annual occasion for celebration and solidarity within the international consumer movement — falls on March 15 but for the 2024 it is today, March 14.
CAMA says the commemoration serves as a means to raise awareness about consumer rights and the challenges that consumers face as well as allowing them to demand for decent, quality goods and services at affordable prices and at the same time hold torchbearers accountable when such rights are abused.
CAMA further says the theme it has chosen for Malawi is; ‘The Effects of High Cost of Living on Consumers’ taking cognizance of the continue d rising food prices being experienced “which have a trigger effect on high inflation thereby exacerbating the high cost of living”.
“Most food prices, especially maize, which is a major staple food is scarce but sold at prices that are unaffordable to the majority of consumers,” CAMA’s Executive Director, John Kapito says in his public statement.
“This has negatively undermined the right to food. Consumers are concerned with such level of negligence by Government, which has a huge cost on their livelihoods and negatively affecting their right to food.
“We are therefore appealing to Government to ensure that the right to food is protected all times,” he says while appealing to the public to always fight and demand for their consumer rights.
John Kapito
He further touched on access health care services which consumers continue to experience as serious challenges due to shortages of drugs and medicines in almost all health facilities — coupled with poor infrastructure.
“This negatively affects the realization of the right to health care. We are appealing and holding Government accountable for its failure to respect the right to health care and we appeal to Government to ensure that our hospitals are adequately providing better healthcare.”
On the right to education, CAMA maintains that it is one among the rights where the citizenry “have witnessed serious abuses as the education sector is rampant with abuses with many children learning under trees and in dilapidated and unsafe buildings.”
This, Kapito said is also coupled with “inadequate teaching staff and learning materials thereby compromising the quality and access to education. Our appeal to Government authorities is to seriously improve the quality of education.”
Kapito also highlighted the challenges being faced in access to clean and portable water “where the majority of consumers continue to have no access to piped water, thereby relying on unsafe sources of water from rivers and swamps and those few that are able to get piped water can’t afford to pay the high water tariffs”.
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“It is not surprising, therefore, that many consumers continue dying from preventable diseases such as cholera and others as safe and clean water remains a challenge to many consumers.”
“Sharp price increases on basic goods and services continue hurting consumers, whose incomes have remained the lowest. We are appealing to Government to ensure that consumers, especially the poor women and children, are given special attention during a period like the this one by coming up with cushioning policies to alleviate the challenges they are currently facing.”
Kapito concluded by reminding the Government of its commitments made to the United Nations on the Guidelines for Consumer Protection, which were adopted and signed by all member states, including Malawi — saying: “We are therefore holding Government accountable for its failure to protect and promote consumer rights.
Meanwhile, Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) is celebrating the same World Consumer Rights Day with a main even today in Kasungu District under the theme; ‘Terms and Conditions, Traders’ Obligations’ and Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC).
CFTC has in the past few days amplifying the importance of knowing terms & conditions taking cognizance that most consumers are not conversant with this right.
In a statement on Tuesday, CFTC Executive Director, Lloyds Vincent Nkhoma said the theme was chosen having been motivated by the increasing number of complaints regarding unfair and unreasonable terms and conditions; lack of their disclosure by traders; and unilateral waver of the terms and conditions without the consent of consumer — thereby rendering the agreements void.
“Such conducts have been mostly rampant in contract farming, energy sector and financial services sector including insurance, banking and microfinance,” he said.
“As we celebrate this year’s World Consumer Rights Day, the Commission reminds consumers and traders that terms and conditions must be well understood by both parties and that they must be written in plain and understandable language.
“The Commission also reminds the general public that terms and conditions which are unfair, unconscionable, inequitable, oppressive or unreasonable to consumers have no effect on the contracts.”
Thus CFTC emphasises that in drafting the terms and conditions parties must be guided that the terms are clear and understandable; be drafted in the official language; and must be drafted in characters that are legible.
Where the contract is entered into locally, it must have a written translation into the national local language and must be read and explained to an illiterate, blind, mute and similarly disabled party in a language they understand.
CFTC conducted a number of activities prior to the main event aimed at raising awareness about consumer rights — specifically on terms and conditions, which included market inspections, consumer surgeries, road shows and radio programs.
Majority of consumers never take careful scrutiny of terms and conditions by service providers as they are written is very small print and very long winded.
They are never provided in local language but just English and by the time they complain of an unfair service, the service provider then prints the terms and conditions in large fonts.
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