Don’t suffer in silence, be an empowered consumer

There could not have been a more befitting theme for a Malawian consumer than ‘Be an empowered consumer, know your rights and obligations’ for the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day on March 15.

Except for a handful, many Malawians generally tend to suffer in silence. They do not fight for their rights even where they are being trampled on.

Reflecting on this year’s theme, I went down the memory lane to the early or mid 2000s when the nation was faced with prolonged power outages which have now become a part of life anyway and the commercial city, Blantyre, also had water shortages.

I recalled renowned consumer rights activist John Kapito rallying residents to join him in a march to Blantyre Water Board (BWB) and Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) offices to present petitions and demand uninterrupted services. Come the day of the peaceful march, Kapito was only joined by a couple of staff from his office at the Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) alongside activist Rafiq Hajat, may his soul continue resting in eternal peace. In fact, journalists outnumbered the protesters who just opted to board a Toyota Venture to the two sites. Days later, service improved and Escom, among others, was forced to change its tagline from ‘Power all day, everyday’ to ‘Towards power all day’ as Kapito argued the former was misleading advertising.

World Consumer Rights Day traces its origins to March 15 1962 when President John F. Kennedy of the United States of America addressed the US Congress and formally raised the issue of consumer rights. Themes for the day revolve around critical areas affecting consumers today.

The day provides Consumers International and its affiliates worldwide an opportunity to raise awareness about consumer rights and needs.

During his address, President Kennedy said: “Consumers include us all. They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only important group… whose views are often not heard.”

Cama alongside the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) work tirelessly to promote, protect and defend the rights of consumers.

The consumer keeps businesses going, yet the consumer is the most marginalised. Consumers face unfair practices from service providers and businesses. These include exclusion of liability for defective goods with such notices as ‘goods once purchased are not returnable’ or for buses ‘katundu akatayika sitilipira [we don’t pay for lost luggage]’. Misrepresentation of products or misleading advertising is also a misconduct by businesses. Here, many are culprits, including fuel service stations which put notices claiming to operate “24 hours” when they close at 8pm or 10pm. There are also shops that do not display prices and do not issue receipts.

In the past, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) in partnership with local councils and Cama used to “raid” businesses, both retail and manufacturers, checking adherence to standards, expiry dates and product composition. MBS would also inspect the weight and measurement equipment in market places to ensure that consumers pay for the right quantities of goods purchased. Institutions such as MBS are critical in a country where poor consumers are taken for granted by powerful corporations. Keep up the good work.

To the consumer, CFTC is equally doing a great job to protect their rights by taking to task errant businesses engaging in unfair trading practices such as “deceptive” conduct.

Proper monitoring and inspection systems are critical to ensuring that everyone is accountable for their actions on the market.

Let me take this opportunity to commend consumers who report perceived raw deals to CFTC and other authorities. That is the way to go as suffering in silence does not help anyone. Consumers should be vigilant and demand the best beyond the World Consumer Rights Day.

Do not be intimidated. n