By Margaret Kamba 

Consumer rights are a global phenomenon that, according to a baseline knowledge survey done by the Consumer Protection Commission, is almost a nonentity in Zimbabwe. 

In other words, consumers in Zimbabwe have little or knowledge of their rights. Hence, they are taken advantage of.

These rights include a right to choose, a right to health and safety, a right to information, to a fair contractual agreement, to be heard and have representation and a right to education and awareness.

It is clear that over the years, the country was operating without laws to protect consumers who even up to now must be exposed to goods past their expiration date and disclaimer clauses just to mention a few.

In an interview with the ZANU PF Information and Publicity Department, the Consumer Protection Commission explained its role and measures it is implementing to educate the public of their rights.

Prof. Zororo Muranda, the Chief Executive Officer said the Commission came about because His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa heard the cry of the consumers.

"The Consumer Protection Commission is a public entity which was established by the government through the Consumer Protection Act in December 2019. The mandate of the Commission is to protect consumers of goods and services from unfair business practices," Prof. Muranda said.

"This is one of the best pieces of legislation that the Second Republic introduced soon after it was inaugurated. The Act has a section on consumer protection in terms of their rights which come in different forms."

The Commission's Research and Public Affairs Manager Cde Kudakwashe Mudereri said the organization is seized with educating consumers about their rights.

"Before 2019 the country was operating without any law and I want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Second Republic for coming up with this Consumer Protection Act because consumers were being shortchanged in the market," Cde Mudereri said.

"Consumer Council of Zimbabwe was playing an advocacy role, but there was no backing of the law. The Private Voluntary Organisation was assisting the government in educating consumers about their rights, but consumers complained that they had no teeth in terms of enforcing those rights.

"So government after realizing that there was a gap, they then enacted the Consumer Protection Act Chapter 14:44. It is this Act that gave birth to the Consumer Protection Commission established through this Act of Parliament."

Cde Mudereri took time to explain the new role that will be played by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe.

"Section 55 of the Consumer Protection Act will have the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe designated as a consumer protection organization for the purposes of carrying out conciliation and arbitration. As a Commission we are in the process of registering the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe so that it now starts to conduct this work and some other work because the work that we are talking about is too huge for one organization.

"In line with international best practices, the Commission is supposed to be assisted in its work through consumer protection organizations and advocacy groups."

In our next issue, we will delve into programmes that the Commission is working on yo ensure that the Zimbabwean consumer is well aware of the rights they have.