Maravi

Mutati urges ZCC to form regulatory framework for consumer protection

Mutati urges ZCC to form regulatory framework for consumer protection
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Friday, January 23, 2009 6:56:22 AM

COMMERCE minister Felix Mutati has urged the Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) to come up with a regulatory framework for consumer protection by the end of this year.

And Mutati has announced a reduction of between 33 to 80 per cent in trade licence fees under the trading Act, a move he said would help to reduce the cost of doing business in the country.

Speaking when the European Union handed over eight operational vehicles worth K875 million to three statutory bodies under the commerce ministry for capacity building, Mutati said in the current scenario of private sector led economy, it was important that consumer interests were protected through a regulatory framework.

The statutory bodies that received the vehicles included Zambia Bureau of Standards, Zambia Competition Commission and the Zambia Weights and Measures Agency.

Mutati said the three statutory bodies were vital in promoting and regulating trade in the country and creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

“Beyond merely looking after the vehicles, there is need for my friends from these bodies to scale up efforts for improving service delivery,” Mutati said. “For my colleagues at ZCC, your strategic plan needs to come out this year. The critical legal framework for safeguarding interests of consumers needs to come out this year.”

And announcing the downward revision of the trade licence fees during a press briefing later on, Mutati urged the local authorities in the country to implement the revised licence fees in a professional manner.

Mutati also stressed that the government did not expect local authorities in the country to suffer revenue losses as the licenses prescribed under the trades licenses Act were not meant to collect revenue but to regulate conduct of trade.

He also announced that the reduced licence fees issued under the trade licenses Act cap 393 came into effect on December 22, 2008.

“It has come to our attention that some council officials are sometimes overzealous in collecting the fees and end up harassing people. This is simply unacceptable,” said Mutati. “It is my sincere hope that stakeholders will co-operate with the local authorities in the implementation of the statutory instrument.”

Labels: CONSUMERS, FELIX MUTATI, LICENSES, REGULATION, ZCC

posted by MrK @ 6:58 AM