In his speech to the US Congress in 1962, former US President, John F. Kennedy had said “Consumers, by definition, include all of us. They are the largest economic group in the economy, affecting almost every public and private economic decision. But they are the only important group whose views are often not heard”.
It is an established fact that consumers are the largest stake in any country and have the power to make or break a brand. But unfortunately, in Pakistan, that is not the case.
Consumers are their biggest enemy themselves as they do not check or demand quality products and accept whatever is sold to them. This has turned us into a “Number Doe” nation and is even reflected in our behaviour, our sports and our system of governance.
Consumer Organizations around the world are very active and governments, the judiciary and the print media have encouraged and supported their activities, but that is not the case in Pakistan, due to which there are only 3 Consumer Protection Laws.
The first Consumer Protection Law was prepared and approved by the late Iqbal Haider, who was the Law Minister at that time, introduced the first Consumer Protection Law in Islamabad. The NWFP established its Consumer Protection Law in 1997, followed by Baluchistan in 2003. In 2005, Punjab followed suit.
Consumer courts were approved in 2006 and became functional in 2007. These courts are in 11 districts of Punjab and any person belonging to other districts may appeal to a nearby district court. If you have any complaint about a product, services or a company you may contact these courts. Just write an application, attach a copy of your CNIC and receipt and submit it to your District Consumer Court.
If the Consumer Court is satisfied that the product or service complained against suffers from any of the defects specified in the claim, it may direct the manufacturer or service provider to remove the defect, to replace the products with new products, to reimburse to the claimant the price of the product, to pay reasonable compensation and to award actual costs of the legal proceedings.
Consumer Protection Ordinance, Sindh, was prepared by a committee set up by Mohammed Mian Soomro, who was the Governor of Sindh at that time and was prepared after examining and studying consumer laws in the region and was signed by the present Governor on 12th August, 04. Unfortunately it has never been presented to the Sindh Assembly for ratification and has lapsed.
It was again revived in February this year and presented in the Sindh Assembly by Ms. Sharmila Faruqui for discussion and approval, but in spite of our best efforts, it has still not been taken up by the Sindh Assembly, because of which Sindh is still without a Consumer Protection Law.
All these laws clearly define the guidelines to protect consumer interests, but as the old saying goes, “laws are not enforced, they will never be obeyed”. As we lack the political will to enforce laws, like most of our other laws, even these consumer protection laws have been totally ignored, both by manufacturers and even the government itself and remain ineffective.
Due to the lack of consumer protection laws and the lack of government support, there are only 3 Consumer Organizations that are working on consumer issues, 2 are Islamabad based and 1 is in Karachi which is the Consumer Protection Council of Helpline Trust. All these 3 organizations have been actively engaged in promoting the rights of the consumers, but unfortunately it would seem that the government, the judiciary, the print media and even the consumers are NOT interested in protecting these rights.
Consumer Protection is serious business, especially in India, where the Indian government has given full support to the consumers in this respect. The Consumer Protection Act, India was introduced in 1986 and a separate Ministry for Consumer Affairs was established, which has been very pro active in protecting the interests of the consumers.
As such, there are over 2000 consumer courts that deal with approximately 500,000 consumer complaints annually, providing speedy justice and redress to consumer complaints within 30 days. This positive action by the government has had a tremendous impact in promoting quality standards and in protecting the interest of the consumers. Now there are over 5000 consumer protection organizations operating in India.
Due to the lack of Consumer Protection Laws and Enforcement of Existing Food and Drug Laws, Pakistan has become a dumping ground for semi expired food and beverages. As there are no accountability or legal checks, the gullible Citizens are being misled by glossy and misleading advertisements.
Callous manufacturers and wholesalers play havoc with the health and lives of the consumers. Some manufacturers even use non-food grade plastics and old, rusted tins for packing cooking oils.
Unscrupulous manufacturers refill empty bottles and tins of branded products to cheat the consumers and spurious and sub-standard products are being produced and marketed under popular brand names.
Some manufacturers are placing the PSQCA logo on their labels without actually registering their products with them and there are many brands of cooking oil and bottled water that have not even bothered to register their products, yet these products are being sold without fear of punishment.
According to the Sindh Ordinance, 2001, the existing pure food laws and even PSQCA laws, all the above offences are punishable by imprisonment and fine. And yet, in spite of the blatant flouting of the laws, not a single manufacturer or whole seller has been effectively challenged, prosecuted or punished, thus making our laws, worthless or meaningless.
The lack of enforcement of laws has also tarnished our image in the International community and has had a negative effect in the investment climate. According to a recent survey, the government is also losing Rs. 12 billion per year in revenue in the form of taxes, excise duties, etc., as most of these manufacturers of spurious and counterfeit products are not registered and do not pay taxes.
To highlight these issues, Helpline Trust is organizing another seminar on Wednesday 13th August, 2014 at the Marriott Hotel, Karachi. Pir Bakhsh Jamali, Director General, PSQCA has been invited as a Chief Guest.
The objective of the seminar is to stress the need for Consumer Protection Laws, the enforcement of existing food and PSQCA Laws, promote quality and standards, good manufacturing practice and corporate social responsibility, so that citizens receive quality products at a fair price.
The writer can be reached at trust@helplinetrust.org.pk