The Sunday Mail
Commissioner Rosemary Chikarakara Mpofu was recently appointed executive director of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ). Our Correspondent TANYARADZWA RUSIKE (TR) spoke to Commissioner Mpofu (RCM) about her appointment and vision for the CCZ. Below are excerpts of the interview.
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TR: Please, give us a background of who Commissioner Rosemary Mpofu is.
RCM: I am a social scientist with vast experience from working in hospitals, schools and agriculture, as well as engaging in consumer activism and managing numerous organisations, both State and non-governmental, locally and internationally.
I served as a director and committee member of many boards of organisations in both public and private sectors, including the Zimbabwe Decentralised Cooperation Programme; Non-State Actors Forum; Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe; Health Professions Authority of Zimbabwe, where I chaired the registration committee; Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe; Food Standards Advisory Board; the licensing and advertising committee of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe; Infant Nutrition Committee, as well as the Food Fortification Task Force under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
Currently, I am a commissioner with the Consumer Protection Commission. I am serving my second term as chairperson of the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ). Internationally, I have been elected twice on the Consumers International Board and Council in the United Kingdom. Also, I am a member of the advisory experts panel on digital finance. Furthermore, I am a member of the chairperson’s advisory group of ISO COPOLCO.
As a consumer champion on standards development, I also serve as a member of the African Regional Standards Organisation Consumer Committee, where I chair the digital and data protection committee. Most recently, I was elected chairperson of the COMESA Consumer Protection Committee.
TR: You have been appointed executive director of CCZ. Can you outline your vision for the organisation?
RCM: I envision a Zimbabwe where all consumers are better informed and empowered to know clearly their rights and responsibilities. I want to see consumers who can contribute meaningfully both locally and globally to sustainable development goals (SDGs) in order to achieve better standards of living.
The CCZ has a big role to play in the National Development Strategy 1, particularly in educating consumers and service providers, as well as in the engagement of policymakers, lobbying and advocating a better consumer environment. My vision is to capacitate CCZ as the true consumer voice, which can responsibly speak on issues that affect consumers and proffer solutions through dialogue among players in various sectors.
The Consumer Protection Act has added a new mandate of conciliation and arbitration in order to provide necessary teeth for consumers’ right to redress, and CCZ will be designated as a conciliation and arbitration consumer organisation by the Minister of Industry and Commerce.
TR: What are your top priorities for CCZ?
RCM: Growing the consumer voice through consumer education in order to demand accountability in various areas of service delivery. I also prioritise consumer redress mechanisms through alternative dispute resolution and consumer participation in standards development and recall of substandard products. I am so passionate about consumer participation in global representation to ensure consumers in developing countries are not disadvantaged.
TR: Can you outline the significance of your recent appointment?
RCM: My appointment is very significant in that I am a true representative of the consumer voice in many sectors of the economy, among them the digital economy, food, health, agriculture, marketing and advertising, development, as well as regulation.
These are areas in which I have gained a lot of experience for over 20 years. I have made an impact at the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) through my facilitation at provincial levels in Zimbabwe and also through my speech at a side meeting of the Consumers International Forum at the UNFSS.
Last year, I spoke as part of the global consumer voice on the importance of clean energy at the COP27 (27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). My appointment signifies true representation of the ordinary consumer.
TR: What is your take on pricing distortions in major retail shops?
RCM: Prices should be a result of demand and supply. They should represent fair value of the product or service. In times of crisis, suppliers must exercise responsible ethical behaviour and offer consumers value for money.
TR: How many businesses did you bring to book last year for breaching consumer rights?
RCM: The figures are being compiled, but what is important to note is that in order to achieve full gains of the consumer protection legislation, the consumer voice must grow. There is power in individuals registering their voices to speak on behalf of many voiceless consumers.
Register your consumer voice with CCZ and protect yourself and other consumers. There is power in the number of registered consumer voices who implement and exercise the requirements of the consumer protection law. Know your consumer rights; know your consumer responsibilities.
TR: What measures have you put in place to protect the consumer against exorbitant pricing by some retailers?
RCM: The CCZ will work closely with key stakeholders mandated to look at value chains and pricing issues, like the National Competitiveness Commission and the Competition and Tariff Commission. Together, we need to push for competitiveness and competition, which will naturally culminate in fair pricing. CCZ is a strong advocate of competition, because, when suppliers compete in both standards and pricing, the consumers will benefit from fair prices. CCZ receives and resolves numerous issues that include substandard electrical gadgets, solar products and cell phones; expired products; disclaimer clauses and non-display of prices; as well as breached contracts.
Twitter: @tdrusike
