The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has called on the National Consumer Protection Regulators to join resources in order to address the plight that consumers are facing in the market space.
Davies addressed a Consumer Protection Conference hosted by the National Consumer Tribunal in partnership with the National Consumer Commission and the National Credit Regulator in Sandton earlier today.
The conference which Minister Davies addressed, through a pre-recorded message was held under the theme, towards cohesive and comprehensive consumer protection in the market.
According to Davies, if the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT), the National Consumer Commission (NCC) and the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and other entities combine resources to address consumer protection, it can lead to major positive results.
“It is our duty and constitutional obligation to protect the rights of consumers through enforcing the law and monitoring them,” added Davies.
Davies, who called on the delegates to engage and deliberate constructively on the issues at hand, also told them to come up with significant recommendations which will improve the consumer protection regime in South Africa. He added that he will at a later stage look into the recommendations.
According to him, the conference came at a time when the global economic situation is impacting South Africa in a manner that it will be difficult to sustain reasonable growth and maintain higher employment. This he added, will lead to temptation by suppliers of goods and credit providers to cut corners to address the bottom line without checking credit affordability of consumers.
Against this back drop, Davies said there will be an increase in demand of the services rendered by the NCT, NCC and NCR. Coordinated consumer model by the three entities in this regard is needed, he added.
The conference which will run over a period of two days seeks to clarify the roles of key consumer protection stakeholders; the adoption of the coordinated, cohesive and comprehensive approach to enforcement of consumer protection laws to ensure optimal redress for consumers.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: (012) 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Twitter: @the_dti
