Consumers don't have any rights in Pakistan as shopkeepers and service providers fleece them at will. The consumer protection campaign has failed to make an impact in the country so far. This is an issue of vital importance and the activists in the field have been campaigning hard to create public awareness.
The Network for Consumer Protection, the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Consumer Protection Council of the Helpline Trust have been working for ensuring consumer protection for many years. But they have achieved nothing tangible.
In the absence of a consumer protection law, consumers are being poisoned by substandard, adulterated and counterfeit products and blatantly cheated by glossy, misleading advertisements.
The World Consumer Rights Day is observed internationally on March 15 since 1983 with the theme of making consumers aware of their rights so that they can demand protection for them.
The following rights are generally considered to be fundamental to ensure that a consumer is not cheated or harmed: The right to choose, right to the satisfaction of basic needs, right to consumer education, right to a healthy environment, right to be informed, right to be heard, right to safety, and the right to redress.
To provide redress, a responsible government sets up consumer courts to adjudicate on the matters in which a consumer has a grievance.
The National Assembly adopted a consumer protection law in 1995 and the Punjab Assembly has passed a legislation on consumer protection. But, the consumer courts, which are essential to implement the law, have not been set up so far.
The Sindh governor had signed the Consumer Protection Ordinance in August 2004, which has lapsed, as it has not been presented to the provincial assembly for legislation. Unfortunately, some political parties have raised objections relating to the ordinance and it has become a political tool, as each party is unwilling to endorse the bill presumably because each of them wants to take the credit for the ordinance. In the meantime, the consumers continue to suffer.
Now the Sindh government has decided to establish a Consumer Rights Council (CRC) to protect the rights and interests of consumers. The CRC will be formed on the pattern of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and would take effective measures to check prices, adulteration and various consumer-related issues. It would initially function in Karachi and later its scope would extend to other areas of the province. The council, to be headed by the Sindh Governor, would have 15 noted citizens as its members. The CPLC chief would act as secretary of the council.
The Sindh government has also planned to set up consumer courts under the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA), which would include elected representatives and eminent citizens. The CPA would curb institutional and departmental malpractices and protect consumer rights in Sindh.
Proposals were submitted to the Sindh Governor on consumer rights and protection, together with the need for a consumers' ombudsman, three years ago.
The CPA will only be effective if it is not politicised and is managed independently by citizens and not government officials, otherwise it will be misused and become another tool for the administration to harass the business community, at the cost of consumers. It is hoped that the CPA will come into effect as soon as possible.
In the present state of our society and economy, consumer rights appear to be utopian to be actually translated into reality.
Consumer protection can operate only in a competitive market. The competition exerts checks and balances on all transactions and thus enables the consumers to protect their interests. In this environment a consumer is supposed to be aware of his rights who is prepared to strive to protect them. It is also necessary that there is a mechanism to provide redress. This cannot be isolated from the judicial system in vogue and the culture of respect for human rights. Moreover, the consumer must also have a choice to select among the goods and services available to him.
But because we have a sellers' market the user doesn't have much of a choice. He knows what is good for him but he simply accepts the second best because the best is beyond his reach or is not available at all.
For example, primary education is the fundamental right of every child. The government schools provide free education but their standard is so appalling that the parents have no choice but to send their wards to private schools. The private schools do not recognise the consumer rights of the parents. Since their standard is better than that of the government schools, private school owners feel they have the right to fleece parents. And in the absence of consumer protection law, there is no redress for the aggrieved.
The same is the case with the health care. It is an acknowledged fact that public sector hospitals have better doctors and paramedical staff, but their service is very poor. In this situation, people turn to private hospitals where they are forced to spend their savings of a lifetime on their treatment. If they don't have sufficient money, they go to quacks or wait for death.
Even when a serious negligence by a doctor is reported, there is no redress. When a life-saving drug is needed one has to buy it at whatever price he is asked to pay.
Similarly, when a milk-seller sells adulterated milk at a higher price than the government-fixed rate, mothers cannot stop buying the milk, which is essential for their children.
Take another example. Everyone has a right to have a house of his own. But unscrupulous builders rob poor people of their hard-earned savings. Most of the builders, except those afew who have a good reputation, never honour their commitment. They seldom deliver what they promise at the time of booking of a plot, flat or a bungalow. The aggrieved people don't have any platform to lodge their complaints.
In such a situation there is not much scope for consumers to assert their rights. The consumer rights bodies can certainly play a vital role in educating the people about the products, which are not essential for them but are actually harmful for their health. Campaigns should be launched against cigarettes, gutka, supari, junk food, aerated drinks and other unhealthy items.
The culture of consumerism that has come in the wake of free-market economy is another problem the nation faces today. The advertising sector has grown with the market to tempt the consumers into buying goods they do not really need. The consumer rights organisations should launch campaigns to educate the people about the negative aspects of consumerism and living beyond means.
In the meantime the laws, which have been adopted, should be implemented by setting up consumer courts. As for the NWFP and Balochistan, which have no consumer protection law, a legislation should be adopted and courts set up to provide some protection to the consumer and to make a beginning.
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