Over 3 500 businesses prosecuted for short-changing consumers

Judith Phiri ,Business Reporter 

MORE than 3 500 businesses have been prosecuted by the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) for short-changing consumers, as the Government tightens screws to curb the trading of expired, underweight and counterfeit products.

The CPC was established under the Consumer Protection Act Chapter 14:14 (No. 5 of 2019), which became law on December 10, 2019 and is administered by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The Commission was recently in Nkayi District, Matabeleland North Province where it unearthed several unscrupulous behaviours being done by businesses. 

Giving an update of their findings after the community engagement outreach programme and an enforced blitz targeting businesses violating the law, CPC research and public affairs manager, Mr Kudakwashe Mudereri said more than 3 500 businesses have been prosecuted countrywide since January.

“From January to date, the Commission has prosecuted over 3 581 businesses for various offences with over 1 732 of them being issued with Compliance Notices, which require them to comply within 14 days, failure of which they will be prosecuted. 

“One of the businesses was fined US$3 000, for selling expired products through the court system. Very soon, we will be publishing names of shops that are continuously in the habit of short changing consumers,” he said. 

Mr Mudereri said in Nkayi District, they noted with concern that there were unscrupulous businesses who were taking advantage of the remoteness of some places in the district by dumping expired products, thereby compromising the health of the communities.

He said some of the products were food items such as salad creams, baby products, milk, mahewu and seasoning products and beverages, among others.

“These communities are also being duped with counterfeit products. Consumers in those areas are also being short-changed through charging of exorbitant exchange rates, where some shops in Hwange, Dete, Nkayi and Lupane were issued with Compliance Notices after being caught charging exchange rates as high as ZWG35 to US$1, while the official interbank rate is at ZWG13.87 against US$1,” he added. 

Mr Mudereri said the Compliance Notices issued by the Commission directed the business owners to charge official exchange, failure of which the CPC working with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), who are the custodian of Statutory Instrument 81A of 2024, Exchange Control (Amendment of Schedule to Exchange Control Act), Notice 2024, calls for the imposition of a combination of a fixed penalty of ZWG200 000 or an amount equivalent to the value of the foreign currency charged for the goods or services in question. 

He said there was also a cumulative penalty over a period not exceeding ninety days, of five per centum of the outstanding amount of the fixed penalty for each day, if a seller of goods or services offers such goods or services at an exchange rate above the prevailing average interbank foreign currency selling rate published by RBZ. 

“The Commission also noted that there are some businesses, which are also pretending that their swipe machines were down, when in fact it was just a smokescreen not to accept the local currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG, code ZWG). Such businesses were also issued with Compliance Notices, compelling them to fix their swipe machines within seven days, failure of which they will be prosecuted using the legal provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 14: 44,” said Mr Mudereri. 

He urged the business community to be ethical and stop all the malpractice as the Commission will not hesitate to evoke all the necessary provisions of the Act to deal with all the malcontents who are bent on exploiting consumers. 

He said it was important to note that even the Cabinet was seized with the issue and President Mnangagwa, has directed all regulatory bodies, including CPC to deal with all unscrupulous businesses with utmost urgency. 

Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) chief executive officer, Mrs Rosemary Mpofu urged consumers to be on the lookout for fake products.

“The uncertified products pose a real threat to human life. Consumers must always look out for expired products to ensure their safety. They must look at the labelling and exercise caution,” she said.

She said the collaborative effort in educating consumers was key in ensuring that we reach the marginalised corners of our country, as they should not leave anyone behind even those who live in far away and remote places such as Nkayi District. 

Mrs Mpofu said it was important for consumers to know their rights while calling on businesses to adhere to the law. 

The consumer and community engagement outreach was a joint consumer education event done by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), CPC, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), CCZ and the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz).

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Matabeleland regional manager, Mr Mduduzi Ncube said the proliferation of counterfeit and smuggled goods in Bulawayo and across the country had significant effects on both businesses and the economy.

He said the effects on businesses and industry were loss of revenue, job losses, erosion of brand trust and increased crime, among other things.

“The challenges posed by counterfeit and smuggled goods in Bulawayo require a co-ordinated approach from various stakeholders, including the Government, businesses and consumers. 

By implementing comprehensive strategies aimed at improving enforcement, raising awareness and fostering local industry support, Bulawayo can work towards mitigating the negative impact of these illicit goods on its economy and society,” he said.