By KENNEDY MUPESENI –

THE Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has identified traditional leadership as central and key stakeholder in the overall consumer protection strategy in Zambia.

Public relations officer Hanford Chaaba said total consumer protection could neither be achieved single-handedly by the CCPC nor the Government, but requires concerted efforts from various stakeholders such as traditional leadership, institutions of learning and members of the public.

Mr Chaaba said consumer protection needed to be given the importance it deserved as most of them border on people’s health.

He described the competition and consumer protection law as one that was meant to benefit members of the general public.

Mr Chaaba said Zambia has numerous pieces of legislation aimed at benefiting members of the public in both rural and urban areas.

CCPC’s initiative was to bring the competition and consumer protection law to the members of the public.

A team of CCPC officials were recently on a tour of districts in Western Province to conduct consumer protection awareness campaigns in Mwandi, Sesheke, Sioma, Shangombo, Senanga, Kalabo and Luampa districts.

They paid a courtesy call on Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta of the Lozi speaking people of Western Province while there.

Chief Inyambo thanked the CCPC for what he termed as a ‘sacred Mandate to protect consumers’ and challenged other consumer protection bodies and regulatory agencies to emulate the CCPC by not only restricting their services to urban areas, but also consider extending them to rural areas such as Mwandi district.

The chief urged the CCPC to ensure that businesses were made to account for their trade conducts and challenged consumers to rise to the occasion and demand better justice.