•consumers must take a leading role in demanding for their rights.

By JULIUS PHIRI  –

The 365 days in a year are characterised by sung and unsung holidays.
Some holidays are probably on the calendar but others are not  and that,  those holidays which are on the calendar  automatically become public holidays.
However, one of the unsung days was the  World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) which fell on Sunday,  March 15, 2015,  but was commemorated the following day.
It is  common knowledge that every year on March 15, the World community including those engaged in commerce,  come together to observe this consumers rights day.
It is not disputable that the world community comes together to demand that consumers rights in all economic sectors be observed, promoted and  respected.
It is an annual event set aside on the World Calendar to promote the basic rights of all consumers.
The day is important because every consumer is at the centre of each and every business in the society.
This time around,  most mobile phones have also  been found to be on the list of  counterfeit products.
Wilson Chisenga says consumers have rights which businesses have to respect.
One of the fundamental rights consumers have,  is the right to a  healthy diet.
However, this important day seems to have passed almost  unnoticed to the general public.
This year’s commemoration was anchored under  the theme-”Helping consumers choose healthy diets.”
The theme for this year could not have come at a better time than this when most of the consumers were being  forced to buy goods most of which  were not up to the required standards.
When products are designed and approved for a certain use, using that item improperly or not as intended, could create or increase the risk
of hazard.
The day must be commemorated as a reminder for the need to remove the defenselessness of a consumer which they face against powerful
businesses.
Most of the labels on some goods show a different expiry date, when  in actual fact, that particular item had  already expired.
Service providers in the food and beverage sectors or industries should not  ride on a  consumers ignorance but to help them choose healthy diets by giving them vital information regarding what they were selling to them.
Many of the citizens do not actively demand for their rights from the service providers.
The theme also underscores the importance of local, national and international civil society organisations as well as key Government ministries.
These have  a realisation for the need to work together in order to increase understanding of the crisis of malnutrition which is no longer just a problem among the poor but also the affluent.
As populations become more  urbanised, societies enter different stages of what has been called the nutrition transition services that are crucial to their livelihoods and health.
Suffice to say,  having access to good and healthy nutrition,  is a  necessity for the country’s success.
The theme is timely and comes at a time when the need for consumer protection in health related issues, is much more pronounced than ever before.
Eastern Province Minister Malozo Sichone who spoke through assistant secretary Beenzu Chikuba at this year’s commemoration said that,  consumers must take a leading and proactive role in demanding for their rights in every consumer case.
This includes demand for ingredients in the foods you eat, demand to see expiry dates on the foods you buy, demand for nutritional information on the packet of biscuits or any other snack and demand for  receipts whenever you purchase food items.
You can also  demand for instructions on how to prepare the food item you want to buy, demand for safe foods and
overall demand for healthy diets.
It was not fair for  service providers to cheat consumers either through misleading information on the foods or by selling foods which
pose a health hazard to consumers such as expired food products.
Mr Sichone said it was unfair for consumers to be sold medicines that were expired and those products  that are labeled in the language they do
not understand.
But it is fair for service providers, businesses and regulators alike,  to protect consumers from accessing foods and other products so as not to
compromise the consumer’s health and  rights.
It is high time consumer justice was done adding that,  consumers must be empowered to make them stand up and claim their rights.
The minister said Government through the  National Food and Nutrition Commission under the ministry of health and other sector regulators
such as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC),
Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) and local authorities,  is committed to providing efficient and effective leadership for coordinated food
and nutrition action in Zambia.
This can be done  by ensuring that every consumer has the correct information to make correct decisions for their health.
He said Government is committed to promoting growth in the country by empowering and protecting consumers which was a  vital element of such an
approach.
He said some diseases were mainly caused by consuming high fat diets, low consumption of high fibre foods and lack of exercise.
There was an urgent need to ensure that the people are provided with adequate information on such issues so as to provide suggestions that help them change their lifestyles.
Mr Sichone said consumers should demand  for the protection and respect of their rights from traders.
He said there was need for the people of Zambia not to be subjected to expired and  poorly labeled products.
With appropriate levels of commitment from various stakeholders including manufacturers of food products, Government agencies, health workers and other key stakeholders,  it is possible to significantly improve the health status of Zambians and  make them contribute to national development.