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As the world celebrates World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on Wednesday, 15 March 2023; in South Africa, the Deputy Minister of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic), Ms Nomalungelo Gina and Premier Bushy Maape will lead this year’s celebrations in the North West. The WCRD commemoration will be held at the Sun City Resort.

WCRD comes at the backdrop of several challenges South African consumers are faced with. These challenges range from the poor quality of goods and services offered by suppliers, a deepening energy crisis which consumers circumvent by buying alternative power sources and receive unsafe and substandard goods; defective second-hand motor vehicles; and receive no redress when they lodge complaints. Of serious concern, is in the increase in  levels of debt among consumers. 

To address these challenges, the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism Department of Economic (DEDECT) in collaboration with the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and National Consumer Commission (NCC) will join forces to commemorate this day while bringing possible solutions. 

On this day, consumers will also be afforded the opportunity to interact with industry experts and regulatory bodies under the umbrella of the Consumer Protection Forum (CPF) (a voluntary body established by consumer protection regulators and nine Provincial Consumer Protection Authorities in South Africa).

The World will be celebrating this day under the theme “Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transitions”. On the other hand, South African regulators are reaffirming their commitment to leave no stone unturned in protecting South African consumers by choosing a different theme “Creating a fair Marketplace”. This theme is a reminder to suppliers of goods and services of their responsibilities when marketing or providing goods and services, to ensure that they do so in a fair and just manner.  

The WCRD celebrations event will also address challenges faced by various sectors, such as, tourism, financial, and the energy sector among others. The North West Consumer Affairs Office has noted with concern that consumers are installing alternative energy sources without first ensuring compliance, particularly with regard to registration with the relevant body and safety measures on the products they are installing. Some consumers are troubled by unlawful implementations of garnishing orders where proper processes were not followed. On this day, officials working at salary division for both public and private sector will be empowered on how to deal with such attachment orders. 

Acting National Consumer Commissioner Ms Thezi Mabuza says as suppliers find innovative ways of availing their goods and services to the market, these suppliers need to remember their obligation to provide goods and services that are compliant to the CPA. “Our analysis suggests that there are suppliers who still take advantage of consumers. It is our role to protect these consumers,” said Ms Mabuza.

Issued by Department of Trade Industry and Competition