By Hilda Mhagama
THE Fair Competition Commission (FCC) has reviewed 529 consumer contracts for the
past five years.
Speaking at the
ongoing 44th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), in Dar es
Salaam, FCC Director General, Mr John Mduma said the review was
conducted to establish unfair terms in consumer contracts in which after
the review, only 225 contracts were registered.
He said the review
was carried out after the Commission tightened Standard Form Consumer
Contract Regulations of 2014 prepared by various service providers in
the country.
"The regulations
came into effect in January 2016, through these regulations, and the
commission has eliminated tougher and more restrictive provisions
against consumers in contracts prepared by firms and producers
especially in the financial sector," he explained. According to him, the
contracts reviewed include their number in the brackets banking and
financial sector (485), insurance (28), renewable energy (2),
communication (4), transport (6), agricultural equipment (3) and one
contract for the Hotel.
FCC is a public
institution established by virtue of section 62(1) of the Fair
Competition Act, No.8 of 2003 (FCA), with the aim of promoting and
protecting effective competition in trade and commerce and protecting
consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct.
The ultimate goal
is to increase efficiency in the production, distribution and supply of
goods and services. Establishment of FCC is a significant step in
Tanzania effort to establish a market economy.
At the fair, they
participated in raising public awareness on issues prohibited by
competition law, how to identify counterfeit goods, how to file a
consumer complaint, the impact of counterfeit goods and how competition
law contributes to industrial growth.
Mr Mduma further
said the commission also conducted an investigation into the
microfinance that involved 193 companies in five zones with the aim of
identifying fraudulent activities in those services.
"In order to
improve and enhance the effectiveness of consumer protection, FCC
continues to develop regulations that will enable it to fulfill its
responsibilities more effectively," he said
The Director said
in order to increase awareness of consumer protection of goods and
services, the commission has been actively involved in the preparation
of the National Consumer Protection Policy organized by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade that intends to set consumer regulations and
guidelines.
He said the
Commission is currently preparing a report after conducting a nationwide
survey on public awareness of the consumer's rights and
responsibilities and identifying the realities of counterfeit goods.
The survey was
conducted in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
and upon completion of the research report; the commission will release
it to the public.
Mr Mduma said in
protecting competition, the commission conducted various investigations
to identify violations of competition law and to make policy
recommendations to improve competition in several sectors in the
country.
FCC Director said
in the five-year period from 2015-2020 the studies conducted were in the
areas of road construction, fertilizer industry, sanitary pad and metal
industry.
In controlling
counterfeit goods he said, during the period they checked a total of
29,529 containers and seized 987 suspected ones with counterfeit goods.
The number of seized containers is equal to 3.3 per cent of all checked
containers in the period.
He said the containers were seized after it was discovered that the products had violated the trademark law of 1963 as amended.
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