Consumers tipped on their rights

Committee Chairperson Lee Hamunji

The National Organizing Committee for the commemoration of World Consumer Day, which falls on 15th March, has observed that whilst e-commerce comes with massive advantages to consumers, there is need to ensure that consumers are left out.

Committee Chairperson Lee Hamunji has told journalists in Lusaka that online store owners should ensure that consumers are protected from harmful products that can put the lives of consumers at risk.

Mr. Hamunji says businesses should always provide consumers with enough information to make intelligent and informed product choices.

He states that in an event that a consumer has a complaint over an e-commerce purchase, they have a right to redress and consumers should receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, poor quality or unsafe goods or unsatisfactory services.

Speaking at the same event, National Organizing Committee Ambassador Mawano Kambeo, who is also Dotcom Zambia Managing Director, says people in the past were skeptical about e-commerce but that it is motivating to see how many consumers are embracing this technological advancement.

The National Organizing Committee includes Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), Zambia Bureau of Standards, Zambia Compulsory Standard Agency, ZICTA, Bank of Zambia, RTSA, CUTS International Zambia, ZAMTEL, NWASCO, PIA, ZAMRA, Zambia Revenue Authority among other institutions.