THE Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce will be embarking on a series of educational programmes and initiatives geared at educating all Guyanese [consumers and all private sector bodies] on the importance of the Consumer Affairs Bill 2011.
This pronouncement was made my minister with the portfolio, Manniram Prashad, during a press briefing last week at the Tourism Ministry on South Road.
“The whole idea is to educate the public through a series of radio and television broadcasts and meetings to bring to light what the bill is about,” he said.
According to Prashad, the Government of Guyana has recognized that consumers often face imbalances in bargaining power in the market; as such, consumer protection is relevant as a form of government regulation to protect the interests of consumers and businesses.
He explained, “The bill was finally passed in Parliament ,it was unanimous in that the opposition supported it, all that was in the bill was approved  so now  it requires  an assent from President Bharrat Jagdeo, then it will become law.”
Minister Prashad noted that his ministry consulted with all the relevant stakeholders in finalising the bill, including the Guyana Consumers Association, Consumer Advisory Bureau, the Guyana Consumer Movement, the Private Sector Commission and the Manufacturing and Services Association, among others.
Meanwhile, he stressed that his ministry has started a rigorous campaign on re-educating the consuming public and business people about their rights.
“Several things will cease immediately, like the posting of ‘goods not returnable’ or ‘no refund’ in stores. “The Consumer Affairs Bill will make that a punishable offence since consumers have a right to exchange goods,” Prashad asserted.
Among other things, the bill will also address the issuing of warranty on goods purchased.
Under the new legislation, the manufacturers’ warranty, irrespective of the country of origin of the product, will automatically be transferred to the consumer in Guyana and even if there is no warranty on an item purchased, the consumer will have an automatic warranty of six months, the minister added.
“That is the law,” he stated.
Continuing, he pointed out that the bill will further aid the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce to fully execute its duties to the Guyanese public as the Ministry with responsibility for Consumer Affairs.
As to the overall benefits of the legislation, Prashad said that once it is assented to, consumers will be educated about their rights, and suppliers will be educated as to their obligations and responsibilities to consumers.
He noted too that presently, if a consumer purchases a faulty good or a mislabelled product, he or she has little ability to enforce the contract of that purchase, because such unfair trade practices are not explicitly disallowed in the contract.
The lack of legislation therefore means that the regular ‘man in the street’ does not have the necessary means of redressing such ill practices, Prashad highlighted.
“Guyana can feel proud that we have such a bill which will soon become law,” Minister Prashad declared.