Minister to table Consumer Protection Bill

By Edson Murina

The trade minister, Amelia Kyambadde has revealed that the Consumer Protection Bill 2007 is going to be tabled for the third reading to Parliament for approval.

She said the Government must come up with consumer protection policies because livestock and human beings are at a great risk from counterfeit products on the market.

The Bill proposes strong penalties to those engaging in manufacturing and trading in counterfeits and sub-standard goods which has turned the Ugandan market into a dumping area in the region. “This big market is for everybody but what we need is to maintain standards to  ompete.

Manufacturers need to research and encourage quality driven production rather than market driven production,” Kyambadde noted. She made the remarks at the International Trade Facilitation organised by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda at Lugogo last week.

Kyambadde said when the Bill is passed into law, it will protect consumers from substandard goods on the market. The Bill aims at guiding manufacturers on product standardisation to compete globally and widen the market for local products. She asked manufacturers to have their products certified byproducts to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards for certification.