Looking beyond the law

It took a decade or more to get the law called the Consumers Rights Protection Act passed in the year 2009. Successive governments had spent time, deliberately or otherwise, in drafting and redrafting the act again and again. The government that had taken over power following the general elections held on December 29, 2008 got the draft act in its final shape.
Nearly four years after its much-acclaimed adoption by parliament, the incumbent commerce minister on the occasion of the World Consumers' Rights Day revealed at a function in Dhaka last Saturday the government's plan to amend the Consumers' Rights Protection Act to make it 'time befitting'. The minister said a six-member committee has been formed to suggest necessary amendments to the law. He also disclosed that the government would set up the National Consumers' Centre where the consumers would be able to lodge their complaints.
The nature of the amendments is not yet known. The government might have found some inconsistencies or weaknesses in the act or it might be willing to add some more measures to help protect the rights of consumers.
But does the law or any future amendment to it matter as far as the consumers' interests in Bangladesh are concerned? Has there been any tangible change in the attitude of the traders or the service providers to the consumers' interests following the enactment of the Consumers' Rights Protection Act? Are the consumers aware of their rights guaranteed by the act in question?  There could be many more questions on the same issue.
But the answer to all the questions mentioned above is known to everybody. In fact there has not been any material change in the situation on the ground. Consumers in most cases are getting raw deals from traders and service providers, particularly those belonging to the public sector.
The efforts to enforce the Consumers' Rights Protection Act have been scanty and very few people are aware of the existence of the very law. What they have been witnessing are occasional drives by mobile courts, headed by executive magistrates, or by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) teams against producers and marketeers of adulterated foods or spurious or fake items.  
People will be observing the activities of mobile courts or teams comprising law enforcers in action soon. Since the holy month of Ramadan is only three and a half months away, the commerce ministry must be making preparations to launch similar drivers on the eve of the holy month.
The act in question empowers the director general of the National Consumers Rights Protection Council (NCRPC) with enough authority to deal with rogue traders and service providers out to hurt the interests of the consumers. But, unfortunately, the consumers have not seen any act worth mentioning on the part of the council. In fact, a large segment of the consumers is not aware of the existence of the NCRPC.
Whether the government itself is giving due importance to the council that it has created remains a big question. For instance, back in September 2011, the commerce ministry had formed eight market monitoring teams, headed by the deputy secretaries of the ministry. The teams had representatives from ministries of agriculture, home, food and disaster management, Dhaka City Corporation, Dhaka district administration, Bangladesh Tariff Commission, FBCCI, police and RAB but none from the NCRPC.
The government has adopted a law to protect the interests of the consumers and there would be amendments to make it 'time-befitting'. But unless and until there is enough political will to protect the eight internationally recognised and UN-approved basic rights of the consumers the protection law will be on the paper only. Traders would continue to cheat consumers while selling counterfeit products, adulterated and chemically treated food items or services short of consumers' expectation.
The eight basic rights of the consumers are the right to satisfaction of basic needs; the right to safety; the right to be informed; the right to choose; the right to be heard; the right to redress; the right to consumer education; and the right to a healthy environment. It is time to review the progress so far made in the country in ensuring these basic rights of the consumers.
To be honest, these rights cannot be ensured in isolation for the issues concerning the overall regulatory environment, quality of governance and enforcement capability would come into play here.
There is no dearth of good laws in the country. The problem lies with their enforcement. Vested interests having their root deep down in administration, political parties, businesses and major professions prove to be indomitable barriers to the enforcement of these laws.
However, efforts hardly are made to enforce laws that would help protect mass people's interest better. Rather attempts have been aplenty to make use of bad laws to punish the opponents.
If the government is really interested to uphold the cause of the consumers it should give due emphasis on the act of making the consumers aware of their internationally recognized rights. In addition to the NCRPC, a vast array of non-government organisations (NGOs) can play an important role to this effect.
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