The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque

A strong institutional base for ensuring consumer's rights is quintessence of consumer's participation. It shapes feedback mechanism to accommodate a large variety of consumer's preferences. Consumer's associations as organized citizen bodies - civil societies in other words - are doing their utmost as watchdog to prevent any obnoxious process that impairs normal functioning of market. The concerns for protection of consumer's right against such processes remain the concerns of the consumer's association.

A vibrant civil society with consumer's activism as citizens can redynamize governance in information age articulating the interests of the consumers of goods and services. Participatory components of consumer's sovereignty in western democracy provide institutions for communication between the policy community and consumers. The members of the policy communities being the members of the civil societies reinforce such communication. This is clearly manifest in the advocacy for normal market operation enabling the consumers to have access to goods and services.

Growing partnership between the business communities and consumers/ customers is a sign of participation. Consumer's sovereignty as anchored in such participation may go to the extent of forming consumer's society for awareness building, market information, consumer's preferences for goods and quality services in competitive market, and protection against the evils of syndication. In Bangladesh, for example, there are associations of stakeholders to speak for the consumers in conference rooms and meetings. This is, of course, a clear indication of participation. Yet, anti-adulteration drives taking place now and then makes it clear that the vulnerability of the consumers to the whims of unscrupulous traders has reduced such participation to nullity.

Public choice theory is a convenient analytical tool conceptually understanding policy consumers. It stretches over a wide array of choice-centered activities fitting well into democratic structure and economic liberalism. Such theory, as such, provides knowledge about the underlying dynamics of consumerism as an essential ingredient of consumer's sovereignty. Input-function of public policy seeks adjustment with economic environment taking stock of public demand for consumer durables and competitive price in the market. Any policy change is tampered with changes in economic world like market that tends to influence public choice. The cardinal point in public choice is methodological individualism in the application of rationality in democratic theory and economic liberalism. It proclaims free flow of market transaction without interruption and distortion. Market is supposed to operate in normal conditions to maximize social welfare.

Predicaments of the consumers are associated with distortion and malfunctioning of the market. In Bangladesh such predicaments have become a way of life. A marked deterioration in the material conditions in the stressful economic life has seriously affected consumers leaving them into a cauldron of crises. On the contrary, the upstart traders in collaboration with criminal syndicates have been stumbling onto overnight riches. The concerned authorities have a tendency to blissfully overlook such crises. And, the ordinary consumers happen to be 'a threatened species'. The upstart traders amidst criminalization of business are consistently swindling them. The proceeds of business -- not according to rules -- have shattering impact on policy consumers. Inordinate profiteering, hoarding, black marketing, and adulteration matter a lot in afflicting the consumers.

In Bangladesh, the urbanities now live in the state of insecurity as well as uncertainty. Two-fold dangers confronting the urban consumers are under consumption and health hazards arising out of price spiral and massive adulteration. The onslaught of criminilization in commercial operations continued to jeopardize the rights of the consumers in the recent past. Added to it many a fraud practice unnoticed by the authorities went against public safety and security. Even now, the ordinary consumers have mush less access to the concerned authorities and the latter have been found to be inefficient - not equal to the task in the face of manipulation of the market by the criminal syndicates.

However, social movement in consumer's regime puts consumerism first. 'Consumer's Voice' is at the heart of such movement. Of course, belatedly, the Consumer Association of Bangladesh organized such movement through awareness building campaigns, conferences, rallies and publications. This is in response to the development of consumerism at the global level. Initially, there were four globally recognized rights of the consumers: 1 the right to safety, 2. the right to be informed, 3. the right to choose and 4. the right to be heard.

Later on, four more rights were incorporated in the UN guidelines for consumer protection. They were: 1. the right to protection against exploitation by unfair trade practices, 2. the right to protection of health and safety from the goods and services the consumers buy or are offered free, 3. the right to get the grievances redressed and 4. the right to physical environment that will protect and enhance the duality of life (Khan Ferdousour Rahman, 2007). Of course constitutional provision of basic necessities recognizes protection of life through 'safe and clean food,' 'safe drinking water, public health hygiene, sanitation and safety.

Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) is the first non-governmental voluntary association that works towards shaping the themes of the development of consumer's rights. The major areas of its concerns include, thus, education for the consumer, investigation of the consumer complaints, advocacy for consumer right, research, information and documentation, campaign against health hazards, etc.

CAB speakers at 'a daylong orientation of media personnel's in Rajshahi 'underscored the need for enacting a law for protecting consumers' right' focusing on the 'right to information, choice, redress and representation'.

The consumers are always deprived of the quality of services of gas, water, electricity, education and health'. The CTG has already approved in principle the consumer Rights Protection Ordinance 2007 to provide "full-fledged legal cover for consumer's interests. The proposed new ordinance provides for the formation of a 21-member council with Commerce Minister as its Chairman including Presidents of FBCCI, Jatiya Press Club, CAB and a representative from civil society as other members. The committee will enjoy the functions like preparing policy guidelines, holding periodic meetings, conducting research and formatting committees at the district and sub-district levels.

It indicates that something positive is going to happen to promote development of consumer right as a social movement. We cannot but appreciate the role of CTG in shaping legal dimension of consumers' rights against the contextualism of inflationary stress, abnormal price-spiral, adulteration, rigging in weights, etc. The process of legislation started since 2001, but it was held up for a long time.

Actions Suggested:

Actions suggested for the kind attention of the policy makers may be mentioned below:

* Business malpractices in existence in the country have damaging impacts on the consumers. Adequate institutional control may well be exercised to minimize such practices that are responsible for extremely high prices, adulteration, shoddy commodities and environmental degradation. It is advisable to rid market of all kinds of distortions enabling it to operate transparently to maximize social welfare.

* In a recent conference on 'Business and Society' held -on 19th July 2007 at Hotel Agrabad, Chittagong, there was a thematic paper focusing on the need for a comprehensive competition law in Bangladesh. This is, of course, thought provoking. We know anticompetitive business practices are characterized by hoarding, 'restrictive supply of essential commodities, 'collusive price- fixing' and 'abusive monopoly'. Such practice tends to hurt consumer's interests. The article highlights among others recommendations: pro-competition economic policies coupled with a competition law to ensure a competitive market economy. Competition legislation can prevent 'collusive cartels, 'unscrupulous market dominance, 'unfair mergers and acquisitions' and other anti-competitive business practices.

* Consumptive value added tax (VAT) is certain to come under review. This sort of indirect tax makes consumers bear the burden of tax imposed on each transition. Such tax is added to the value of the sale of goods and services in retail price shops. But the burden is shifted to the consumers leading to price hike all to their dissatisfaction. And, the extreme use of VAT system touching even the trivial matters, as was the case with economic management style of the Ex-finance Minister, might vex the consumers inviting vehement public criticism.

* Governance has now become a much talked about issue featuring prominently in development dialogue. What is considered of importance is development of social capital as reflected in past business tradition in the Eastern Countries molded by the moral values of socialisation. We should consider ethical social fabric, religious spiritual moorings, positive mindset and corporate governance.

* E-governance for commercial operation and customer service is a good idea. But, we are lagging behind in the field of service marketing or customer service. It requires efficient management of service organization to focus sharply on the needs of the customer. Banks rendering credit and ATM facilities may be advised to remove unnecessary charges.

* Now services in the age of information offer much promise to consumers. Even then the consumers are threatened to be deprived with lingering with bureaucratic constraints. We should take lessons from the new paradigm like new public management (NPM) that proclaims flexible bureaucratic operation in favor of the consumers. The CTG seeks to involve public sectors in the distribution channel of business to counter- balance business malpractice in the private sector. This is a good idea calling for wide networking.

* BSTI ought to be revamped with enhanced manpower to promote adequate capacity disposition. Its operational coverage needs to be extended both horizontally and vertically. Here, attention may be called to strict monitoring of the quality and size of the food products in bakeries, food industries and restaurants. What really matters much is the practice of reducing the size of the food product on the plea of price hike of the ingredients like wheat, edible oil etc. Such practice should not go unpunished. Authorities should take a serious view of the profiteering tendencies of the sweet traders. When the price of sugar increases, they turn to increase the rate of sweets per K.G, when if falls (the rate of sugar) they do not go back the previous rate.

* Establishment of Consumer Development Council.

* Advocacy for Public Policies to protect the rights of the consumers.

* Empowerment of CAB with infrastructural facilities to strengthen consumer's movement. There needs to be a functional collaboration between CAB and BSTI.

* Formation of consumer's co-operatives in each housing society to facilitate participatory marketing.

* Improved action of public utilities like WASA, WAPDA, PDB, DESA, TNT, TITAS, enabling them to meet the rising expectation of the consumers in modern time using New Public Management (NPM) as an acceptable doctrine.

(Professor of Public Administration, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh)