Safe products create confident consumers and confident consumers drive thriving economies. It is time for businesses, regulators, and consumers to unite under this principle. Writes David K Kemei, Director-General, Competition Authority of Kenya.
In today’s interconnected marketplace, consumer confidence is the cornerstone of economic growth. Yet, that confidence is fragile, built on the assumption that products in the marketplace are safe, reliable, and compliant with set standards. When this trust is broken, the consequences ripple far beyond individual households, eroding faith in products and services, regulators, and industries.
Safety is not optional; it is enshrined under Article 46 of the Constitution of Kenya, which provides that consumers have a right to protection of their health, safety and economic interest. Every consumer deserves assurance that the food and medicine they consume, or electronics they use, meet rigorous safety standards.
Unfortunately, the reality sometimes falls short of this aspiration. From counterfeited mobile handsets to contaminated food supplies, unsafe products continue to infiltrate markets, exposing consumers to harm and undermining public trust. Indeed, there are efforts by various stakeholders, including Government agencies, to correct this situation. But denying existence of an issue would be burying our collective heads in the sand.
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For starters, manufacturers of various goods must provide the necessary information to consumers, empowering them to make informed purchasing decisions. Product labels must be compliant with the prescribed national standards. The information provided should be accurate.
A non-negotiable when it comes to consumables, for instance, is providing the manufacturing and expiry dates, as well as a list of the product ingredients as well as usage directions. This requirement is salient.
Additionally, the Competition Authority of Kenya is mandated under the Competition Act to investigate against false or misleading representations by businesses and sanction entities selling unsafe, defective and unsuitable goods.
The Authority has intervened in various sectors including the bread manufacturing, where it sanctioned players playing dice with jargon, confusing consumers about best before, expiry, and sell by dates. Clarity about whether a product is good or not for consumption should not be a matter of linguistics.
Similarly, the Authority has penalized juice manufacturers for depicting that their products were extracted from fresh fruits. Scientific tests undertaken in collaboration with the Kenya Bureau of Standards revealed that the products were primarily produced using concentrates, a truth a lay person would not immediately decipher once they saw the images of mouth-watering fruits juxtaposed with the label “100% fruit”.
The CAK has also facilitated the recall of unsafe goods including beauty products, LPG cylinder pipes, motor vehicle airbags, medication, television power boards and stands, among other commonly used products.
However, we concede that the desired outcome on safety of products and promotion of consumer confidence is a shared responsibility. Manufacturers must prioritize quality, embedding safety into every production stage. Regulators should collaborate to enforce standards with transparency and vigor, ensuring that compliance is not a checkbox but a culture. And consumers themselves must become informed advocates, demanding accountability and refusing to settle for less. Remember, it’s your salient right.
Technology offers both promise and peril. While digital platforms enable global trade, they also open doors for substandard goods and deceptive practices. Stronger digital oversight, clearer labeling, and ethical design principles are essential to protect consumers in this evolving landscape.
Ultimately, safe products create confident consumers and confident consumers drive thriving economies. It is time for businesses, regulators, and consumers to unite under this principle. On the Authority’s part, we commit to continue expending resources in sensitizing consumers about their rights and responsibilities. While we may not be present when you are purchasing a product, we commit to be there when your expectations are not met. This is an aspiration shared by other regulators with a product safety mandate.
It is for this reason that we joined the global community in commemorating the World Consumer Rights Day, marked annually on 15th March. The commemoration advocates for the protection and promotion of consumers’ fundamental rights while challenging unethical market practices.
This year’s theme “Safe Products, Confident Consumers” is a timely clarion call to producers of goods and key stakeholders in the value chain to play their part in enhancing accountability and trust.
