In the last couple days, the public was outraged by the decision by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) to increase public transport charges. Irked by the decision, some citizens turned to social media, twitter for that matter—to express their unhappiness about the new bus fares, which are higher than pre Covid-19 tariffs. The Prime Minister intervened, and RURA has reversed its decision. The anger by commuters partly stems from the state of their finances, which have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover the initial information provided by RURA was that the scheduled price increase was to ensure public transporters, which are all wholly or partially privately owned, stay in business, given that they were operating in losses. That the new prices are in-line with a routine tariff review that the regulator carries out after every two years. The transport saga is among the many cases of consumer frustration witnessed across various sectors of the economy. There are traces of consumer frustration across industries, particularly in the utilities businesses; from telecommunication, water, energy to food distribution services among others. The perception among the general public is that there’s widespread price gouging—exorbitant price increases of essential goods and services aimed at profiteering—as opposed to the genuine price increases, which reflect the higher cost of doing business. RURA has a complex task of regulating the utilities industry while at the same time administering consumer complaints. It has to protect the interest of the consumers while safeguarding businesses not plunge into losses. Perhaps the regulator should cede the responsibility of consumer complaints to a new designated consumer protection agency. The country has a competition and consumer protection law. However, we have not leveraged this existing infrastructure to strengthen consumer protection practices. Now the digital economy is also bringing its own complex challenges, exposing consumers to substandard, falsely labelled, overpriced and counterfeit products. While it is offering various opportunities for consumers to access goods and services more easily and offering opportunities for business to access new customers online, it also opens up avenues for consumer exploitation. This means that theres a need to strengthen consumer protection in the digital space.
