THE move to establish a national inspectorate and competition authority to protect consumers from substandard products as well as check unfair competition is commendable.Government has also announced plans to deploy personnel at the country’s ten major border points to prevent dumping of substandard products into the market.Unscrupulous traders have been taking advantage of the missing link to flood the country with foul products. Most prominent is expired foodstuff including spices, cereals, and fake shoe polish.Increasing the number of quality inspectors from the current six to 45, is a step in the right direction as the areas to cover are quite large.However, the government will need to work more closely with the other partner states of the East African Community (EAC) since collective regional effort against dumping will boost national mechanisms.Furthermore, consumers will also need to play a central role. Firstly, they need to be more sensitive about what they purchase and consume, and understand that substandard products pose great danger to their health.It costs nothing to always check the validity dates for a product before buying it.Secondly, the public should always report to the concerned authorities of any suspicious product and service.With this collective approach, no doubt consumers will not only get value for money but also be spared the risks of unhealthy products.
