Friday, April 17, 2009

CONGRATULATION TFDA

I, the chairman of Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society, Mr Daimon Jim Mwakyembe would like to take this opportunity to congratulate TFDA team for their tremendous job of testing, identify, and inform the general public on the problem of fake medicines in our market. These TFDA efforts have helped consumers to be well informed and protected if the recommended efforts; including the calling back all fake identified medicine will be implemented in full force. TFDA have to make sure they keep up the good work they have started.

Based on the efforts done by individual consumers from Moshi, Mwanza, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya and Arusha of reporting some violation cases to the authority, these have shown that; if consumers will be informed, educated on their rights and responsibilities the war against substandard goods and consumer’s rights violation will be easier. If consumers are at the forefront of this war; they can be the best protectors of their rights.

This is a very serious war, as we still have, so many substandard goods including so many fake medicines and worst enough unscrupulous traders are continuing importing substandard goods into our markets; with the results of consumers not getting back actual value for their money and on the worst scenario, killing of innocent consumers through these products. For instance TFDA has proved that; some of malaria drug has only 0.4% of substances required (sulphametropyrazine) instead of 90% to 110%; one can see how fatal and serious this war of fighting for substandard medicine in our market is to our country.

These unscrupulous traders should be regarded as killers of innocent people; their charges among others, should all include killing charges.

Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society is as an independent non governmental consumer organization; will always work hand in hand with all sectoral regulatory authorities, including TFDA to promote, protect, advocate, for consumers’ rights and responsibilities including the spirit of reporting any irregularities found in our markets.

CUTS International proposes adoption of World Competition Day

National governments, international agencies, donors and the global policy community are increasingly realising the need for effective implementation of competition policy and law (especially in the developing and least developed countries) in order to derive the benefits of trade and economic liberalisation, and evolve well-functioning markets. In addition to stimulating efficient and equitable growth patterns in an economy, a healthy competition regime helps preserve consumers’ interests.

Given that the history of competition administration in most developed countries has been longer as compared to that in most developing and least developed countries (where competition regimes are at an extremely juvenile stage in many countries), it is imperative that the more experienced ‘Northern’ countries commit to cooperate with the less experienced ‘Southern’ countries to provide technical assistance and capacity building support for evolution and implementation of competition legislations therein.

For the advanced countries, the outcomes of such cooperation would be helpful to raise the confidence of their investors to invest in these developing (and least developed) countries; while for the developing (and least developed) countries such cooperation would help them have access to higher levels of understanding and better skills to implement their national competition regimes. It would therefore be a ‘win-win’ situation for both the cooperating parties.

It is however important that the framework for such cooperation and the road map for its implementation is carefully constructed. For this to happen, it is critical that the norms of such international cooperation are developed under the auspices of an international organisation. CUTS proposes this function be attributed to the International Competition Network (ICN), and that it features as a permanent element in all ICN annual conferences.

In order to ensure continuity in this process of cooperation on competition and to facilitate its formal endorsement/ adoption by the international community, it would be useful to announce the initiation of such a process on a date that is recognised as World Competition Day.
Given ICN’s engagement with this process, this date could be earmarked for kick-starting the annual ICN conference, every year.

ICN is the biggest gathering of competition practitioners from across the globe. World Competition Day, each year would therefore mark an occasion when elements of global competition governance are discussed and determined.
It would be befitting for such a landmark decision (pertaining to international cooperation on competition) is taken in Switzerland – the venue of the forthcoming ICN Conference (2009).

Having a day assigned as World Competition Day would provide an occasion to celebrate and propagate the needs and benefits of a functional competition regime, worldwide, and build up an impetus for competition reforms globally.

World Competition Day would be an occasion for civil society organisations and international development partners to announce their solidarity to continue raising public understanding and support for implementation of competition regimes, globally. It would also be an occasion for national governments to pledge their commitment for integrating competition policy into their national development plans.



COMMENTS INVITED