A study by the Food Packaging Forum found 175 chemicals linked to cancer and fertility problems

MailOnline

By Lizzie Parry

Published: 07:58 GMT, 8 July 2014 | Updated: 14:22 GMT, 8 July 2014

Warning over 175 dangerous chemicals found in food packaging: Substances are linked to cancer, fertility and birth defects

• Food Packaging Forum discovered 175 dangerous chemicals in packaging
• Toxic substances linked to cancer, sperm production, genital malformations as well as disrupting hormone production in the body
• Warned chemicals could end up in the food the packaging contains
• Experts call for tighter regulation of food packaging to ban substances
• Chemicals found in foil, cans and some containers and wrappers
• But Food Standards Agency said all food packaging falls within EU rules
• Said chemicals are of 'no concern if used within prescribed limits'

They warned the toxic substances, which were found to cause cancer and inflict changes on genes, could end up in the food they contain. But the Food Standards Agency moved to reassure consumers, explaining all food packaging falls within European standards and the presence of the chemicals are of no concern if they are used within the 'limits or restrictions' set for their use.

The study, published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, discovered around 175 chemicals with varying affects. They found the substances interfered with sperm production, caused genital malformations and disrupted hormone production in the body.

Doctor Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum, which conducted the study, said: 'From a consumer perspective, it is certainly undesirable and also unexpected to find chemicals of concern being intentionally used in food contact materials.'

The list of chemicals found in the packaging, includes those that accumulate in the environment and the human body can be viewed are the following . . ………. Read more or Follow Dailmail at: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Credit reporting project in Tanzania with CI

For more details about the project kindly follow the following link

BoT licences two foreign firms for credit reference

Guardian
December 16th, 2012

The Bank of Tanzania has selected Creditinfo International GmbH of Germany and US business information firm Dun and Bradstreet to bring the country‘s banking and credit system to the next level.
The two firms were picked as a result of a tender process organised by the Bank of Tanzania with the support of the World Bank, with Creditinfo selected to set up a Credit Reference Databank System.
“This important step will help the Bank of Tanzania ensure financial stability and enable lenders to assess the credit risk of potential customers,“ a senior central bank official said.

For years, Creditinfo has provided solutions for credit bureaus and central banks the world over. The company uses official and customer information sources to facilitate best practice decision making in credit risk management.
Currently operating in 16 countries, Creditinfo has already acquired extensive experience in emerging markets, the company says in an internet entry.
“We are currently working on two projects in Africa,” says Hakon Stefansson, senior manager of Creditinfo International GmbH.
“One with the Central Bank in Sudan, implementing a credit bureau software, and the other in Cape Verde, where we are setting up a credit bureau with the local banks and the Chamber of Commerce.In Tanzania we have a different approach as the Bank of Tanzania will not be running a credit bureau. We believe this can be a good precedent for other countries and are looking forward to this challenging project, convinced that it will be successful. Our partner, the Bank of Tanzania, has already done an excellent job in the preparation process,” he stated.
Dun & Bradstreet, a global business information firm, was licensed for a credit reference bureau.
It is given in an internet entry as Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., a public company headquartered in Short Hills, a community in Millburn, New Jersey, in the United States that licenses information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, business-to-business marketing and supply chain management. Often referred to as D&B, the company maintains information on more than 205 million companies worldwide, the entry noted.

The BoT director of banking supervision, Agapiti Kobelo said the task of the two companies would be to provide customer credit reporting services recorded in the system by financial institutions.
A one day stakeholders’ workshop on credit information sharing was held yesterday in Dar es Salaam, organized by the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS) in collaboration with Consumers’ International, to discuss consumer educational awareness.

He said BoT has licensed the two companies in order to ensure fruitful operations of the credit reference system in Tanzania, to effectively supervise the operations of the reference databank to ensure that the information collected is managed securely and responsibly at all times and in accordance with provisions of the law and regulations.

“Through the system, the borrowers’ information would now be easily acquired by other banks from the companies if needed to see if they might have other loans taken from other financial institutions,” clarified Abubakar Ukhotya, a central bank official. Students who take educational loans will also be more easily traced to their eventual employers, he said.

The credit reference system is designed to collect and provide information on the payment record of clients of lending banks and other financial institutions, along with savings and credit schemes and other entities engaged regularly in the extension of credit facilities.

During the workshop some stakeholders from invited financial institutions expressed their concern on the awareness of the system saying that bank customers need to be educated on the importance of the system before going to an institution to seek for loans.

Contributing to discussion on customers’ awareness, TCAS executive director Benard Kihiyo noted that while the benefits of a sound credit information sharing system are evident, it is critical to educate borrowers (consumers) on how to use their credit reports and manage their level of debt.

He also insisted on consumer education, noting that it is an important part of the process of awareness and understanding for borrowers. “This is a basic consumer right that must be insisted upon the general public for comprehensive records,” he elaborated.

Financial education is therefore an important pillar which complements enhancing credit information sharing, he said, affirming that the consumer awareness program on information is equally important.
Onica Makwakwa of Consumer International noted that information on customers is needed by loan givers to determine the background of the borrower, with other institutions. The workshop brought stakeholders from BoT, CSOs, banks, credit reference firms, SACCOS, VICOBA and various other financial sector institutions.

Global aspect on sustainable consumption

Please follow this link for pdf report

Tanzania court adjourns Sim tax case to 31 October. 2013

Wednesday 23 October 2013 | 11:56 CET | News

 

Tanzania's High Court has adjourned the case filed by the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS) and mobile operator against the TZS 1,000 Sim tax imposed by the government to 31 October. On 09 October, the court allowed mobile operators to join TCAS in a petition lodged against the tax, the Daily News reported.

TCAS asked the court to nullify the legislation passed by the parliament requiring every mobile user to pay a TZS 1,000 monthly tax, claiming that the majority of phone users in the country cannot afford the amount. According to the petition, the legislation goes against the country's mother law and especially the right to information.

Entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam have been given training on financial services and investment

By BiztechAfrica - Oct. 23, 2012, 7:45 a.m.

By Hudson Kazonta, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam have been given training on financial services and investment, aimed at helping them increase their investment and proper management of finance in their daily activities.
The event, run over four days, was held at Mnazi Mmoja’s grounds. Zantel, through its EzyPesa brand, partnered with Neubrand Event Company to make sure the campaign succeeded.

The event was organized jointly by Nuebrand Events Limited, the Centre for Microfinance Enterprise Development, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Tanzania Consumers Advocacy Society (TCAS) and Tanzania Microfinance Association.

Speaking at the launch of the event, Zantel Chief Commercial Officer, Sajid Khan, said his company recognized how innovative telecommunications solutions have the power to transform communities.
“Employment is a rare commodity in the country-leading majority of Tanzanians opting to become entrepreneurs to make ends meet, thus Zantel has taken keen interest in this group” he said.

Ezano Mabonde, Deputy Director at Prime Minister’s Office, said the government commends all the organizers of the event as business training is very important to entrepreneurs, and many studies suggest they are denied these rare opportunities.

He said all players in the financial sector, including banks, insurance firms, social security institutions and mobile money operators as well as supporting institutions such as regulators, stock brokers, investment promoters and many others, are involved, offering free financial services.

Sugar cartel blamed for abnormally high prices

Dar es Salaam:  Consumers want authorities to probe monopolistic tendencies in the sugar supply in the country, which keep prices higher than normal, hurting the low income earners the most. The Executive Director of the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society, Mr Bernard Kihiyo, said the possibility of a cartel is high because the sugar supply business is controlled by a few powerful, food trading firms.
“There are only five major dealers allowed to purchase sugar in bulk and distribute it to wholesale traders. These dealers, according to allegations, collude to fix prices. Now this issue needs to be probed,” he said.
Despite the government efforts to allow duty-free importation of sugar to bridge the supply gap sugar prices keep on increasing. Retail sugar prices in the major urban centres in the country currently range between Sh1,800 and Sh2,000 and could reach Sh2,500 per kilo in remote areas. Wholesale prices range between Sh85,000 and Sh90,000 for a 50kg bag.
Consumers say this is still too high and should have had a bigger difference margin than that of Sh2,000 for retail and Sh5,000 for wholesale had the prices been free-float .The Fair Competition Commission (FCC) also agrees that a cartel in sugar business in the country is a possibility but it cannot intervene.
A senior official who requested for anonymity because he is not the spokesperson of the Commission said price fixing could be a result of inadequate laws that guide the sector, and which vest the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) with too much powers to appoint suppliers.
As the SBT is the regulator in the sector the FCC has no mandate whatsoever to intervene. Efforts to find the director general of FCC to clarify the issue proved futile. But in a prompt response the SBT said the problem is inadequate sugar production in the country, which cannot meet demands.
“In simple economics sugar prices cannot decline in a situation where demand exceeds production, and hence, supply. And to make matters worse, our neighbours face chronic sugar deficits that have fuelled smuggling across the borders. It is too early to speak of cartels,” said SBT project manager Mr Abdul Mwankemwa.
The annual sugar demand is about 480,000 tonnes against production of about 300,000 tonnes. Sugar factories, on the other hand, complain that the collusion in the supply business has most often created artificial shortages and dictated how much sugar the factories can sell in the local market. 
The factories say they cannot sell their stock because the market is oversaturated with cheap, imported sugar, which, unfortunately does not retail below Sh1,800 and Sh2,500 a kilo.
According to FCC the Sugar Industry Act No 26 of 2001, which established the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) as an autonomous regulatory authority under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives provided loopholes that lead to monopolistic tendencies within the sugar market.
This is because the law gives the powers only to SBT to appoint main sugar distributors and importers, but lack of capacity to oversee their activities oblige them to deal with only a few players. Mr Kihiyo urges the government to look at the law to ensure it helps in boosting competition in the sector.
Tabling the 2012/13 budget in Parliament last week the minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, Mr Christopher Chiza said in the 2011/12 financial year the country had a shortage of 117,945 tonnes of sugar forcing the prices to rise up to an average of Sh2,500 per kg until June this year. Despite the government’s directive to dealers to import 200,000 tonnes of sugar still the retail prices of sugar ranged between Sh1,800 and Sh2,500 in the country.

According to him, the major solution is to encourage more investments in the sugar sub-sector for guaranteeing fair prices. The executive secretary of Tanzania Sugarcane Growers Association (Tasga), Sam Msimbira on his part blames spiraling inflation and power problems for higher sugar prices. Tanzania has four sugar production companies – Kilombero, Mtibwa, TPC and Kagera.

SOURCE Bernard Kihiyo Executive Director - TCAS

Research by the World Bank on responsible finance in Tanzania

If you what to read a report on the research conducted by the World Bank on ''responsible finance in Tanzania'' kindly follow this link

AFRICAN DIALOGUE PRINCIPLES ON COOPERATION IN CONSUMER PROTECTION ENFORCEMENT

On September 10 -12, 2013, agencies responsible for enforcing consumer protection and related laws in 20 countries, having worked together in connection with the African Consumer Protection Dialogue (“African Dialogue”), met in Livingstone, Zambia, to address enforcement cooperation on consumer protection matters. 

Misleading advertising, fraud, illegal spam, and other unfair and deceptive commercial practices undermine the integrity of both domestic and global markets, to the detriment of businesses and consumers, and undermine consumer confidence in those markets.

The enforcement challenges that exist go beyond national frontiers.  Cooperation between public authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws is essential to fight such practices. Moreover, cooperation between consumer agencies and criminal enforcement agencies on matters of mutual concern, such as fraud, also helps protect consumers against such practices.

A. Representatives of the participating agencies listed below are government or public agencies with investigative and/or enforcement authority, whether civil, criminal, or administrative, to enforce some or all consumer protection laws in their respective countries.Consumer protection laws here means laws against misleading advertising, fraud, spam, and other unfair and deceptive commercial practices affecting consumers.  The participating agencies may also have enforcement authority in other areas, such as competition, product safety, and food safety.

B. The participating agencies recognize that with respect to the enforcement of consumer protection laws, it is in their common interest:

1.   To have the authority and discretion to cooperate on appropriate investigations and cases, both those involving domestic practices targeting foreign consumers and those involving foreign practices targeting domestic consumers;

2.   To encourage communication, coordination, and reciprocal exchange of information and expertise among the participating agencies;

3.   To have amongst the authorities in each country the ability to obtain evidence to investigate and take action in a timely manner against consumer protection law violations;

4.   To each examine their respective laws to identify obstacles to effective cross-border co-operation;

5.   To promote a better understanding by all participating agencies of economic and legal issues relevant to such enforcement; and

6.   To inform each other of developments in their respective countries that relate to these Principles.

C. In furtherance of these common interests, the participating agencies further recognize the value of working together:

1.   to prioritize the most serious problems for coordinated action;

2.   to exchange information and evidence, including complaint information, with other participating agencies in appropriate particular investigations and enforcement matters;

3.   to provide investigative assistance in appropriate cases, including obtaining evidence under the Participants’ respective legal authorities, on behalf of another participating agency;

4.   to designate a contact point within each participating agency to further enforcement communication as part of an African Dialogue joint enforcement committee;

5.   to identify a contact point for a criminal enforcement authority within each country with a participating agency, if such authority is not already itself a participating agency;

6.   to participate in periodic teleconferences of the joint enforcement committee to discuss ongoing and future opportunities for cooperation, capacity building, training, staff exchanges, and best practices for consumer protection enforcement;

7.   to explore systematic complaint and trend sharing;

8.   to periodically review of the impact of these Principles, and when appropriate, consider additions and modifications.

D. In connection with the sharing of information and evidence, participating agencies cooperating with each other recognize the value, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable laws, of:

1.   maintaining the confidentiality of information shared , and the existence of any investigation to which the shared information relates, when requested to do so by the other agency;

2.   using the information only for official purposes, and for the purposes agreed to with the other agency;

3.   retaining the information shared only for so long as is reasonably required to fulfill the purpose for which it was shared, or is required by the laws of the country of the participating agency receiving the information; and

4.   communicating to a participating agency with which they are cooperating any limits placed on their ability to cooperate in accordance with these Principles.

F. Participating agencies are expected to give at least 30 days prior written notice to the other agencies if they no longer intend to work towards cooperation consistent with these Principles. Other authorities are also invited to endorse these Principles.

G. The participating agencies recognize that nothing in these Principles is intended to:

1.   Create binding obligations, or affect existing obligations, under international or domestic law.

2.   Prevent a participating agency from seeking assistance from or providing assistance to the other participating agencies pursuant to other agreements, arrangements, or practices.

3.   Affect any right of a participating agency to seek information on a lawful basis from a Person located in the territory of another participating agency's country, or preclude any individual or entity from voluntarily providing legally obtained information to a participating agency.

4.   Create a commitment that conflicts with any participating agency’s national laws, court orders, or any applicable international legal instruments.

5.   Create expectations of cooperation beyond a participating agency's jurisdiction, or suggest that each participating agency already has the legal authority to act in accordance with every Principle above.

 Participating agencies (List to be updated and modified):

           

Angola National Institute of Consumer Protection

Botswana Competition Authority

Botswana Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry

Cape Verde Consumer Defense Association

ChadAssociation pour la Défense des Droits des Consommateurs

COMESA    

Egypt Consumer Protection Agency

Egypt National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

Gabon Ministere De L'Economie, De L'Emploi, and Du Development Durable

Gambia Consumer Protection Association of the Gambia

Ghana Ministry of Trade and Industry

INTERPOL

Kenya Competition Authority

Malawi Competition and Fair Trading Commission

Namibia Department of Trade and Industry - Office of Consumer Protection

Namibia Competition Commission

Namibian Consumers' Association

Niger Association des Consommateurs du Niger

Nigeria Consumer Protection Council

Nigeria Consumer Protection Organization of Nigeria

Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

Rwanda Ad Unguem Consultancies

Rwanda Consumers' Rights Protection Agency

Senegal Association pour la Défense de l'Environnement et des Consommateurs

Seychelles Fair Trading Commission

South Africa National Consumer Commission

South Africa National Consumer Forum

South Africa National Credit Regulator

South Africa Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

South Africa RBB Economics

South Africa National Consumer Tribunal

Swaziland Competition Commission

UNCTAD

Tanzania Department of Consumer Education

Tanzania Energy and Water Regulatory Authority - Consumer Consultative Council

Tanzania Fair Competition Commission

Tanzania Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority - Consumer Consultative Council

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority - Consumer Consultative Council

Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority - Consumer Consultative Council

Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society

Togolese Consumer Association - Association Togolaise des Consommateurs

Uganda Consumer Education Trust

Uganda  Communications Commission

United States Federal Trade Commission

Zambia  Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Zambia Centre for Trade Policy

Zambia Consumer Unity Trust Society

Zambia  Zambia Consumer Association

Zambia  Zambia Information & Communication Technology Authority

Zimbabwe   Competition and Tariff Commission