The World Consumers’ Rights Day is commemorated on March 15. This year, as a theme, Consumers’ International chose Consumer Justice Now. It did not go for just any particular issue because it wanted that each consumer organisation focuses on urgent national issues.

In Malta, this year, World Consumers’ Rights Day comes right after the general election and, thus, it provides us with a unique opportunity because the new Government has a chance to charter a clear direction to ensure a quantum leap in consumer protection, thereby ensuring a better standard of living.

I believe that we need to answer a basic question which is usually asked by the business sector. Is consumer protection still necessary and does this shackle business?

The economy is not something static and the pressures of a global economy make it more dynamic. New products are being launched each day, new businesses are starting up and the present players are developing new strategies to ensure being on top in the highly-competitive markets of today. Thus the consumer, irrespective of his/her educational background, still needs protection: protection against abuse and opportunities to ensure redress in order to achieve a balance between consumers and business.

With respect to the second part of the question it depends on the strategy being taken. The traditional way is to ensure that, once a problem arises, consumers know their rights and can ensure redress. We believe that a more effective way is to raise standards. Raising standards will not only ensure a better standard of living for consumers but would also see to it that our businesses are more efficient and, thus, more competitive.

The Government’s role is not to ease pressure by lowering standards but it should have a proactive role to help businesses attain these new higher standards.

Unfortunately, this has not been the direction we had adopted in the past. A case in point is unit pricing. Unit pricing enables consumers to make better informed choices which promote more competition. After 10 years of disregarding a legal notice, the consumer authorities, following the association’s pressure, decided to act. They found an easy way out: give an exemption, which means lowering of standards and hinders consumers from being able to make informed choices, thus restricting competition that contributes to our inflation.

Moreover, the way it was designed makes it cumbersome, expensive and vexatious to enforce on the business sector. The reason is that exemption is based on the footprint of the retail outlet, information which the authorities do not seem to have and, most probably, not even the retailers themselves have at hand.

One efficient way out would have been to identify machines that automatically print the price and the unit price once the price and the weight, volume or area is inputted. The role of the Government would have been to facilitate this process, for example, by giving tax exemptions to those willing to invest money in making their business more efficient while raising standards and competition.

Regarding issues, I limit myself to one major problem that underlies most of the others. I’m referring to the authorities that have cropped up around us. There is no question that, in a market economy, they are necessary. Most, unfortunately, are not fully aware of the important role they have and see themselves as an extension of the government and, thus, still act as government departments. Instead of providing economic stakeholders and consumers alike with a vision, opportunities and efficiency, most lay additional hurdles that disrupt dynamism, which should be allowed to run smoothly.

I believe that the main defect is lack of transparency and accountability. We believe that the people at the top make a difference and, thus, they must be held publicly accountable. It is because of this that, in our proposals to the political parties for the last election, we emphasised this point.

On the other hand, the Government must realise that effective independent, transparent and accountable authorities will ease its burden and also provide the necessary stimulus to a vibrant economy, one that also ensures consumer justice.

Benny Borg Bonello is president of the Consumers’ Association.