Concrete measures to protect consumers are never more essential than at a time when families struggle to cope with the effects of an economic slowdown that may be abating but is still affecting the quality of life of many. Now is arguably such a time.
The most recent Eurostat figures show that Malta's annual inflation is still among the highest in the eurozone area. In June 2010, the annual inflation rate was 1.8 per cent while the average for the eurozone was 1.4 per cent. This may seem a small variance but in reality is a worrying issue that has been troubling not just families but also economic operators as it affects the prospects of future investment and also competitiveness.
The announcement that a law is being drafted for the setting up of a new consumer protection authority does not come a day too early. The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority will take over the work at present being done by a number of small agencies, like the Office for Fair Trading, the Office for Consumer affairs and the Office of Fair Competition.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Consumers and Fair Competition, Chris Said, maintains that this authority "will promote, maintain and encourage competition and safeguard the interest of consumers and promote sound business practices". It will hopefully also cut bureaucratic costs by eliminating the present fragmented structure of consumer protection entities.
Ultimately, what really matters is whether the new watchdog will have the teeth to reverse the present trend of giving less than optimal support to consumers who have a right for the best possible service at the fairest price. Unfortunately, in a small economy market forces do not always result in the fairest deal for consumers. This is sometimes the result of large organisations operating in the economy using their dominant position to dictate prices and quality of service.
There is also a great need for increased consumer education as inertia often deprives people of the opportunity to get the best deal, simply because they do not know how to look for such a deal. It is encouraging that the younger generations are being trained to be more proactive in their quest to exploit the benefits that can be reaped in a free market economy. It is also important that consumers cooperate with the new authority by giving it feedback on how effective abuse curbing measures are.
The liberalisation of a few remaining protected areas of business activities is also a welcome move. The setting up of parallel markets to the Pitkali - the traditional vegetable and fruit market operated by middlemen - is an important development to ensure that consumers have a choice and, hopefully, a reduction in costs when procuring some of their daily essentials.
It is essential that the new authority focuses on all the aspects of consumer protection. This should go beyond ensuring that medicine, food and other essential commodities prices are fair. It must be assured there is no charging abuse in other services including common financial services. Vigilance is also needed to guarantee other aspects of consumer protection including those relating to health and safety issues linked to the provision of certain services.
The public is a very demanding judge of the effectiveness of political initiatives and the ultimate result that they produce. The success of this new authority will be judged on how much it effectively gives the public the protection it needs.