The
announcement
was
made
by
Information,
Publicity
and
Broadcasting
Services
Minister
Zhemu
Soda
during
the
fifth
post-Cabinet
media
briefing
in
Harare
on
Tuesday.
Said
Soda:
“Cabinet
considered
and
approved
the
Consumer
Protection
Policy,
which
was
presented
by
the
Minister
of
Finance,
Economic
Development
and
Investment
Promotion
as
the
Chairman
of
the
Cabinet
Committee
on
National
Development
Planning.“Government
has
developed
the
Consumer
Protection
Policy
(2026–2030)
aimed
at
safeguarding
consumer
rights
in
an
increasingly
complex
and
dynamic
marketplace.“The
Policy
serves
to
regulate
the
supply
of
goods
and
services,
safeguard
the
rights
of
consumers
and
promote
fair
trading
practices
in
the
marketplace.
T“The
framework
also
promotes
the
production
of
quality
goods
and
services
in
order
to
meet
the
needs
of
an
empowered
consumer,
ultimately
improving
the
country’s
domestic
and
international
competitiveness.“The
Consumer
Protection
Policy
closes
the
existing
legislative
and
institutional
gaps,
strengthens
coordination
among
agencies
and
promotes
fair,
transparent
and
accountable
practices
across
all
sectors
of
the
economy.“The
Consumer
Protection
Policy
is
anchored
on
strategic
pillars,
namely:
Institutional
Architecture
for
Consumer
Protection;
Dispute
Resolution
and
Redress
Mechanism;
Legal
and
Regulatory
Framework;
Product
Safety
and
Quality
of
Goods
and
Services;
Counterfeit
and
Illicit
Trade;
Consumer
Education
and
Awareness;
Regional
Integration
and
International
Cooperation;
and
e-Commerce
and
Digital
Transactions.“The
pillars
entail,
among
other
objectives,
strengthening
Consumer
Protection
institutions;
intensification
of
ongoing
market
compliance
checks;
enforcement
of
consumer
rights
and
welfare
through
clear
dispute
resolution
guidelines;
the
establishment
of
a
dedicated
Anti-Counterfeiting
Framework;
and
the
rollout
of
comprehensive
consumer
education
programmes.
Other
policy
actions
include
the
review
of
legal
instruments
governing
digital
transactions
and
the
strengthening
of
the
Consignment-Based
Conformity
Assessment
system
in
the
country.“The
Policy
has
a
robust
monitoring
and
evaluation
framework
for
effective
consumer
participation
and
improved
business
compliance.”