Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) executive director Rosemary Siyachitema has fired back upon calling CCZ a toothless bulldog saying Zimbabweans should take a responsibility in customer care.The director was speaking during Third Annual Customer Service Symposium in Harare today.
Siyachitema said that CCZ has 19 people to look after 13 million people in Zimbabwe.
“I think we as Zimbabweans don’t want to take a responsibility of I want this I don’t want this that is why we are in a crisis we are today,” said Siyachitema.
The question of CCZ as a toothless bulldog had been raised earlier on by Chartered Institute of Customer Relationship Management (CICRM) Executive Director, Dr Mthokozisi Nkosi, one of the organisers of the 2 day symposium.
Siyachitema said that customer care was not the responsibility of the CCZ only but also different players in the government.
“Why are we happy for 19 people to look after 13 million people. They are questions to think about,” CCZ Director said.
“People are sending what they want to Zimbabwe and we are consuming it…because they want the dollar.”
The Third Annual Customer Service Symposium comes at a time when Zimbabwe is working on a Consumer Bill into an act to protect the consumers.
The bill will result in the establishment of a Consumer Court and a Consumer Protection Commission.
Bill also seeks to promote a fair, efficient and transparent marketplace for consumers and business, to promote consumer rights to basic needs, to provide for improved standards of consumer information, to prohibit unfair competition, marketing and business practices.
Consumers have in the past been tormented by long winding queues in banks and supermarkets, unprecedented questionable mobile data costs and also of recent a sudden hike in price that caused a panic among the Zimbabwean buyers.
The Symposium has been organised by CICRM to promote a fair efficient and transparent marketplace for consumers a consumer protection bill was drafted in 2014 but its passing into law has taken longer.
CICRM is a global institute that designs, develops and promotes practices in Customer Relationship Management.
