Latest News

CCPC Cautions Public on Consumption of Tinned Fish Products

2020-02-27

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has received a public warning from the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) pursuant to Article 30 (1) (b) of the COMESA Competition Regulations warning the general public against consuming canned pilchards in tomato and chili sauce products from South Africa that are alleged to be unfit for human consumption.

This concern comes after the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) in South Africa ordered a national recall of all 400 grams pilchard products which were found to have been compromised during the sauce filling process and could thereby affect consumers. 

Some of the affected brands which the investigation identified include: Deep Catch, Mamas, Ok Housebrand, Prime Ocean, Spar, Sunny, Shoprite Ritebrand, Cape Point, Checkers Housebrand, u brand, Saldanha and West Point all manufactured by West Point Processors in Cape Town, South Africa. 

In view of the foregoing, the Commission would like to urge consumers to exercise caution by ensuring that they look out for the affected pilchard products and avoid consumption for the good of their health and safety.

To this effect, the Commission in collaboration with the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA), the Ministry of Health, Public Health Departments of Local Councils and other stakeholders has instituted a countrywide exercise which is aimed at ensuring that all such products with the affected batch numbers that may have penetrated the Zambian market are removed from the shelves.

The Commission hereby directs all wholesalers, supermarkets, distributors, retailers, importers and traders to remove and surrender to the nearest Public Health office of every Council all affected Pilchard products which have can tops bearing markings starting with ZST29 and ZSC29 respectively.

Rainford Mutabi

Alert on False Individuals Masquerading as CCPC Inspectors

2020-02-17

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has noted with concern the rise in the number of individuals who are masquerading as Commission Inspectors and employees. 

Following preliminary investigations conducted by the Commission, it has been discovered that there are some unscrupulous people purporting to be either employees or inspectors from the Commission who are confiscating goods and collecting money illegally from traders across the country.

The Commission would like to urge all traders and the general public to be cautious of any person claiming to be an officer or inspector from the Commission by ensuring that they look out for Identification Cards (I.D) and certificate of appointment as proof of executing their duties. Were the public is not sure or in doubt, please contact the Commission or the Zambia Police Service immediately. 

We would like to inform traders, retailers and manufacturers that the Commission does not issue spot fines, hence anyone demanding money from traders should be treated as a suspected extortionist and be reported to the Commission on the toll free line 5678 or any nearest Police station. Please be advised that fines are imposed by the Board of Commissioners and not Management or Inspectors.

The Commission would like to warn individuals or anyone claiming to be a Commission Officer or Inspector to deist from engaging into such fraudulent conduct as that is prohibited under the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. Thus, any person found guilty is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.

Rainford Mutabi

CCPC Awards Winners for National Inter-School Poster Competition

2020-02-11

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in partnership with the Rural Finance Expansion Programme (RUFEP) conducted a poster competition for secondary schools on financial inclusion. The aim was to assess how much knowledge the pupils had on financial consumer protection in Zambia and also to inculcate the pupils with this knowledge.

The competition was held under the theme, “Financial Consumer Protection in the Digital Era” and involved the participation of fifty (50) secondary school clubs countrywide. Out of the total posters that were submitted, the winning poster from each province was selected to compete for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes at national level.

The Commission would like to inform the nation that of the selected posters from the ten (10) provinces, Kamwala South Secondary school won the 1st Prize with Solwezi Boys Technical Secondary taking 2nd Prize while Hillside Girls Secondary School got 3rd Prize. These schools represented Lusaka, North-Western and Eastern Provinces respectively.

The Commission has used this competition to evaluate the depth of knowledge of our future leaders on financial consumer protection. However, the Commission is concerned that only 20% of the pupils were able to depict illustrations on financial consumer protection such as highlighting concerns on secure passwords, non-disclosure of Personal Identification Number (PIN) and posting of Personal bank information on social media among others. The CCPC together with the Financial Sector regulators continues to raise 
awareness on these issues and from this competition it is clear that more needs to be done. 

The Commission also awarded shields and books to the seven (7) schools that emerged winners at provincial level. These include Raphael Kombe Girls, Choma Day, Limulinga, Chinsali Day, Nchelenge, St. Francise and Wusakile secondary schools. The schools represent Central, Southern, Western, Muchinga, Luapula, Northern and Copperbelt Provinces respectively. 

The Commission would like to congratulate all the schools that took part in the competition together with stakeholders that participated in the evaluation of results including the Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA).

Rainford Mutabi

CCPC Seizes Goods Worth k23, 000 in Chinsali

2020-02-10

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in collaboration with the Chinsali Municipal Council (CMC) has seized assorted goods worth twenty three thousand kwacha (K23, 000). This follows a joint inspection conducted at Chinsali Central Business District.

The seized items had defects and therefore, did not meet the mandatory product information standards set by section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) No. 24 of 2010 and the Food and Drugs Regulations under the Food and Drugs Act Cap 303 of the Laws of Zambia.

Defects on the seized items included insufficient labels, expired products while others did not have expiry dates. Other seized items had inappropriate packaging and some had broken seals.

The products seized include Coca-Cola Zero, Super Maheu and Twist Carbonated drink. 

The seizure of the goods was conducted during a routine inspection of trading premises in Muchinga Province with the view of ascertaining the traders’compliance levels with the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) No.24 of 2010.

The Commission would like to warn all suppliers, retailers and distributors to seize selling unsuitable products which have exceeded or are close to reaching their shelf life especially to rural areas.

Traders are further advised to abide by the law and desist from engaging in unfair trading practices or any conduct that erode consumer welfare. Further, the Commission would like to advice consumers countrywide to be proactive and report perpetrators of both anti-competitive business behavior and unfair trading practices to the Commission.

Rainford Mutabi