Sarath Wijesinghe

(Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel (LLM International Law (UCL)), former Ambassador to
UAE and Israel, President Ambassador’s Forum, Former Chairman of The Consumer Affairs
Authority, Solicitor England and Wales and former Secretary General Bar Association of Sri
Lanka (LLM (UCL), assisted by Suchithra Withanage (LLM (UK) (LLM (UK|Reading) LLB (Hons)
(UK))
The Season of Celebration and Consumerism
As the festive season draws nigh, the citizens of Sri Lanka yet again take to the streets
and vibrant communal hubs in order to exercise their power of purchase and get
involved in merrymaking. As consumers, they would, in theory, be entitled to a wide and
meticulously drafted set of rights and statutory safeguards pertaining to their purchases.
As one of the most powerful forces in the world, the consumer is expected to be entitled
to a certain standard of commerce and life. However, the unfortunate reality of Sri
Lankan consumerism is that a stereotype of chaotic disorganisation has been
perpetuated over the years by an amalgam of negligence and unawareness of legal
rights that are available to the public as potential users of goods and services made
available in exchange for consideration by any trader or manufacturer (as per
s75 of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act 2003).
Due to the existing state of affairs where the consumer is non-conversant with their
legal rights and contemporary knowledge of consumerism, they have become an easy
demographic to prey upon by unprincipled traders and exploiters of the social system.
Adding to the mix the rise of crime, gangs and pickpockets in the public streets and
transport services, the state of consumerism in Sri Lanka is in pressing need for
modernisation as well as optimisation. As the protector of the rights of its citizens, it is
the responsibility of the State to provide an adequate and holistic system of regulatory
protection which would shield the latter from unfair and/or unscrupulous trade practices
which would be hazardous to their lives, property and their right of access to goods.
Moreover, the State must ensure that a comprehensive process of legal redress is
made readily available to its citizens who have been rendered victims of such unfair
trade practices, as was elucidated in s7 of the Act. Regulators such as the Consumer
Affairs Authority (CAA), the Ministry of Trade, and Local Authorities face various
hardships in their duties due to being pressed for time and an overload of political
turmoil anchoring down the current state of affairs, but they are by no means
unequipped to do as the required facilities and funding are provided for by the
government.
A Quest for a Kaleidoscopic Perspective
The famous maxim, ‘the consumer is king’ comes to mind when contemplating the
status quo of consumerism in general. Alas, the practicality of the notion has faded into
obscurity over the decades in Sri Lanka due to the medley of disorganisation and chaos
that follows in the all-too-familiar bedlam which ensues each year during the high points
of our traditional festivities. The consumers must be educated on their rights and
obligations so that they possess the acumen to demand and examine receipts, check
standards, read directions fluently on hire/purchase agreements etc. In light of the
World Consumer day (15th of March), the World Consumer Federation has initiated a
worldwide agitation in order for the legitimate share for consumers to be claimed. The
sentiment bears weight, particularly in retrospect of late US President John F.
Kennedy’s statement in 1962, “Consumers, by definition, include us all. They are the
largest economic group in the economy, affecting and affected by almost every public
and private economic decision.”
In more developed parts of the world, consumer rights are a nigh sacrosanct concept
where the ‘unfairness’ of trade practices are subject to strict restrictions by governments
and are augmented by the lobbying efforts of powerful organisations to maintain quality,
standards, costs and the right to return goods, as well as the maintenance of standards
by traders and manufacturers. Our own country however, contains an unfortunate
abundance of adulterated and poisonous food chains, as well as a diverse variety of
other genres of substandard goods available for consumption of citizens which are not
subject to restrictive conditions. Our citizens face an unfortunate state where performing
their traditional and familial obligations during the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year period
has become an uphill battle. Hitherto, there is no adequate control dynamic in place to
control and regulate the quality and price of items available to consumers which are
expected to be monitored by the main regulator, the Consumer Affairs Authority.
The Consumer Affairs Authority has been established in lieu of the Fair Trading
Consumer Act No. 1 of 1987, as well as the Price Control Act No. 1 of 1987 for the
promotion of effective competition and legal protection of the consumer. As a blend of
UK, Australian as other Western modelled concepts, it aims to establish a primary
regulator to standardise and supervise trade under s9 of the Act. With wide-ranging
powers to undertake research, issue directions, restrict selling above the established
market prices, determine industry standards, conduct inquiries into consumer
complaints, enter agreements, deal with offences such as refusal to sell/hoarding of
goods, investigate publications and preventing misleading or deceptive practices etc.,
the Authority is well placed to ensure an all-encompassing dynamic of consumer
protection in Sri Lanka.
Nevertheless, due to the abolition of the price control as per the Price Control Act, the
new status quo was introduced where the onus was placed upon traders to exhibit the
price mark and maintain standards of consumables (s29). Thus, it has fallen to the
consumer to judge the efficacy of the enforcement mechanism in the preservation of the
aforesaid standards, a task that ought not, necessarily, rest upon their shoulders due to
a prevalent lack of awareness and expertise in such materialistic endeavours. The
question of whether the CAA is a competent organisation capable of upholding the
sanctity of the legal regulation of consumerism which it was created to protect, or a
mere paper tiger thus falls to the consumer himself to decide based upon the efficacy
and vigour of its performance.
Mistaking Cause for Cure? The Sri Lankan Dilemma in Perspective
Tragically, the rapidly rising and increasingly unbearable cost of living is not a concept
that requires any further explanation to any Sri Lankan citizen. The cost of living is
generally a relative phrase, dependent upon the conditions, environments and
jurisdiction in question. It is a consistently rare occurrence for prices of consumer
articles to recede in value, even though the basic income of citizens has seen gradual
increments over time, albeit arguably at a snail’s-pace. The price of bread, for instance,
is not an established static but through necessity, the consumer has acclimatised to the
price fluctuations over the years. In Western countries, a significant portion of one’s
income is allocated towards accommodation, whereas items such as food are much
more affordable. On the other hand, Sri Lankan citizens toil and languish under
arguably superfluous adversities in life as the basic income of the average citizen can
be considered insufficient. Nevertheless, the discussion may arise that through astute
and careful consumer practices, it is possible to beat the cost of living provided that the
prices of items such as mobile phones, tuition and vanity based extravagances are
restricted. In a nutshell, one must familiarise oneself with the essentials of (1) when to
buy, (2) where to buy, (3) how to buy and (4) what to buy.
In England, an apple which is available for purchase at Selfridges, one of the most
expensive department store chains in the UK, can be bought at the street market for
mere fraction of the cost. Likewise, in Sri Lanka, street markers are plentiful and
consumables purchased there can be carefully stored and used. While being the most
economically viable option for consumers, such a commercial dynamic will promote
local small businesses and budding entrepreneurship which Sri Lanka is in dire need of,
particularly in light of the recent economic crisis which even as of writing, continues to
hold the country in thrall. Consumers make the persistent blunder of prioritising
unhealthy and largely commercialised food chains containing unhealthy ingredients and
unwholesome soda drinks which unwittingly invites a plethora of long term health
conditions and serious comorbidities, thereby increasing the financial strain on
themselves as well as the public healthcare systems of the country. Consumers must
therefore exercise diligence and prudence in selecting the most practical and viable
options for consumables when exercising their rights of purchase.
Due to the unawareness/inability/reluctance on part of traders and industrialists
themselves who are an essential component of society and the economy at large, the
confidence of the citizens in the economic system of the country has deteriorated as
well. The regulations established by the Consumer Affairs Act are quite comprehensive
in terms of setting out implied and express terms of merchantable quality standards, but
the fact that sellers are bound by both written and unwritten rules, regulations,
conventions and norms which are little/not known to them as well as consumers and
even regulators, paints a bleak picture for the future of consumerism in Sri Lanka. ‘SeriVanija’ is a Jataka story in which a just trader identified a gold bowl and paid the
equitable price for it, despite the poverty-stricken citizen seller not being aware of it
himself, whereas an errant trader who rejected it under malicious pretenses died of a
stroke from hearing of the transaction that he unwittingly missed out upon. the former
should be the shining example which ought to guide the flow of commerce in Sri Lanka,
but has little effect in the current social and commercial climate. The availability of
modern shopping via the internet and the availability of smart phones to access massive
online marketplaces on the go such as Ebay, Alibaba, Amazon etc., which are seeing a
correlation in growth with the recent decline of public trust in domestic traders, is of
significant importance. This is due to the resulting exacerbation of cash flows out of the
country in a nation crippled by debt and financial distress. 40% of UK shopping is
online, which according to them, is safe trading and consumerism with included checks
and balances with the involvement of the Department of Trade and Commerce whereas
the CAA, its Sri Lankan counterpart, is now relatively inert, ineffective and inefficient at
times.
Catalysing a Change in the Status-Quo
It must also be said that it is a civic duty of all citizens to contribute to the noble task of
the CAA in identifying problematic commercial practices. The CAA is expected to be
available to entertain complaints of citizens via phone, internet and a constant presence
throughout the country, a service which encompasses both goods and services. In
many other nations, this system is quite evolved and the citizens are so well versed with
the process that traders are under the control of the common consumer and therefore
perform to satisfactory standards. The media is an integral component of nurturing this
paradigm of productivity as well. The example of the UK scandal of the Cola company
drawing water from the River Thames to use in production springs to mind, where it was
the media which uncovered the matter. The Bopal case of India is another well-known
example where the media came forward to educate multinational companies on the
subject of unfair trade. The CAA of Sri Lanka is also expected to organise a consumer
federation with the intent of providing assistance to the consumer. The argument can be
made that it is the duty of the NGOs within the country to take up the mantle and
catalyse progress the area rather than be dependent on human rights conditions on Sri
Lanka to reach expected standards in parallel to them. The time is also ripe for citizens
to work hard and achieve a greater semblance of order within the chaos, in order to
combat the rising tide of living costs and nurture a careful and systematic
exemplification of organised, self-sufficient society.
Finally, the rapid escalation of illegal activities during the festive season must be
addressed. It is against the law to perform bogus sales and maliciously overprice goods
and services in order to take undue advantage of the needs of citizens during festivities.
While consumers do not have the right to demand price reductions from service
providers, they are quite entitled to the right to purchase quality goods which adhere to
established health and safety standards. The ‘1919’ service, CAA and the Board of
Standards for quality and price of consumer items must stand ready to receive
legitimate complaints by citizens and provide systematic and adequate resolutions to
their concerns.
The way forward involves a symbiotic dynamic of development between the
rights of the citizens, the constructive involvement of the media and the
responsibility of the state in order to ensure the availability of quality items at a
reasonable price for consumption. The United Nations too has given a high level
of recognition to the right to satisfaction and ensuring fundamental needs, safety,
information, the opportunity to be heard, redress, consumer education and a
healthy environment to be facilitated and provided to the citizen by the State. The
Government must separate the CAA to exist as an independent body led by a
non-political qualified person with a legal background appointed by the
constitutional council preferably with a legal background. A joint exercise must
be spearheaded as a matter of statutory duty by the CAA, which is the primary
regulator, in order to organise traders, manufacturers, industrialists and citizens
as integral cogs in a well-oiled machine in order to achieve the desired paradigm
of a competitive and friendly social environment where the costs of living can be
beaten and where quality, as well as healthy consumer items can become the
norm rather than the exception. The consumer must be vigilant and intelligent,
the trader should be fair and reasonable, and the State must uphold the
sacrosanct duty of cultivating a standard of life for its citizens/consumers that
has the potential to be the envy of the world. We pray and wish the consumer
success and prosperity during the festive season!
Writer can be reached on 0094777880166|0094766280166
|sarath7@hotmailco.uk | sarathdw28@gm