The IFP is saddened by the decision of the Department of Trade and Industry to delay, once again, the coming into force of the Consumer Protection Act which was passed by Parliament in 11 November 2008 and assented to by the President in April 2009.

IFP MP Dr Mario GR Oriani-Ambrosini MP stated: "Lawyers, industrialists and distributors alike welcomed the postponement of the coming into force of consumer protection in South Africa.  They all have reasons to rejoice except us the consumers. I don't get it. We pass a law, the President signs it and the Minister decide if and when the protection extended by the law should finally apply. This is not acceptable.

South Africans have waited for decades to catch-up with the rest of the democratic world. We all notice how appliances in this country malfunction more often than in other countries because even re-manufactured goods are sold as new, which the Act will prevent. Products are not adequately labelled and important information for the protection of both our health and our finances are not being disclosed.

This reflects the old mindset that people are only there to be milked and exploited, whether they are workers, consumers, taxpayers, or voting cannon fodders. It is time to begin respecting people, as the true sovereign whose interests are more important than those of the oligarchs running the few banks, distribution networks and industries of a country characterized by cartels and monopolies," said Dr Ambrosini.

Statement issued by the Inkatha Freedom Party September 29 2010

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