"Wrongful Labelling of Products Undermines the Laws That Seek to Protect Our People and Our Trading Policy"
Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Rob Davies has not simply got a right, but is obligated to ensure that all products and those who trade in them in South Africa comply with The Consumer Protection Act. Certainly, as a people's participatory democracy and a sovereign state South Africa will fight not only to protect its consumers but also to support our strategic trade policy as a responsible member of the international community of nations.
This principle ensures that our policies are aligned and laws complement each other. In this way the intentions of the legislators are strengthened and legislation is more robust. This applies to the specifically to clause:
Section 24(5) of the Consumer Protection Act, becomes more resilient. This section focuses on product labelling and trade descriptions. The specific sub-section states that:
(5) The producer or importer of any goods that have been prescribed in terms of subsection (4) must apply a trade description to those goods, disclosing-
(a) the country of origin of the goods; and
(b) any other prescribed information.
It should be noted that the only goods currently prescribed are textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods plus GMO foods.