Consumer Council of Fiji
Founded | 1976 |
---|---|
Founder | Parliament of Fiji 1976 |
Type | Statutory body |
Focus | Consumer protection |
Location |
|
Origins | Established under statute Consumer Council of Fiji Act 1976 |
Method | Advocacy, education, media, campaigning, complaints handling, public lobbying |
Employees | 20 full time |
Website | consumersfiji |
The Consumer Council of Fiji is a statutory
Establishment
The council was established under an Act of the
Board
The council is governed by a board,[2] currently with a membership of four headed by chairman, Raman Dahia, a businessman. The board is appointed by the Ministry of Trade & Industry (previously Ministry of Commerce) and is required to be representative of a cross-section of the community. The board appoints the council's chief executive (CEO) The current chief executive officer of the Council is Seema Shandil[3] who heads the day-to-day operations and functions of the council. The CEO and managers report to the board on a quarterly basis or when requested to by the board.
- Current board members[4]
- Raman Dahia[5] (Chairman)
- Vimal Kumar
- Rosarine Lagi
- Mohammed Gani
- Elizabeth Jane Algar
- Arunesh Chand
Offices
The Council's head office is located at 4 Carnavon Street, Suva. While the head office covers the overall operations and functions of the council, it is responsible for services for Fiji's Eastern/Central division, the island country's most populous geographic area. Two other offices cover the other geo-administrative divisions: one based in Lautoka (Fiji's second city) covering the Western Division, while the second office based in Labasa, looks after services in Fiji's Northern Division. In total there are about 20 full-time staff[6] who serve a population of more than 800,000 people.[7]
Functions and jurisdiction
While being perceived as the principal agency on
Some of the functions under Consumer Council of Fiji Act
- advising the Minister on matters affecting the interest of consumers
- making representations to the Government or to any other person on issues affecting the interest of consumers and to give evidence at any investigation or inquiry relating to such issues
- collecting, collating and disseminating information on matters affecting the interest of consumers; includes the publication of reports, magazines, pamphlets, booklets and any other publications
- advising and assisting consumers on matters affecting their interests
- receiving, handling and investigating consumer complaints
International affiliations
Consumers International
The Consumer Council of Fiji is a full member of Consumers International (CI), the international federation of consumer organizations based in London. The Council has been a member of CI since 1989 and is the only consumer group in the South Pacific that is actively involved in CI's international activities on consumer rights and interests. In 2010, the Council celebrated World Consumer Rights Day with the theme "Our Money, Our Rights" in which it commenced a campaign to highlight what it considered unfair trade practices by Fiji's banks and financial institutions.
COPOLCO
The Council is a member of COPOLCO - the Committee on Consumer Policy of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Local/national affiliations & consultative work
The Council's status as the statutory representative of consumers in Fiji has made it an important partner or stakeholder in various Fiji consultative and policy-making bodies. The Council is often consulted on by policymakers and industry groups on matters affecting consumers in Fiji.
Some of the consultative groups that the Council is a member of are:
- Trade Standards & Advisory Council (TSAC) of the Ministry of Industry & Trade Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
- Central Board of Health (Ministry of Health)
- Fiji National Codex Committee
- Food Task Force - Technical Advisory Group (Ministry of Health)
- Fiji Medicinal Products Board
- National Industry Working Group (NIWG) of Telecommunications Authority of Fiji
- Reserve Bank of Fiji Complaints Management Forum
- National Biosafety Group
- Fiji Pharmacy Profession Board
References
- ^ Consumer Council of Fiji, Annual Report 1977, Parliament of Fiji, Parliamentary Paper No.5 of 1979.
- ^ "Consumer Council Board". consumersfiji.org. 2009-11-25. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
- ^ "Our Team".
- ^ "Council Board". www.consumersfiji.org. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Home". dahia.com.fj.
- ^ "Our Team".
- ^ "Home". consumersfiji.org.
- ^ The Fiji Commission Commerce is now the principal regulator of competition, fair trading and price control. See 'Council welcomes merger' (Fiji Sun 19/11/2009) "FijiSun Newspaper Daily e News". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
- ^ 'Restaurant Grading awaits endorsement' Fiji Times