State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan

Guest Post by Mr. Nadeem Irshad Kayani, Director Punjab Consumer Protection Council, Headquarters Office, 135-J Model Town, Lahore, Ph # 042-5857927, 5855471.

The consequences of growing integration globally include enhanced speed & velocity of transactions involving finance, technology, information and transportation of goods and services. The business is on the move globally and off shoring and outsourcing provides cheaper inputs resulting in cost effective products and services. As a consequence business remains competitive and consumers get more options to choose from a range of products and services. The services trade is growing immensely and increased connectivity has provided it with virtual space to move and grow.

The increasing competition due to availability of information make consumer confused but at the same time cost of product and services may decrease to the benefit of the consumer. The standards of products and services can go down and deceptive practices to earn profits may gain currency.

Globalization is not an equitable process and its effects vary depending on the social status and geographical location of the individual. Liberalization, privatization of economy and regulation of the markets are the buzz words these days but in fact regulation and de-regulation of business continues side by side. Need is being felt to introduce rights based regime to face the ill effects of globalization. The human rights of the citizens are a contested domain and they have become an integral part of national and global policies aimed at providing justice and equal opportunity for all. The academics argue that economic and process regulation should be replaced by social regulation including consumer protection.

Every working person wants high quality products and services in return for his hard earned money. The rights of consumers are an integral part of human rights agenda, specifically elaborated in the guidelines for consumer protection formulated by United Nations General Assembly in 1985. These guidelines provide a framework to safeguard the consumers against deception, fraud and exploitation.

At the national level, the framework of principles formulated to protect consumers from ill effect of the market failures and deceptions results in consumer protection policy. The formulation of consumer protection policy is not a priority for the developing countries in view of more urgent targets within their national policy planning to achieve economic growth and reduce poverty. The politics of business in developing countries results in dominant position of the sellers being more organized and having resources and information at their command. The consumers on the other hand are ill organized, lack resources and relevant information, which results in absence of resistance by civil society against onslaught of sub-standard products and services.

Consumer protection is an institutional mechanism, based on enactment of legislation followed by establishment of grievance redressal system. In developed world this sequence is preceded by efforts to raise awareness about its benefits. The stakeholders in the process are the consumers, civil society, government and businesses. But in Pakistan the legislation and its implementation has preceded an organized effort to raise awareness about the act. The legislative process to introduce consumer protection in Pakistan resulted in enactment of legislation in three provinces and federal area except for Sindh province where the ordinance has lapsed thrice till now. In Punjab, the provincial assembly passed the Punjab consumer protection act in 2005.Under the act institutional mechanism started working in March 2007. At the apex of the institutional system is the Provincial Consumer Protection Council with representation in equal numbers from both public and private sectors. The council will gather data and information to eradicate hazardous and unhealthy product and services and will make efforts to remove these items from trade and commerce. The council will also review recommendations from district councils and get these suggestions implemented.

The consumer court presided by judges will adjudicate complaints pertaining to claim of damages/compensations. The salient features of the act includes complaints against services besides products with few exceptions , time limit of six months for decisions by the court, easy method of filing complaints, no court fee and grant of unlimited damages. Besides, judicial system, a quasi-judicial system with District Coordination Officer as authority, can impose fine up to Rs 50,000 and inquire into hazardous and unhealthy products and services. Alternate dispute resolution system in form of compromise before start of the trial is also available under the act.

The district consumer courts and councils have been established in eleven districts of the province including Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Dera Ghazi khan and Bahawalpur. Nearby districts are covered by these courts and future plans include establishment of consumer courts in all the districts of the province.

In the past, existing legislations, regulatory laws and departmental complaint redressal systems did not provide redressal of complaints especially for ordinary consumers and they were at the mercy of the expatiators. This PCPA provides a platform for the consumers to lodge their complaints in a cost effective manner.

The civil society play crucial role in protection of rights of every citizen in a society. It builds pressure on the policy makers to realize the need for change and to collectively work towards empowering citizens. As consumer protection is a part of human rights agenda, it requires whole hearted effort from the civil society to bring changes in the attitude of the society as a whole and provides basis for creating suitable environment for inclusion of consumer protection in the national policy framework.

The implementation of consumer protection legislations will lead to its evolution, which will ultimately result in its effective implementation. In this evolutionary process a lot of grey areas may emerge like role of regulatory bodies, mohtasib, departmental redressal mechanism and price control system vis-à-vis consumer protection system. Precise legislation, utilization of every forum for redressal of complaints by citizens and clear mandate of various agencies involved will make the consumer protection system effective and efficient for the benefit of ordinary citizens.

The present scenario of implementation of consumer laws face various challenges like raising awareness among public to get relief from the implementation system, build capacity in the system to develop procedures and laws which are compatible with our social environment, take business interest along and motivate civil society to build pressure for changing policy discourse towards consumer oriented policy making and need to educate younger generation of consumers, rural consumers and women in order to build future support base for a consumer centered struggle.

The facilitation of consumers is the primary objective of this public welfare legislation introduced by Government of Punjab, its success or otherwise will depend on its proper utilization by citizens of the province through lodging complaints and claiming their rights.