A number of vexing problems that have plagued the Bahamian consumer for a number of years will be remedied when legislation to be known as the Consumer Protection Act, will be presented in Parliament.
According to the Minister of Trade & Industry, Leslie Miller, the Consumer Protection Act will be structured within the guidelines of the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection. The guidelines were developed to ensure that Government is provided with a framework for developing and strengthening consumer protection policies and legislation based on a set of identified objectives.
The Act will address consumer needs in the areas of protection from hazards to their health and safety, consumer education, promotion of consumer economic interest and the protection of the same.
Furthermore, the Act will give access to adequate information to aid in the better selection of products, goods & services, avenues for effective consumer redress and encouragement of the formation of consumer groups and other relevant non-profit organisations to represent the consumer views in matters of interest and decision making.
Speaking to scores of PLP supporters at the annual convention last Thursday, Minister Miller said that an area that disturbs him greatly was the disservice of unscrupulous building contractors who continue to deceive the hardworking single mothers of the nation who are buying or building their first homes.
“I am sounding a warning to those persons who may be guilty and to those persons who may be contemplating similar action,” Minister Miller said, “to be aware that officers of the Consumer Welfare Unit of my Ministry will vigorously pursue those persons violating the law and will be seeking to prosecute those persons to the fullest extent of the law.”
He said the Ministry will also seek to protect honest Bahamian contractors from foreign contractors who enter the country on work permits to do specific jobs and do not leave even after their permits have expired.
Clearly stating that this situation will not be tolerated, the Minister said forces will be joined between his ministry and the Immigration department to ensure that those involved will be on the next plane out of the country.
Noting that quality affordable housing has always been the centre piece of PLP government initiatives, Minister Miller said every effort will be made to ensure that the many consumers who are faced with having to live in substandard or poorly maintained housing and overcharged rent lease agreements are dealt with fairly.
Stating that his Ministry is in the process of developing a draft legislation to have the Rent Control Act amended, Minister Miller indicated that the Rent Control Act, 1975 (Amending 1979) only applies to properties (inclusive of dwelling and Land) that do not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in value. This he said, is totally out of touch with the reality of construction cost and has proposed that the legislation be changed to cover properties between the values of $50,000 to $100,000.
“We have undertaken an aggressive study of the various models of rent control as well as market driven alternatives so as to obtain a locally relevant and easily implementable programme that will ensure that Landlords maintain their rental properties at an acceptable level and standard,” he said. “Further, it will place an obligation on the individual(s) entering into the lease agreement to exercise due diligence in maintaining the Landlord’s property at an acceptable standard thereby and rightly protecting the Landlord’s investment.”
The Minister also said that his ministry would join with all relevant partners to ensure that the less fortunate do not continue to pay what he termed, ‘exorbitant sums of monies’ for substandard rental dwelling.
Addressing the serious problem of the importation of wreck/condemned vehicles from the United States which are being sold to an unsuspecting Bahamian public, Minister Miller said that he is very much aware of this practice.
“My Ministry will launch an investigation in respect to the various concerns that have been expressed, paying special attention to the issues of safety and potential hazards this situation presents to potential road users,” he said.
The Minister Miller said the vehicles are reportedly imported under fraudulent circumstances whereby doors, fenders and hoods are removed, shipped to one dock in Nassau, the other part of the vehicle is then shipped to another dock in Nassau.
Two weeks later, a $60,000 car is re-assembled with the owners only paying customs duty of $2,000 to $6,000 dollars on the so-called wreck.
“I wish to also warn at this time, that all importers of used Japanese vehicles will be required to have parts available for those vehicles,” he said. “Failure to do so may mean a revocation of their licenses. However, I may suggest that those business entities importing such vehicles may consider combining their resources to establish a parts depot for the respective vehicles.”
The Minister said the overall benefit is for the Bahamian consumer, as the regulation of standards will encourage entrepreneurship through competition and cause many existing business to improve or diversify their products to either maintain or gain a greater share of the market or create new markets.
Turning to further enlightening developments, Minister Miller revealed the intention of the Government to negotiate a contract with the Trinidad and Tobago Government to seek better prices on imports of petroleum and petroleum products. Stating that it was in an effort to reduce the cost of gas to the Bahamian consumer, the Minister appealed to oil importers to reconsider the high rental and high percentages they ask of the dealers especially from convenience stores. He suggested that they lower their fees to oil dealers so that they could handle operational costs which are considered too high and eventually lead to the dealer being forced out of business.
The dealer in turn, the Minister said, is being asked to upgrade their services to the motoring public.
“I would like to sound a warning to the oil companies,” he said. “A monitoring has been in place for sometime on the issuance of license for the opening of new service stations. In other words, the transfer of licenses will not be tolerated.”
Concerning an oil exploration venture in The Bahamas, the Trade & Industry Minister noted that the Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corporation, one of the world’s largest oil corporation with assets in excess of $11 billion dollars, has been given exploration rights in the area of Grand Bahama and other locations in the country.
According to Minister Miller, the company is prepared to spend in excess of $25 million dollars to explore for oil in the waters of the Great Bahama Bank. Oil has been reportedly been seeping to the surface in a particular area and as stated by Minister Miller, the Government has already received $900,000 in licensing fees. Additionally, the Government will also receive in $4 million during the exploration stage. It is agreed that if oil is discovered the Government will receive 18% of the revenue.
“The discovery of oil has the potential to dramatically transform the economic landscape of this country forever,” he said. “I firmly believe and sincerely hope that the oil companies exploring for oil in our waters will be successful and thereby provide us with a new dynamic sector for economic growth and development.”
By Lisa Albury, The Nassau Guardian
