The Ministry of Trade is getting closer to completing a legal framework for consumer protection in Dominica.
Consultant, Carl Buik, who was in Dominica in August of 2016 to review the draft bill and make recommendations, is currently back on island for a two-day workshop.
His primary role at the first consultation was to compare Dominica’s draft bill to world’s best practices.
This time he is meeting with regulators from Customs, Ministry of Agriculture, the Police and the Bureau of Standards.
“All these organizations already have a consumer protection element. They are part of the solution to problems in consumer experience. Also it’s likely that at least some of the staff of the new commission will come from those agencies and we need to build bonds now between the agencies in the interest of consumers,” Buik said.
Buik will also make recommendations for the implementation of the Consumer Protection Bill. He indicates that the Act is ready to be passed in Parliament and implemented.
“It addresses all the major issues that you would expect to be in a consumer protection law. I think that it also provides the basis for a good institution and I think that with the issues that I have raised, there will be a bit of debate about exactly how the commission should look [as well as] an ongoing discussion about its strategies. Again, I think its full ahead steam and I think stakeholders are generally looking forward to implementation,” he said.
He gave an idea of what the consumer protection commission will look like.
“I think the structure has to flow from understanding the different functions of the commission and also understanding the scale of the exercise. What we are looking at is an effective and efficient body to emphasize consumer and charter education, dispute resolution, complaint handling and effective investigations. It will be a small, lean and effective team,” he said.