Robert Hart, Staff ReporterTHE NATIONAL Consumers' League has taken issue with Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, for statements made recently at the first meeting of the Consumer Affairs Commission's (CAC) newly appointed board, about the lack of public support for a national consumer lobby agency.
President of the NCL Joyce Campbell told The Gleaner that she was infuriated by the Minister's suggestion that the non-Government sector had failed to take up the charge of consumer lobbying.
"We don't have money to advertise. We have been taking consumer education to the low income, grass roots and the poor of the country," Mrs. Campbell said in reference to the accomplishments of the league. She said it is clear the Minister was casting an indictment against her organisation, as it is the most notable non-government consumer watchdog group in the country.
Mr. Paulwell, during the CAC Board meeting, issued an expanded mandate to the Government-run consumer watchdog agency. According to a CAC release, the Minister made reference to the Government's shift in its pre-1990 focus on price control and exchange rate regulation to a free market system that "needs strong buyers and sellers in order to function effectively".
Mr. Paulwell, it said, "expressed his regret at the failure of the non-government sector to take up the charge of consumer lobbying". He took note of a need for Government, through the CAC, to take on the responsibility of consumer lobbying and to act as referee, so as to protect the interests of both buyers and sellers in the market.
However, the achievements of the NCL, Mrs. Campbell said, are greatly challenged by a lack of financial support.
The non-profit league receives the paltry sum of $25,000 per month in Government aid. She expounded on a number of activities undertaken by the NCL, including a consumer education programme funded by United Way and intended to carry the message of awareness to the 14 parishes. The league is also targeting 30,000 households through the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo), under the Demand Side Management Programme. Awareness of electricity consumption and methods of conservation will be taught through this initiative.
The League, which was established in April of 1966, is described as "an independent non-political non-government association of consumers, functioning only in the interest of consumers". It is currently operated, for the most part, by volunteers such as Mrs. Campbell and Dorothy Dyce, current administrator and past president.
Only a handful of workers in the modest Beechwood Avenue, St. Andrew, office are paid out of the Government's $25,000 per month endowment.
According to Mrs. Campbell, the league has indeed been actively at the forefront of consumer lobbying, despite the suggestion made when Minister Paulwell "expressed his regret" at the failings of the non-government sector.
Mrs. Dyce suggested that the CAC is not as capable as the NCL, of appealing liberally for the rights of consumers, because of its Government ties.
Mrs. Campbell pointed out, in reiterating the accomplishments of the League, that it was the NCL that lobbied for the Prices Commission in 1970, which led to the formation of the CAC. The NCL also lobbied for the incorporation of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), she said.
Mrs. Campbell lamented the difficulties experienced by volunteering members of the NCL who, despite the lack of remuneration for their efforts, continue to take on the 3,000 complaints a year. "What more do they expect us to do," she said referring to Minister Paulwell's indictment.
"If they want to talk about the CAC, fine, but there was no need to say anything about us," added Mrs. Dyce.
CAC executive director, Angella Manning responded, "I don't think the Minister was talking about a particular organisation." She pointed out that Mr. Paulwell didn't call any names.
Despite several efforts, The Gleaner was unable to get a comment from the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology. Minister Paulwell was reportedly off the island and contact could not be made with other officials of his Ministry.
