Government to focus on welfare of consumers: DPM Shrestha

KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said the government is committed to taking action against the violation of consumers' rights and anomalies for the promotion of a healthy market. The government will focus on the welfare of consumers, he said at a discussion with the theme of 'Easy Availability of Consumer Goods, Customs Evasion and Smuggling' at the Ministry of Home Affairs. "The government will not give leeway to the law violation and anomalies. Consumers have the right to access quality essentials at a fair price." The market monitoring will be effective in consultation with the stakeholders, he said. The issues will be focused on the ways to make the monitoring effective, control the black marketing and the sale of substandard goods and provide consumers with quality goods at a reasonable price, he reiterated. He assured that problems being faced by entrepreneurs will be resolved through proper monitoring required in irregularities in industries and trade Home Minister Shrestha stressed the need for correcting the weaknesses seen in business and of taking effective steps towards resolving problems if any. Stating that consumer rights were being restrained by some unscrupulous traders, he urged consumer rights activists to provide suggestions to the government on topics for improvement. DPM Shrestha reiterated that the incumbent government has stressed good governance to establish social justice so that the general public get the fruits of prosperity. "The government is moving ahead with good governance as the precondition. The goal of prosperity can be given a concrete shape through good governance alone," he said adding that the prosperity goal can be achieved only by bringing the economy on track and that the government has focused its attention on making the State stronger. On the occasion, consumer rights activists shared that the consumers were cheated in the purchase of every good and service, stressed making the regulatory bodies more resourceful and rewriting the Act related to consumer rights. Traders and businesspersons called for the government's support in the promotion of trade and business and having the representation of genuine traders in the mechanism for facilitating trade and business. Home Secretary Dinesh Kumar Bhattarai, Nepal Police Inspector General Basanta Kunwar, Armed Police Force Inspector General  Raju Aryal, Director Generals of the Inland Revenue Department and Consumer Protection Department and the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, consumer rights advocates and members of the business community participated in the discussions. By RSS READ ALSO:

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