of the activities you undertake on regular basis”, urged Dr. Kigoda.He urged the management to avoid false confidence and shun allsorts of managerial injustices against staff including such vices asself centeredness, which are demoralising.

“the management should embrace good governance principlesand make collective decisions for the common good of the Com-mission.

speaking on the structure of the Workers Council that he inau-gurated, Hon. Kigoda advised the management neither to form partof the Workers Council membership nor leadership on grounds thatit will not be easy to be held accountable and penalised if theyerred. He also cautioned that the Workers Council should not beused as a hideout for irresponsible, prideful and trouble makers in-stigating conflicts in the institution.

“i call upon all FCC staff and management to give WorkersCouncil the weight it deserves, to ensure it stands for ac-countability and that it instills integrity and takes appro-priate measures against all unethical staff,” directed Dr.

Online FCC Newsletter April-September, 2013 Issues No. 0010-0011

3

Dr. Kigoda Inaugurates FCC Workers Council;

Advocates Good Governance

Minister for industry and trade, Hon. Dr. Abdallah O . Kigoda(MP) has called on Fair Competition Commission Management toobserve good governance principles in running the affair of the or-ganisation in order to deliver to the public the duty for which it wasestablished. He said this while inaugurating the Fair CompetitionCommission’s Workers Council on Wednesday 11th september,2013 at the Commission Office Premises situated in Ubungo Plaza,Dar es salaam.

“After the appointment of the new Director General and inau-gurating the Workers Council, i urge you to change for better”,stressed Dr. Kigoda. Making reference to leadership institutionalchange, Dr. Kigoda noted that changes are inevitable and that inorder for FCC to discharge its duties and responsibilities effectivelyas per its legal mandate, the working environment should be posi-tive.

“You are a specialized institution; you must inform the public

By Staff Reporter

INS

IDE

FCC Seized Counterfeit

Merchandise Worth

TShs. 60.7m/-

Pg. 2

FCC Sensitize

the Public in

Exhibitions

Pg.3

ACF, FCC Run a “Bid-

Rigging” Workshop

for African Countries

Pg. 5

Minister for Industry and Trade, Hon. Dr. Abdallah O. Kigoda (MP) (5th from left, front row) and his Deputy, Hon. Gregory Teu (MP) (6th from left).4th from left is the FCC Director General, Dr. Frederick Ringo and 5th from right is the FCC Vice-Chairman, Col (rtd) Abihudi Nalingigwa.

Welcome to the combined 10th and 11th issueof the FCC Online Newsletter. the editorialteam would like to extend sincere gratitudefor trusting us in bringing you the insatiableread-worthy edition after lengthy prepara-tory exercise.

We are committed to continue bringingyou accurate, informative and usefulnewsletters. We are also committed to im-proving it as we get along.

We had a busy, fruitful and, as usual, achallenging six months session. During thistime, we continued discharging our respon-sibilities as a credible market support insti-tution, in an effective manner. We had beenpromoting and protecting effective compe-tition in trade and commerce as well as con-sumers from unfair and misleading marketconducts.

We continued applying the required pro-cedures, policies and guidelines relating toenforcement of the Fair Competition Act(FCA) and the Merchandise Marks Act(MMA). We also continued advocating forvoluntary compliance to these act to stake-holders.

A number of important issues havetaken place at the Commission during thepast six months. Firstly, the Minister for in-dustry and trade, Hon. Dr. Abdallah O.Kigoda (MP) has appointed a new DirectorGeneral, Dr. Frederick ringo, to head FCCactivities. His appointment commenced onthe 1stAugust, 2013 and will extend for a pe-riod of four years. the editorial Boardwould like to congratulate him on the ap-pointment to a challenging post.

secondly, the FCC Workers Councilwas inaugurated by the Minister for industryand trade on 11th september, 2013. this isthe first Workers Council for FCC since itsestablishment in May, 2007.

thirdly, the FCC undertook appropriatecounterveiling measures against counterfeitgoods in line with the MMA as we haveelaborated in the story on that line.

Fourth milestone is that the AfricanCompetition Forum in collaboration withFCC had run a two-day workshop on“Combatting Bid rigging in Public Pro-curement.”

the workshop sought to build law en-forcers capacity in investigating and prose-cuting bid-rigging conducts in publicprocurement.

Additionally, the Commission partici-pated in the 37th Dar es salaam internationaltrade Fairs and Farmers exhibitions in Julyand August, 2013, respectively.

enjoy the reading of the running editionof FCC Online Newsletter.

EditorialBoard

Members

Allan S. Mlulla ChairpersonMagdalena Deputy ChairpersonUtouhDr. Deo Nangela MemberJoshua Msoma SecretaryFrank S. Mdimi EditorEmmanuel Kaale MemberChester Kapinga Member

Assistants

Zuberi KabongeBlandina Kitime

Editorial

2

Director GeneralFair Competition Commission, 2nd Floor, Western Wing, Ubungo Plaza, Morogoro Road, P.O.Box 7883, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Tel. +255 22 2461565/6/7, Fax +255 22 2461568, E-mail info@competition.or.tz, Website: www.competition.or.tz

FCC Seized Counterfeit Merchandise

Worth TShs. 60.7m/-

ARTICLE ON COUNTERFEITS /EDITORIAL

tHe Fair Competition Commission (FCC),conducted search and seizure operations inshops and privately owned premises in Dares salaam between April and August, 2013,leading to seizures of various counterfeitgoods estimated to be worth over tshs.60,715,000.

A total of 37 shops in Kariakoo businessdistrict, one residential house in Kigogo andone truck in Buguruni, Dar es salaam, weresearched and suspected counterfeit goodsfound were seized.

searched shops found to harbour couter-feit goods included rM Lackha enterprises,remko traders, tyson Gerald Kayungwa,Ml Aprol, stella John, Juwiro General sup-pliers, Dakir electrical suppliers, nemes DMatemu, Adam son Hamanji Mwinga, Dektrading Agency, Olasty B Bruno, GasperAloyce, Daudi shitungulu, salvatoryDamian, Modern tz traders, safia nasoro

Khamis, Burashid shop, Omar suleiman,Mohamed Khasim, Kenedy Herbron, PaulMabanza, idd shop, Zakayo Joseph Msigwa,Christopher Philipo Paul, Mr Zacharia Mab-ula and Mpona Mazungenuko.

Other shops include nicas August ngalloHardware Building Materials, sospeter DeusMashauri, Zamzam Ltd (BsP) and shabanOmar Mnenke. seven shops found to containcounterfeit sinarLine notepads are Hilal sta-tionery, rose Michael Munywanga, Urafikistationery, square Business & supply Print-ing Ltd., Paul nitini somani, shaban Mwiny-ihija and imalaseko inv, Ltd.

A residential house belonging to one Mo-hammed in Kigogo area was searched andwas found to contain a suspected counterfeitmosquito net, raw materials for mosquito netproduction, sewing equipment and emptiedpackages of nets donated to a neighbouringcountry through a foreign aid arrangement.the seizure was witnessed by the local au-thorities.

seized counterfeit goods include 3,910pieces of counterfeit sinarLine notepadsseized in Kariakoo in a raid operation con-ducted by FCC in collaboration with Abenry& Co. Advocates on 9th April, 2013. Othersare 95 Phillips energy savers, 244 Phillipstubelights, 525 Phillips starters, 56 Mosquitonets, 18 MeM Main switches, 12,055Gillette razor blades and 57 samsung Mobilephones. Others are sport gears bearing logosof the simba sports Club; notably 1,261 jer-seys, 31 shorts, 228 ribbons, 189 flags and1,248 wrist culture bands. Others are 728counterfeit iPs PVC Pipes seized in Kariakooon 24th July, 2013 in a raid conducted in col-laboration with nabaki Afrika, the localBrand representative of iPs PVC Pipes.

Owners of seized counterfeit goods, areat various stages of complying with the re-quirements of the Merchandise Marks Act,1963, as amended and its respective regula-tions.

the search and seizure operations againstcounterfeit goods demonstrate the Govern-ment’s commitment to protect consumers andbrand owners as well as misleading marketconducts. FCC in collaboration with the stake-holders, is working ceaselessly to protect con-sumers from being shortchanged byunscrupulous businessmen.

in line with enforcement of the law, theCommission observed that there is a need forbrand owners to step-up brand awarenesscampaigns to their traditional outlet centresto ensure they desist from falling victims ofcounterfeiters, thereby endangering lives oftanzanian consumers.

the swipe against counterfeit goods is acontinuous exercise and is conducted withoutfear or favour determined to bring culprits tojustice.

By Magdalena Utouh, Headof Counterfeit Surveillance

FA

IR C

OM

PETITION COM

MISS

ION

for fair play in the economy

FCC sensitised the general public throughthe 37th Dar es salaam international tradeFairs (DitF) in July, 2013 and the Farm-ers exhibitions in Dodoma in August,2013.

the DitF took place at the Mwalimunyerere Grounds along Kilwa road, inDar es salaam from of 28th June 2013 to8th July, 2013 whereas the Farmers exhi-bitions at nzuguni Grounds in Dodomafrom 30th July to 8th August, 2013.

About 12,000 copies of variousbrochures were disseminated during thetwo exhibitions and over 500 people vis-ited FCC stalls during the exhibitions.they included key dignitaries like theMinister for industry and trade, Hon. Dr.Abdallah O. Kigoda, UniDO Countryrepresentative, Mr. emmanuel Kalenzi,retired Prime Minister Hon. John Male-cela and members of the ParliamentaryCommittee on industry and trade.

During the two events the vis-

3 FCC DG/EXHIBITIONS

Dr. Frederick Ringo New FCC Director General

Kigoda.“FCC is a Public institution,

you are all public servants. thatbeing the case, you are all obliged to im-plement your legal mandate and give ad-vise without fear or favour. this way youwill be able to continue assisting the Gov-ernment and have relevance in the publiceye. this will enable the Commission andMinisterial leadership to leave behind adesired legacy once our terms of officecome to an end,” advised Dr. Kigoda.

Deputy Minister, Hon. Gregory teu(MP) also had an opportunity of speakingwith FCC Management and staff and alsocalled on stepped up accountability, withparticular emphasis on informing the pub-lic of Commission activities on regularbasis.

FCC Workers Council had been estab-lished under regulation 25 of the Publicservice (negotiating Machinery) regula-tions, 2005. this makes FCC Council tohave at least 20 Members including the Di-rector General, Divisional Directors, Headof Human resources and Administrationtrade Union Council Members (tUGHe),tUGHe regional/national representa-tive, a representative from the Govern-

ment Workers Council, Divisional repre-sentatives and Commission’s Legal Coun-sel.

earlier, while welcoming the Minister,the Director General of FCC, Dr. Frederickringo, and the Chairman of the tUGHe-FCC Branch, Mr. Kitandu Ugula, ex-pressed their optimism on theestablishment of the Workers Council, in-dicating that the same would assist in re-inforcing harmoniuous workingrelationship at FCC and increase produc-tivity

the inaugural ceremony was witnessedby FCC Commissioners Col. (rtd) Abihudinalingigwa and Ms. Blandina selleGogadi. Others were the national and re-gional tUGHe representatives, a repre-sentative from the Commission forMediation and Arbitration (CMA), Presi-dent’s Office, Public service Managementand members of the press.

Workers Council implements its dutiesand responsibilitie as stipulated in the reg-ulation no. 30 of the Public service (ne-gotiating Machinery) regulations, 2005 inorder to increase increase operational effi-ciency.

1

Dr. Kigoda Inaugurates FCC Workers Council;

Advocates Good Governance Principles

tHe Minister for industry and trade Hon. Dr. Abdallah O. Kigoda(MP), in line with the mandate conferred upon him by section 62 (7)of the Fair Competition Act (no. 8 of 2003), has appointed Dr. Fred-erick ringo (pictured) as the new Director General of the Fair Com-petition Commission (FCC) for a period of four years with effectfrom 1st August, 2013.

Dr. ringo holds an LL.B (Hons.) from the University of Dar essalaam (UDsM), LL.M from Bristol University of UK and Dr. Jur.from Universitat Konstanz of Germany. He brings to the FCC hiswealth of experience as the former senior Lecturer in Law (UDsM),Principal Legal Counsel at the Presidential Parastatal sector reformCommission (PsrC), Chief Legal Counsel (African export-importBank-Cairo) and Managing Partner of ADePt Chambers (Advo-cates). He is also the former Director of studies at the tanzania in-stitute of Bankers and was appointed a member of the Dar-es-salaamstock exchange Council by the Capital Markets securities Author-ity

Dr. ringo has over twenty (20) years experience in corporate lawspecialised in commercial law including banking and finance, tax,project finance, public-private partnerships, Corporate restructuring,Privatisation and insolvency, Litigation and Dispute resolution Proj-ects as well as infrastructure issues.

He has also held board positions at the national Board of Ac-countants and Auditors (nBAA), Habitat for Humanity and DaystarUniversity (nairobi). He has published several articles in refereedjournals in investments, arbitration and competition laws.

Dr. Frederick ringo replaces Dr. Geoffrey Mariki who left theCommission in June, 2012.

By Staff Reporter

Dr. Frederick Ringo: Newly appointed Director General of FCC.

4

FCC Sensitize the

Public in Exhibitions

By Staff Reporter

evant markets.the remaining five applications are at

various stages of analysis. they includeApollo Acquisition corp and Cooper tire &rubber Company; Prime Bank Ltd, FirstMerchant Bank and Premier Capital Mauri-tius Ltd seeking to merge with internationalCommercial Bank; sCPe, CssAF & PriFAfrivest merging with etC Group (Mauri-tius) Limited; Htt infraco Ltd and Vodacomtanzania Ltd; and transUnion Africa Hold-ings Proprietary Ltd seeking to merge withCredit reference Bureau (Holdings) Ltd.

Competition principles require firms tovoluntarily comply with FCA by making no-tification to the Commission on their intentto merge or acquire another firm or shares orassets as prescribed in the merger notificationthreshold as well as per the FCC Proceduralrules, 2013.

tions held at the same grounds. Hon sadickcommended all employees for their goodwork in spearheading economic develop-ment in the country. He called on increasedaccountability on the part of the employeesand commensurate emolument increase onthe part of the employers in order to attainmutual realisation of objectives.

in his speech, Mr. sadick called on theemployers to observe the employment andLabour relations Act no. 6 of 2004 at theirworkplaces, which grant employees a free-dom of association.

Mr. sadick assured the employees thatthe Government is committed to fight allforms of embezzlement of public resourcesand called on observation of team spirit.

He added that employees should ob-serve high level of integrity and be produc-tive at the workplace.

Mr. sadick also instructed employers toremit staff pension contributions to relevantsocial security funds, citing Dar es salaamMunicipal Councils as amongst worst casesof non-remittance of staff contributions topension funds. Mr. sadick directed Munic-ipal Directors for ilala, Kinondoni andtemeke Municipal Councils in the City ofDar es salaam to make time-bound com-mitments to completing remittance of alldue staff pension contributions to respectivepension funds.

During the event, FCC’s Principal Mes-senger, Mr. Zuberi Omari Kabonge wasawarded tshs. 1m/- for emerging the bestemployee of the year 2012/2013.

4

FCC Approves One Merger Application;

Processing Other 5

itors had an opportunity oflearning how to differentiate

genuine merchandise from counterfeitones.

Visitors also had an opportunity oflearning about FCC activities. they alsopresented their views on how they wouldlike consumer protection to operate.

During nane nane exhibitions inDodoma, FCC also learned from stake-holders that there were competition issuesin the agribusiness sector.

During the 2013 Farmers exhibitionsheld at nzuguni Grounds in Dodoma, theMinistry of industry and trade emergedthe first winner in the category of produc-tive sector ministries.

MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS 2013

3

FCC Sensitise the Public in Exhibitions

the FCC had received and processes a totalof six merger applications between April andseptember, 2013. However, the Commissionapproved one (1) merger application be-tween inreturn east Africa Fund i.C.V andDsM Corridor Group Limited during thetime application was approved without con-ditions.

the application was approved based onthe results of technical analysis whichproved that it neither create nor strengthen aposition of dominance in a relevant market.Additionally, according to the “harm-to-competition-test” to which the applicationwas subjected, it was revealed that there wasno possibility for any of these firms to actunilaterally and harm competition in the rel-

By Zaytun Kikula, Senior Merger Analyst

Assistant Counterfeit Surveillance Officer, Mr. Anderson Rwiza (left), explaining to stall visitors

how to identify counterfeit goods. This was during 37th DITF in July, 2013.

FCC Participate in 2013 May Day

Celebrations in Dar es SalaamBy Staff Reporter

FCC participated in the May Day celebra-tions for the first time on 1st May, 2013, atMnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es salaam.the milestone came into play after estab-lishment of a trade Union Branch of tan-zanian Government and Health employees(tUGHe) at FCC in January, 2013.

the theme for the 2013 national MayDay Celebrations was “neW COnstitU-tiOn sHOULD OBserVe eQUALitY”.FCC staff displayed banners carrying the

May Day theme, as well as the banners thatdepict the Commission’s mandate, missionand visions as well as consumer protectionissues. they also participated in the tradeUnion procession, which coloured the cel-ebrations. the procession started at MnaziMmoja Grounds, passed through the streetsof Kariakoo Business District and ended upat Mnazi Mmoja grounds.

Dar es salaam regional Commissioner,Hon. said Meck sadick, was the Guest ofHonour at the regional May Day celebra-

about 30% of the GDP in the developingcountries. “Public procurement is where wehave clear and fertile grounds for bid rigging”,he explained.

Mr. Kariuki elaborated further that bid-rigging influences rises costs of public pro-curement tenders, thereby rendering thesurcharged amount unavailable to other de-velopmental projects such as schools, addi-tional road constructions and improvement ofhealthcare. “And when you kill health, youkill schools, what does it mean? the countryhas no future…!,” explained Mr. Kariuki.

He added that these reasons compel par-ticipating ACF members to realize that theyhave fundamental and integral responsibilityof pushing for the national economic agendaof their respective countries; because preva-lence of bid-rigging activities will mean lessermoney being available for vital and strategicaspects including inland and cross-border se-curity obligations.

Along with various papers presented byOeCD expert Hillary Jennings, ACF memberstates also shared their experiences with re-gard to tackling bid-rigging issues under theirjurisdictions.

Workshop participants agreed on the needfor increased efforts to address “Bid rigging”in public procurement and established an in-terim strategy to address the challenge.

5 ACF BID RIGGING WORKSHOP

tHe FCC in collaboration with the AfricanCompetition Forum (ACF) have run a twoday workshop on Fighting Bid-rigging inPublic Procurement to ACF member statesfrom 26th to 27th June, 2013.

the workshop, which was held at ProteaCourtyard Hotel in Dar es salaam, sought toequip competition investigators and law en-forcers of competition law with requisite skillsfor developing strategies for identifying andinvestigating bid-rigging. it was explainedthat bid-rigging affect most public procure-ment amongst ACF member states.

ACF Chairman, Mr. Francis Kariuki, alsothe Director General of the Kenya’s Compe-tition Authority and the Vice-Chairman, Mr.shan ramburuth, the Commissioner of thesouth African Competition Commission, at-tended the workshop.

Opening the workshop, the Chairman ofthe Fair Competition Commission of tanza-nia, Mr. nikubuka shimwela, emphasized therationale of the workshop saying that he wasimpressed that the roadmap chartered out byACF about two years ago during its inceptionis now coming into fruition.

Mr shimwela also appreciated the part-nership with various stakeholder organisationsserving as key development partners such as

By Staff Reporterthe international Development research Cen-tre of Canada and the Organisation for eco-nomic Cooperation and Development(OeCD) in supporting ACF efforts.

He pointed out that consumers have theright to enjoy benefits of competition as theyprimarily make procurement with a view tomaximizing their objectives of cost minimiza-tion and realization of value for money. Mr.shimwela observed that competition processis only possible when competitors work inde-pendently and attain buyers’ patronage.“When competitors collude, prices are in-flated; competition is distorted and customers(consumers) are cheated and eventually theyend up paying more than what the marketwould have guaranteed,” pointed out Mr.shimwela.

Mr. shimwela added; “Price fixing, bid-rigging and other forms of collusion are illegaland constitute an offence under the competi-tion law in tanzania and other jurisdictions aswell, and therefore it deserves the attentionthat it has been given here”. He affirmed thatthe workshop was timely and useful in that itwould serve as an avenue for experience shar-ing on what other competition authorities aredoing in the region.

Mr. Kariuki, also underscored the need fortackling bid rigging issues in his speech.

He said public procurement account for

ACF, FCC Run a “Bid-Rigging”

Workshop for African Countries

Chairman of the African Competition Forum (ACF), Mr. Francis Kariuki, also the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya’s Competition Authority,

speaking during the workshop on “Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement” for African Countries at Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam on 26th

June, 2013. The workshop was attended by various countries from across the continent.

6CONSUMER ISSUES

tHe fifth Annual African Consumer Protec-tion Dialogue Conference held in Living-stone, Zambia, from 10th to 12th september,2013 called for the need to enhance crossborder collaboration between African con-sumer protection and competition agencieson one hand, and cooperation between theseagencies and criminal law enforcing author-ities on teh other.

the effort would enhance enforcement ofconsumer protection matters, informationexchange and sharing of experiences amongthese stakehokders.

Members of the dialogue suggested amodality of working together and collaborat-ing on the four strategic areas namely en-forcement; investigations; informationsharing and capacity building.

the four strategic areas are expected toenhance agencies’ capacity in combatingmisleading advertising, fraud, spam, productsafety, food safety, drugs safety, cyber crimeand other unfair and deceptive commercialpractices affecting consumers.

the conference brought into play discus-sions on a wide range of consumer protectionissues including mobile technologies andcyber-threats facing consumers, health-re-lated issues, financial and credit issues.

it also included sessions on building co-operation between civil and criminal author-ities in consumer fraud matters and lawenforcement techniques and cross-bordercollaboration.

the objective of the fifth Annual African

African Consumer Protection BodiesChallenged to Enhance CooperationBy Joshua Msoma, Senior

Consumer Protection Officer

Consumer Protection Dialogue Conferencewas to share experiences in emerging issuesand how to employ Consumer protection andCompetition tools to help consumers navi-gates emerging challenges.

During the conference, consumer protec-tion and competition experts discussed morethan ten topical issues which included; Com-mon challenges and legal frameworks inconsumer protection and competition; em-powering and educating consumers; working

with criminal enforcement authorities onfraud issues; developing investigative plansfor consumer protection and competitioncases; mobile technology and cyber threatsfacing consumers; law enforcement tech-niques and cross – border collaboration; bestpractices in compliance and remedies; com-petition and consumer protection issues inthe health sector and financial and credit is-sues affecting consumers.

Fair Competition Commission was rep-resented by the Head of Consumer Protec-tion, Ms. Martha Kisyombe and the seniorConsumer Protection Officer, Mr. JoshuaMsoma, in the meeting which featured ses-sions focusing on “Moving Cross BorderCollaboration Forward.”

Apart from tanzania, other countrieswhich participed include; the United statesof America, Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde,egypt, Kenya, Malawi, namibia, nigeria,rwanda, seychelles, south Africa, swazi-land, Lesotho, Uganda, Zambia, and Zim-babwe. representatives from COMesA(Common Market for eastern and southernAfrica), Consumers international, inter-POL, and United nations Conference ontrade and Development) (UnCtAD).

the African Consumer Protection Dia-logue meetings are financed by the Federaltrade Commission of the UsA. it spear-heads the consumer protection agenda inAfrica through exchanging of experiences,knowledge, information and adaptation ofbest practices.

FCC’s Head of Consumer Protection Department, Ms. Martha Kisyombe, presenting a paper

durng the 5th Annual African Consumer Protection Dialogue Conference held in Livingstone,

Zambia in September, 2013.

FCC’s Head of Consumer Protection Department, Ms. Martha Kisyombe (2nd left) and Senior

Consumer Protection Officer, Joshua Msoma (3rd left) and Ms. Elizabeth Gachuiri from UNCTAD

(left) following up proceedings during the 5th Annual African Consumer Protection Dialogue

Conference held in Livingstone, Zambia in September, 2013.

7 CONSUMER ISSUES

Stakeholders Discuss Standard Form

Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

“the standard regulations should not bein the interest of the consumer but shouldadvocate a win-win situation,” he observed.He cited some of the common standard formcontracts as those relating to utilities liketAnesCO and Urban Water Authorities, fi-nancial services including banking and non-Bank Financial institutions, insurance,transport (including air, railway, road andmarine transport), retail and wholesaletrade.

Giving an overview of the structure ofregulations, the Head of Department of Con-sumer Protection Department, Ms. MarthaKisyombe said that the regulations are di-vided into seven parts which have been sub-divided into 41 sections. she also pointed outthat the scope of the regulations covers onlybusiness to consumer transactions and notbusiness to business transactions.

in her presentation Ms. Kisyombe em-phasized on the need to curtail the effects ofthe unfair terms and conditions in most busi-ness to consumer contracts. she highlightedthat, some examples of these unfair termsand conditions include overloading words,using small fonts when it comes to texts onterms and conditions, and using hidden termsand conditions such as “terms and conditionsapply,” without expressly specifying thoseterms and conditions.

Director of Compliance Dr. Deo nangelaarticulated on the important of stakeholdersto go through each regulation and provideviews and suggestions to improve them.

Apart from specific comments in the reg-ulations themselves, stakeholders observedthat there is a need for FCC to establish linkwith regulators in order to harmonise the reg-ulatory roles and market oversight activitiesof the Commission.

stakeholders also recommended thatstandard Form Consumer Contracts regu-lations should also be able to scrutinize allforms of consumer contracts likely to causeunfair or unconscionable bargain, beforebeing allowed to operate in the market.

they also called on the need for step-ping-up public awareness as a vital tool forefficiency and effectiveness in enforcing theregulations.

stakeholders also called on the need toexpressly indicate in the regulations that atthe successful completion of review and ap-proval of the terms of standard form con-tracts, certificates of approval to that effectshould be issued to the applicants. they ob-served that this will assist in keeping recordof proofs that given terms and conditionshave been approved for use in the market.“registering all approved standard formconsumer contracts will help setting appro-priate checks and balances,” they empha-sised.

After compilation of views and sugges-tions of the consumers into the original draft,the final version will be forwarded to theMinister of industry and trade for approvaland thereafter gazetting before being imple-mented.

A representative from Tanzania Bankers Association, who is also a Director of Risk and Compliance at CRDB Bank, Mr. James Mabula, makinga contribution during stakeholders seminar to discuss the Draft Standard Form Consumer Contracts Regulations in July, 2013. Right is the ExecutiveSecretary of the National Consumer Advocacy Council, Mr. Adolph Qambaita.

ABOUt 60 stakeholder institutional repre-sentatives discussed the draft standard FormConsumer Contracts regulations 2013 in astakeholders meeting held at the FCC officepremises at Ubungo Plaza on 19th July, 2013.

standard form consumer contracts areagreements that employ standardised, non-negotiated, usually on pre-printed forms. thestandard form contracts fulfill an importantefficiency role in the mass distribution ofgoods and services. However, these con-tracts also have the ability to trick or abuseconsumers’ rights because of the unequalbargaining power between service providersand consumers.

the meeting drew stakeholder partici-pants from various sectors including bank-ing, insurance, transportation, networkregulators, consumer protection associationsand bodies and the media.

the meeting aimed at collecting views,suggestion and experience from stakeholdersin order to improve regulations prior to sub-mitting the same to the Ministry of industryand trade for endorsement.

Officiating the event, the Chairman ofthe Commission, Mr. nikubuka shimwela,introduc ed the FCC mandate to the partici-pants and stressed on the importance of theregulations. He said that regulations consti-tute an important vehicle for spearheadingeffective consumer protection in the country.

By Utukufu Kyando, Senior Consumer Protection Officer

8NEWS IN PICTURES

Mr. Lebongang Madiba from the Competition Commission of South Africapresenting a paper during the ACF Workshop on Combating Bid Riggingin Public Procurement at the Protea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on26th June, 2013.

FCC’s Head of Investigation, Ms. Grace Freedom sharing Tanzania’s ex-periences in enforcing Competition Law during the ACF Workshop forAfrican Countries on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement at theProtea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

FCC’s Chairman, Mr. Nikubuka Shimwela speaking during the ACF Work-shop for African Countries on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procure-ment held at the Protea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June,2013.

Ms. Bridget Dundee from Namibian Competition Authority sharing hercountry’s enforcement experiences during the ACF Workshop for AfricanCountries on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement at the ProteaCourtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

Mr. Duncan T. Morotsi, Director for Legal and Enforcement from theBotswana Competition Authority haring her country’s experiences duringthe ACF Workshop on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement atthe Protea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

ACF Workshop in Pictures

A Resource Person, Ms. Hilary Jennings from the Organisation for Eco-nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presenting a paper duringthe ACF Workshop on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement atthe Protea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

9 NEWS IN PICTURES

News in Pictures

FCC’s Assistant Counterfeit Surveillance Officer, Mr. Mgasi Kalindimyashowing one of the counterfeit Phillips tubelight seized in Kariakoo area inAugust, 2013.

FCC’s Head of Investigation, Ms. Grace Freedom sharing Tanzania’s ex-periences in enforcing Competition Law during the ACF Workshop forAfrican Countries on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement at theProtea Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

FCC’s Senior Communications and Public Relations Officer, Mr. FrankMdimi (left) explaining to the Minister for Industry and Trade, Hon. Dr. Ab-dallah O. Kigoda (MP) (right) features of counterfeit mobile phone whenhe visited FCC stall during 37th DITF in July, 2013. 3rd left is the UNIDOCountry representative, Mr. Emmanuel Kalenzi and 2nd left is the MarketingOfficer from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ms. Magdalena Hall.

A Senior Legal Officer from the Ministry of Constitution and Legal Affairs,Ms. Mercy Mrutu making a contribution during Stakeholders workshop forStandard Form Consumer Contracts Regulations held at FCC offices on19th July, 2013.

FCC’s Assistant Counterfeit Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ndyetabula (2nd left)conducting a raid operation in one of the shops suspected to contain coun-terfeit SinarLine notebooks in Kariakoo on 9th April, 2013. He is flanked bypolice officers who were part of the operation.

Officers representing the Gillette brand owner from Procter and Gambleand police officers looking at packages of counterfeit Gillette shaving bladesseized after arriving at Msimbazi Police station. This followed a raid opera-tion conducted in Kariakoo by FCC, Police Force and Procter and Gamblein September, 2013.

10NEWS IN PICTURES

News in Pictures

Ms. Natalie Nakazwe from the Zambian Competition and Consumer Pro-tection Commission sharing her country’s experiences during the ACFWorkshop on Combating Bid Rigging in Public Procurement at the ProteaCourtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam, on 26th June, 2013.

FCC’s Principal Messenger, Omary Kabonge (left) receiving a Certificateof Best Employee of the Year and a cheque of TShs. 1,000,000/- from the Dar es Salaam Regional Coomssioner, Said Meck Sadick (2nd from right),during May Day celebrations at Mnazi Mmoja grounds on 1st May, 2013.

A cross section of FCC staff taking part in the Trade Union procession alongMorogoro Road during May Day celebrations on 1st May, 2013.

A cross section of FCC female staff in a group photo prior to participatingin the World Women Day Celebrations on 3rd March, 2013.

Mill attendant at the MMI Steel Mill in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, throwingcounterfeit AK Motor Vehicle spare parts in the iron smelting furnace. Thiswas during destruction of the counterfeited AK spare parts at the mill on 10th

April, 2013.

Some FCC employee following the presentation from a resource person (notin the picture) during a training of employees on labour laws on 10th Sep-tember, 2013. The training preceded the inauguration of the FCC WorkersCouncil, which took place on 11th September, 2013.