January 10, 2007	Wednesday	Zilhaj 19, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: Of all the places in Pakistan only the federal capital is without a law on protecting the rights of consumers. Not that it would matter as the fact was made known to the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is still battling with a supplier of soap who cheated consumers of millions of rupees all over the country 20 years ago.

On learning that Islamabad had no law to protect consumers’ rights during a discussion on frauds played by a supplier of soap on the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) between 1984 and 1993, the PAC Tuesday asked the government to frame one “without delay”.

In the opinion of the committee such a law would arm the consumers with legal powers to fight for their rights.

USC Managing Director Brig (retired) Hafeez Ahmed told the committee that every province had such a law.

The PAC members said the absence of the same in Islamabad made the federal capital’s citizens more vulnerable to exploitation by profiteers.

“It is a matter of shame for the nation that we don’t have no law to safeguard consumers in the federal capital,” the committee observed.

The PAC directed the USC chief to visit the Utility Store in the Karachi Company, G-9 Markaz, to investigate complaints about the quality and quantity of items on sale there. Such complaints about USC outlets had been growing in different parts of the country, the PAC said.

These directives and observations were issued by the PAC while discussing an undue financial benefit of Rs3.152 million that a supplier to the USC reaped between 1984 and 1993.

In February 1984, the USC made an agreement with the firm Ali Enterprises of Rawalpindi for the supply of Resham brand laundry soap.

Two and half years later, the procurement manager of USC discovered that the supplier had been cheating on the weight— its one kg packets in fact contained only 800 grams of soap. The supplier admitted to a short supply of 70,000 kg of soap up to July 1986, valued at Rs497,000.

He offered to compensate by supplying additional quantity of soap or by giving 3 per cent discount on all the soap supplied up to December 1986. The soap was purchased for four regions and its yearly turnover was 200,000 kg.

But when his supplies were again checked in October 1992, it was found lacking both in quality and weight.

After being determined as a habitual defaulter, the contract of M/S Ali Enterprises was terminated in February 1993.

In the intervening 10 years, however, the firm had defrauded consumers of a total of Rs3.152million in short and bad supplies.

Ironically, the USC informed the audit department in a written reply that it continued to purchase from the cheating supplier because it was earning a good profit on the sale of Resham Soap.

The PAC directed the corporation to pursue the case for the recovery of the money from the firm and fix responsibility.