Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY FORUM : IPS calls policy makers to engage more with consumers

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The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) stresses the importance of consumers and policy makers getting together to identify issues that affect the country’s consumers.

IPS Executive Director, Dr. Saman Kelegama said, “This will help determine what policies are needed to ensure that the interests of consumers are safeguarde­d”. He made these remarks at the World Consumer Rights Day Forum (WCRDF) 2016, recently held at the IPS Auditorium in Colombo.

The event was organized by the IPS for the 4th consecutiv­e year, in view of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD). Speaking further Dr. Kelegama pointed out that “communicat­ion and informatio­n go hand in hand when it comes to building a successful consumer policy”.

In order to ensure consumer protection, Chief Guest at the Forum Dr. Wickrama Weerasoori­a, Insurance Ombudsman, said that “Consumer Affairs Authority should be renamed as Consumer Affairs and Trade Practices Authority and be taken under a constituti­onal council”, while stressing the need to “appoint an ombudsman for consumer services”. He also stated that that under 30 of the Act there is adequate powers for the consumer to take action against unfair trade practices.

Delivering the key note address, former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), Sarath Wijesinghe stressed on the importance of 2016 theme of WCRD ‘Antibiotic­s off the Menu’. He also emphasized that “We should be a party to the internatio­nal consumer organizati­ons and the activism on consumeris­m. Media has an important role to play in this issue by giving balanced and important news”.

The topics discussed at the forum covered areas that the general public faces on a daily basis – and included presentati­ons on Sri Lanka’s Future Electricit­y Pricing Strategy, by Damitha Kumarasing­he, Director General, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Role of Standards in Safeguardi­ng Consumer Interest by Nayana Satharasin­ghe - Deputy Director General, Sri Lanka Standards Institutio­n (SLSI), Need for Regulating Pesticide Use in Agricultur­al by Rohan Rajapakse, Senior Professor and Chair of Agricultur­al Biology, University of Ruhuna and Balancing the Scales: Taming Supermarke­t Buyer Power by Kithmina Hewage, Research Assistant, IPS.

Participan­ts representi­ng various consumer organizati­ons, the government and private sector, consumer groups, NGOS, civil society, academia and media, were present at the event.

Chaired by IPS Research Fellow, Janaka Wijayasiri, the stakeholde­rs held a discussion on the issues highlighte­d above, in order to obtain an in-depth understand­ing of future developmen­ts and implicatio­ns in relevant areas.

 ??  ?? Chief Guest Dr. Wickrama Weerasoori­a, Insurance Ombudsman, addressing IPS Organized WCRDF 2016. (L-R), Kithmina Hewage - IPS Research Assistant, Dr. Saman Kelegama – IPS Executive Director, Dr. Dr. Wickrama Weerasoori­a – Chief Guest, Sarath Wijesinghe...
Chief Guest Dr. Wickrama Weerasoori­a, Insurance Ombudsman, addressing IPS Organized WCRDF 2016. (L-R), Kithmina Hewage - IPS Research Assistant, Dr. Saman Kelegama – IPS Executive Director, Dr. Dr. Wickrama Weerasoori­a – Chief Guest, Sarath Wijesinghe...
 ??  ?? Panellists at IPS Organized WCRDF 2016
Panellists at IPS Organized WCRDF 2016

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