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The Director of Stakeholder Relations at the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) Mr Simphiwe Kondleka says it is important to publicise information around areas of policy legislation and development. Kondleka was addressing scores of community members in Tembisa, Gauteng. The event was part of the dti’s campaign to educate communities around the country about the positive impact of the legislation that is administered by the dti on their lives.

“As the dti we saw the need for sharing information around areas concentrating on legislation. We often engage our local communities to participate when we do stakeholder consultations in the process of developing our legislation. It is important that we do not only end at the development stage, but continue further and do education and awareness which is imperative when we talk about the benefits of the legislation and how members of communities can use it to improve their lives,” said Kondleka

He advised that the purpose of the road show was to ensure that communities were well-vested with knowledge that relates to their consumer rights and compliance issues.

“In the news we recently learnt of shops selling unsafe goods which do not meet the standard of the dti agencies. This shows that there is a gap in the market and a need to make sure that we apprise the public about our legislation and the consumer rights that backs them,” he added

Mr Brian Ndlovu of the Tembisa Development Agency (TDA) commended the dti for facilitating an informative campaign. However, he warned that the government must also strive to create conducive communication channels to cater for the public.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa.