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Pretoria - The Consumer Protection Act is supposed to come into force in two months’ time, but key staffing positions for the structures that have to apply the law are still being advertised.
The closing date for the positions of commissioner and deputy commissioner of the National Consumer Commission is only the end of August.
The Consumer Protection Act (which is to be policed by the commission) should come into force on October 24.
The draft regulations that offer guidelines on how the new act is to be applied have, however, not yet been published.
At this stage it appears that these will come out at the beginning of September, when opportunity for comment will be given for at least a month.
Nomfundo Maseti, chief director of policy and legislation at the department of trade and industry, said the minister has the power to postpone the commencement of the act.
She said that if the administrative processes are not in place to apply the law appropriately, the minister could announce a postponement.
She said the possibility of a postponement could not be ruled out. It was possible that it would in fact happen, she then added.
On Friday she told Sake24 that the composition of the commission had not been finalised, and that it had no offices.
However, it seems that the commission will be situated on the department of trade and industry’s campus in Pretoria.
The act was signed on April 24 2009 and is supposed to come into force 12 to 18 months after being signed.
According to the advertisement for the post of commissioner, the incumbent will earn R1.3m a year and his or her deputy R976 317.
Diane Terblanche, chairperson of the Consumer Tribunal, said companies have had a year to prepare for the coming into force of the act.
The tribunal will hear cases referred to it by the commission and it will mainly deal with prohibited practices contained in Chapter 2 of the act.
Also included are aspects such as the consumer's right to privacy, the right to choose, the right to disclosure of information and the right to fair and honest treatment.
Consumers, said Terblanche, will first have to try to resolve their problems or differences themselves.
The tribunal and commission will not be the first step in the consumers' search for justice.