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Morris Mpala, MoB Capital Ltd
BY definition as detailed by the business dictionary, consumerism refers to organised-efforts by individuals, groups, and governments to help protect consumers from policies and practices that infringe consumer rights to fair business practices. It is a doctrine that the ever-increasing consumption of goods and services forms the basis of a sound economy. It is continual expansion of one’s wants and needs for goods and services?  Consumerism should first and fore-most be the voice of the individual consumer before Government and other bodies come in. Consumers talk loudly with their money.

Power of saying No
Say no to mediocrity. Say no to lower standards. Say no to average tendencies. Refuse to be a treated like a second class consumer. Demand your worth and not be given junk status to your demands. Know your consumer worth and be proud of your value as a consumer. If it’s not worth it, then do not spend a dime on it.

Value for money, standards
As a consumer you need to know your worth and put intrinsic value to it. More over it is your hard earned money and you have to get the value of the money spent. Speak with your buying power. When you don’t have standards you will fall for anything. How do you demand standards when you don’t appreciate the levels that come with quality.

Mediocrity and sub standards
When we continue to consume mediocre or sub standard stimuli then we are complicit in the suppressing of consumerism. It sends the wrong message to those service providers or producers. When you look at your costs, look at the annual amount that will give you a consumer awareness perspective not the instantaneous illusion of meagre expenses. This kind of thinking makes you understand the sum total game where your small losses count. Remember boats are sunk by minor leakages, one small drop at a time.

Shareholder activism
This is one avenue that has seen shareholders actively getting involved to add value to their portfolios. These shareholders speak on behalf of their investments. This demands excellent responsible performance and accountability from executives to give shareholder value.

The power of a consumer and feedback
A funny thing though the consumer has not realised is the power s/he wields with his or her buying power and that has led to shoddy products and services even though we might have monopolies. The biggest research you can ever get for free is consumer feedback, which you use to fine tune products and services that you offer. You disregard it at your own peril. Imagine consumers that just walk away without any feedback how do you manage variance analysis for your business?

Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ)
Zimbabwe formed this organisation to try to find common ground whenever a consumer feels aggrieved by a service provider. It is for the protection of the consumer. The only weakness of this body is the lack of remedy enforcement as it acts as a lobby organisation.

It has worked in some instances when advocacy has been of paramount importance and has brought accountability and responsibility from service providers. To a hardened shoddy service provider these are just noise makers and their perceived noise eventually dies down with time. Going forward it needs to bite a little.

Remedial action, cross roads
Where consumer disputes arise it’s always difficulty or it takes longer to remedy. It has come to the very end of the road and the time to crossover to active consumerism to safeguard consumer interests is now.

No one has to tell you or fight for your rights as a consumer just stand up and be counted. You have a voice, speak out and articulate your concerns and aspirations. It’s just unfortunate when people voice displeasure at service provisions or products and it is taken as being frugal, mean, difficult or plain unbecoming, which is missing the vital feedback from consumers.

Our circumstances are defined by how we respond to stimuli and we deserve what we get in terms service provision and products on offer.

IF YOU LIVE IN BULAWAYO PLEASE CONSERVE WATER
IF YOU LIVE IN ZIMBABWE PLEASE USE ELECTRICITY SPARINGLY SWITCH OFF SWITCHES (SOS)
IF YOU LIVE ON PLANET EARTH PLEASE PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT

*Morris Mpala (Mr Brown) is the managing director of MoB Capital Limited, a Bulawayo-headquartered micro-finance institution with footprint across Zimbabwe.