The Department of Commerce and Supply Management is planning to enforce a code of conduct for market inspectors due to increasing complaints that market inspection teams are guided by vested interests.
The new code of conduct will set standards while carrying out market monitoring activities, according to the department that is planning to enforce the code of conduct to make the inspection team members follow certain norms while visiting the market for monitoring. “The code of conduct will also maintain the standards for formation of monitoring teams by including media persons and consumer right activists in the teams,” the department informed.
The government teams – most of the time – adopt ad hoc measures to carry out market monitoring.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had – sometimes ago – grilled an official of the department for taking bribe to let go the unscrupulous trader. Apart from government officials, consumer right activists – who join market inspection team – were also found defrauding traders in a number of cases.
The department is also drafting a separate guideline to streamline the supply chain of essential goods. Realising that a large number of layers in supply chain was one of the reasons behind exorbitant rise in market price, the department has stepped up to set standard for the market channel.
“Price of many products, especially agri products, go up due to presence of many market players including middlemen,” the department said, adding that the middlemen are exploiting both the farmers and general consumers. “On one hand, producers get low price for their products, and on the other consumers are compelled to pay high price while middlemen pocket a lion's share of the profit.”
The department will finalise drafts of both the standards to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies for final approval.
The new code of conduct will set standards while carrying out market monitoring activities, according to the department that is planning to enforce the code of conduct to make the inspection team members follow certain norms while visiting the market for monitoring. “The code of conduct will also maintain the standards for formation of monitoring teams by including media persons and consumer right activists in the teams,” the department informed.
The government teams – most of the time – adopt ad hoc measures to carry out market monitoring.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had – sometimes ago – grilled an official of the department for taking bribe to let go the unscrupulous trader. Apart from government officials, consumer right activists – who join market inspection team – were also found defrauding traders in a number of cases.
The department is also drafting a separate guideline to streamline the supply chain of essential goods. Realising that a large number of layers in supply chain was one of the reasons behind exorbitant rise in market price, the department has stepped up to set standard for the market channel.
“Price of many products, especially agri products, go up due to presence of many market players including middlemen,” the department said, adding that the middlemen are exploiting both the farmers and general consumers. “On one hand, producers get low price for their products, and on the other consumers are compelled to pay high price while middlemen pocket a lion's share of the profit.”
The department will finalise drafts of both the standards to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies for final approval.
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