Vol. 9, No.1:Gaps and Challenges in the Enforcement Framework for Consumer Protection in Ethiopia

Abstract

The effectiveness of consumer protection in a market economy is, inter alia, determined by the quality of the enforcement framework of competition law and consumer protection law. Despite Ethiopia’s current efforts to bring about an effective consumer protection regime, the country has been experiencing various consumer abuses. This article assesses the gaps and challenges in the existing enforcement schemes for consumer protection in Ethiopia. Common features and practices of effective enforcement strategies and institutional designs for consumer protection, and experiences from some countries based on their success and relevance to Ethiopia are used as benchmarks. It is argued that there is failure to decentralize consumer protection and failure to recognize representation of major stakeholders in the Consumer Protection Authority. Moreover, there is lack of extensive pre-intervention study, failure to give priority to areas of greater consumer risks and failure to take measures against anti-competitive practices. These major gaps and challenges call for empowering and enabling enforcement institutions so that they can work more on the promotion of competition and meanwhile take legal measures against anticompetitive practices.