Business

FCCC to prosecute several traders in Kadavu

November 20, 2020 4:30 pm

Chief Executive Officer Joel Abraham. [File Image]

Ninety-four percent of traders in the island of Kadavu have been deemed non-compliant with the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission Act 2010.

This was noted after a team from the FCCC led by the Head of Monitoring division, Isimeli Vulagi and Chief Executive Officer, Joel Abraham visited the island as part of its rural and maritime enforcement action plan.

Abraham says only 4 traders out of the 97 businesses inspected were found to be following the law saying it is a sad state of affairs to see wilful negligence of consumer protection provisions.

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The FCCC Chief Executive says it was extremely disappointing to find such high percentage of non-compliance and even worse, some traders have been operating for several years and are fully aware of the law but yet were still blatantly engaging in non-compliance.

Abraham says his team will go over their previous records to get a full picture of the severity of the breach before forming an opinion and moving forward with prosecution.

He says FCCC protects the consumer rights of every single Fijian, regardless of their background or geographical location.

Abraham warns that actions will be taken would serve as a warning to traders who may feel they are not under scrutiny because they live in remote areas.