The subcommittee emanating from the Economy Committee held a session this morning in the parliamentary council, chaired by MP Fadel Bustani, with the presence of MPs Nasser Jaber, Bilal Abdullah, Wadah Al-Saadek, Razi Al-Haj, Alan Aoun, and the Director General of the Ministry of Economy, Mohammed Abu Haidar.
After the session, Bustani stated, "The subcommittee that studies the Consumer Protection Law met, and in the last session, we listened to the economic bodies that had additional comments on the articles we approved. We listened to Eli Awad, the head of the Food Safety Authority, who had some comments, and there were committee members who had comments on the wording of the law. The committee has approved the latest version of this law, and I would like to indicate that our mission has concluded. I would like to thank the Ministry of Economy and the minister and the director general who accompanied us in our long and arduous sessions, and their ideas were positive. I would also like to thank the economic bodies, represented by Mohammed Shukair and Nabil Fahd. We have sent a copy to the Economic and Social Council, and I hope it will be approved in the first legislative session so we can move to the stage of forming a regulatory body to implement this law."
For his part, Abu Haidar stated, "As for the Consumer Protection Law, we are all facing the complaints and pain of the people. It is our duty to amend some paragraphs of this law to truly protect the consumer in every sense of the word. There were fundamental points differing from the previous law, and unfortunately, some crisis traders exploit the crisis to enrich themselves and increase their profits at the expense of citizens who cannot secure their daily sustenance. We raised the fines to be in line with the current situation and in accordance with the violations committed, ranging from fines to issues of imprisonment related to people's health, rising prices, and major monopolies."
He added, "The second point is whether it's our duty to inform people if we find shops, butcheries, chicken shops, or fish markets with spoiled goods. Isn't it our duty to name those establishments? We are all under the law. In some matters, the inspector must have the power to protect people, especially when it concerns their health. The third point relates to some shared concerns with other ministries. Here, we hope that the National Food Safety Authority will see the light and its members will be formed, allowing us to trace goods from the farm to the company. This is the current goal of the Consumer Protection Law, and I emphasize that this matter is connected to the competition law that the Parliament approved, and we cannot separate the two since only competition corrects prices."
