Manama: Consumers in Bahrain should be offered better protection by the industry and commerce ministry, a lawmaker has said.
“Despite repeated warnings to the ministry to curb the crazy escalation of prices, the ministry has failed to take the appropriate measures,” MP Sawsan Taqawi said. “The result is that Bahraini families, particularly those with limited income, are suffering because of the high prices and cost of living.”
The lawmaker charged that the department of consumers’ protection was understaffed and could not carry out its duties.
“The department is operating with only 55 per cent of its capacity and this is not enough to address crucial issues. The problem is that we keep hearing excuses and nothing but excuses, while people want solutions and ways out of the difficulties they have to confront,” she said.
The lawmaker added that visits that officials from the ministry make to markets to ensure compliance with the directives not to hike prices were “mainly for media purposes”.
“These visits are often to hypermarkets and large shops,” she said. “The smaller shops in towns and villages are the ones where prices are hiked. They should be the ones to be visited by the ministry officials. Making statements that everything was fine does not do consumers any good because families can feel how their budget is bleeding because of the high prices,” she said.
