Analysis on Consumer Rights Protection in Rwanda with Reference to South Africa.

Nzakomeza, Samuel (2024) Analysis on Consumer Rights Protection in Rwanda with Reference to South Africa. Doctoral thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

This thesis contends that Rwandan institutional and legal framework concerning consumer protection is inadequately established to provide protection of consumers efficiently and to redress consumer exploitation issues that are manifested in various aspects of life owing to loopholes identified in the legal framework. Special emphasis is on the Rwandan constitution that never recognizes the right of consumers, yet the very constitution recognizes the rights of trade unions. Concerning the South African government, consumer rights protection is quite advanced unlike the one for Rwanda, due to the fact that in addition to their institutional structure, consumer rights protection is mentioned in their supreme law which is the constitution. Due to lack of an operative policy that protects the rights of consumers, contracts of consumers are usually obtainable on a basis of take it or leave it in Rwanda. In this context, consumers have no accurate negotiating chance, to the level of accepting a contract drafted in a foreign language not understandable to both contracting partners which is a serious concern that should be addressed. After both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, it was revealed that Rwandan law with special emphasis on laws that regulate financial institutions do not prohibit financial institutions that operate on Rwandan territory from drafting contracts that are not evidently comprehensible to clients hereinafter referred to as consumers of their products. Quantitative results indicate that 71% of contracts and other template forms in financial institutions are drafted in English language due to the fact that it is an official language among others authorized in Rwanda. Nonetheless they ignore the reality that a huge number of consumers to whom their operation depends do not fully or at all comprehend the language. This study provided observations and Recommendations which include incorporation of provisions on consumer rights protection in the constitution of the Republic of Rwanda.

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