FTC is not a price regulator |13 August 2013

The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is not a price regulator, its acting chief excutive Georges Tirant has said.

Mr Tirant wrote this in a press release dated August 12, 2013 to refute allegations contained in the article entitled ‘Free trade in Seychelles’ published in the Seychelles Weekly edition of August 9, 2013.

The FTC wrote that the Weekly article says that recently the FTC visited a newly opened shopping outlet to caution it that prices should not be set below those of the Seychelles Trading Company (STC).

“The FTC wishes to bring to the attention of the general public that the commission is not a price regulator, and has never and will never engage in such action which is contrary to its mandate,” writes the press release.

It adds that visits effected by officers of the commission to any retail outlets are conducted in accordance with Consumer Protection Act, 2010 to ensure compliance with:

•    Section 19: Information is disclosed in a language consumers can understand.
•    Section 20 and 21: Prices are properly disclosed and there is no dual pricing.
•    Section 24: Goods that have exceeded their expiry dates are not sold to consumers.
•    Section 25: Receipts are supplied to consumers as specified by the Consumer Protection Act.

The press releases notes that the allegation in the newspaper is misleading and damaging to the commission whose vision is “to champion market efficiency for consumers’ socio-economic welfare”.