practices are deep in our society such that certain anomalies are being sidelined as minute. Most people, especially those in the business sector, are looking for faster ways of making profit. Thus, food items like pastries, meat, and some locally manufactured drinks as well as cosmetics have become victims of outrageous cases of adulteration.
Yet, the quest for ill-gotten wealth has been so strong that unscrupulous business persons now care less about the consequences of their acts on their customers. Cases abound of women harmed by fake cosmetic products, households that face difficulties using kerosene because the liquid has been adulterated, housewives having less meat for their money because the scale had been panel beaten and so on.
The situation has been taking such disturbing proportions that victims wonder about the usefulness of the plethora of associations for the protection of consumers’ interest. A recent case in point was the quest by pig farmers to dispose of their animals and pork despite the alarm raised by officials on the menacing existence of the African swine fever. Several traders were caught struggling to smuggle animals across infested regions to sell elsewhere despite several public warnings. Even worse, some quickly slaughtered pigs before transporting the pork to other localities for sale.
Such behaviour completely ignored the rules of hygiene and sanitation, given that no one could tell under what conditions the animals were slaughtered. Luckily for consumers, authorities at the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry succeeded in tracking down such unscrupulous traders who wanted to make profit at the expense of public health.
While efforts by officials continue to stem the growing tide of dishonesty in the business sector, especially when cheating is concerned, the general public needs to remain vigilant in order to contribute in combating those who want to get rich quickly by putting the health of citizens in danger. It is often said that the population get the laws that they deserve. But even when good laws exist, there must be strong mechanisms for their enforcement. Otherwise, the laws will not have any impact on society. With collaboration from members of the public, it is possible for those who indulge in cheating as a way of livelihood to be kept out of business. People should therefore be given the opportunity not only to report those caught in such malpractices, but also the guarantee that sanctions will be meted out to any culprits. The unorthodox means of survival that people adopt may appear negligible, but the consequences can be devastating on the health of the population. Consequently, those caught in such acts must be given deterrent punishment to ensure that others keep away from the bad habit of cheating in our markets.