NUCLEAR DEAL: Nuclear Power and Electricity Agency CEO Collins Juma, COFEK Secretary General, COFEK and a NUPEA director Teresia Mbaika at a past event. Cofek is now 11
Yours truly, turns exactly 11, on Friday, march 26, 2021 having been registered same day in 2010.
It is a milestone that the apex and leading Federation of consumers in Kenya and Africa is looked upon to continually rebrand, refocus and serve millions of consumers in a transformative way.
Prior to 2010, and it took us nearly two years to get registered as a society, the forces that joined to give birth to Cofek was a culmination of many consultations.
Today, we remember the Director of Research at the Committee of Experts, the late Dr Michael Chelogoy, and with whom other leading lights behind Cofek ensured that Bomas prioritized consumer rights at Article 46. We also remember the likes of Prof Julia Ojiambo and many others we met severally to realize this target.
Granted that no midas touch has happened on consumer protection, the milestones that have been made are gigantic. We must celebrate them
Firstly, we appreciate the Government of His Excellency President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta for accepting and living with our constructive criticism. Indeed, we appreciate that today Cofek is represented on many boards of public agencies. We are making huge strides, in silence, on those boards since we are not their respective spokespersons.
Secondly, we want to appreciate all regulatory agencies for being receptive and for embracing consumer protection matters. At the risk of offending the rest, we must mention Communications Authority of Kenya, Competition Authority of Kenya, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, among others, for living within the spirit of consumer protection.
Thirdly, we appreciate various agencies, both in government and the private sector, which continue to embrace our ongoing rebranding from protest to partnerships for better consumer protection.
Over the period, we have seen many individuals, experts and even corporate firms move to identify with Cofek as members. We thank them for their support.
We have also had several public interest litigations for instance saving Nairobi motorists parkings fees of Sh200 after an arbitrary increment was made. We have had litigations on food safety, fraudulent land and house selling firms. We were also joined by the likes of Federation of Kenya Employers to stop the mandatory housing fund contributions.
We have done our part on information, education and communications on public interest matters such as the Covid-19 pandemic and many other challenges includng the rising cost of fuel and falling quality standards in the ICT arena especially on deteriorating speeds and reliability of data against rising prices.
We are introducing a bouquet of many offerings this year, including the new Consumer Report Cards Forum (CRCF) where team leaders, in Government and private sector. During these monthly forums, we will be having speakers talk about their successes, challenges and undertakings for the new financial year.
The CRCF will commence on April 28. We are privileged to be hosting the Kenya Pipeline Company MD & CEO Dr Macharia Irungu.
We are also working with some members of parliament to introduce the Kenya Institute of Consumer Protection Bill, 2021.
We have a lot to report. We urge you to continue supporting us, now and beyond. We appreciate all of you out there doing something, however little, in support of consumer protection.
