The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has called on the media to simplify stories on product safety plus quality, in order to protect consumers from unsafe products on the market. ZCSA, Executive Director, Gerald Chizinga, has noted that news articles help consumers to make informed decisions on regular products that they usually consume on the market. The media reports that Mr Chizinga says it is important that information on product safety along with quality is shared through the media across Zambia to protect consumers and the environment.
He highlighted that while the subject of product safety may be technical, it is important to the consumers, citing that it directly deals with products that they use on a daily basis. He was speaking in Lusaka, when he officially opened the 3rdZCSA Media Awards Adjudication Committee meeting aimed at evaluating entries and determining winners of the awards. “Product safety and quality is a subject that seems technical but it affects our daily lives, as it is key in protecting the safety and health of citizens.
If you look at products such as food, beverages, solar products, household electrical and similar appliances, among others, these are products we use on a daily basis and such products can easily harm consumers and the environment if they are not regulated,” he said. Mr Chizinga revealed that in efforts to simplify the subject of compulsory standards, ZCSA has been training journalists at all levels in knowledge on product safety. “This is in a bid to ensure that journalists from newspapers, radio, television and digital media effectively disseminate information on product safety and quality to the public,” he stated.
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Mr Chizinga further adds that ZCSA has this year received more entries since inception in 2023, urging judges to objectively come up with best evaluated entries as part of building trust with stakeholders. ZCSA Media Awards Adjudication Committee Chairperson, Henry Kabwe, noted that it is important for journalists to correctly and objectively disseminate information to the public. “If consumers are not aware of the safety and quality of products they consume, such products may pose danger to their safety and health. Stories should be those which create an impact on society as opposed to general reporting of scheduled assignments,” he said.
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