Coca-Cola draws ire of consumer rights groups

The failure of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to comply with the recommendations of Consumer Protection Council on safety and quality of its products, in line with international standards, has attracted the ire of consumer rights protection organisations, reports Senior Correspondent, JUDE KENNETH…

A coalition of six Nigerian civil society organisations (CSOs) have written a petition to the Chairman of Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, over alleged consumer rights abuses by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

The  coalition comprising Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative (WELA), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), Partnership for Justice (PJ), and Human Rights Advancement, Development and Advocacy Centre (HURIDAC) are worried about the continued refusal of the company to comply  with the recommendations  of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) of Nigeria.

In the letter dated December 9, 2014, and signed on behalf of the coalition by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the groups expressed serious concerns about the continuing refusal by Coca-Cola Nigeria to comply with the recommendations by CPC, and urged Kent to use his “good offices and leadership to prevail on the company to respect due process and international standards in its operations and manufacturing process”.

According to the petition, “The failure by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to effectively comply with Nigerian laws and regulations is illustrated by the company’s refusal to subject its manufacturing process to inspection by appropriate authorities, in particular the CPC; failure to establish a Shelf Life Policy for its products in the country, which clearly would help to facilitate the removal of expired products from the market; and failure to address health and safety implications of its operations and practices.”

Other instances listed by the groups are: “Failure to put in place appropriate grievance resolution policy that can address compensation for injuries, or compensation in instances where replacement will be inadequate; failure to review the company’s supply chain management to include retailers in order to minimise the distribution of defective, non-conforming or expired products and failure to bring the company’s traceability policy in line with international standards by only relying on information as to the place of purchase to trace their products.”

Impunity, the groups further expressed, persists when Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, despite its many years of operation and profit-making in the country, continues to fail to provide strong leadership and embrace best practices in the implementation of international standards, and therefore failing to provide value for money for millions of Nigerian consumers. “Yet, investment guarantee and profit considerations should not take precedent over consumer inalienable rights and satisfaction.”

In the petition, the group noted that: “The lack of due diligence clearly has implications for the enjoyment of consumer and human rights. The lack of accountability and impunity by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited is not only unethical but also inconsistent with international standards such as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework.

“The Guiding Principles were endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2011. The principles require that Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited shows genuine commitment to product safety and quality in Nigeria, and to respect and accept the recommendations of appropriate authorities on the compliance of its plants and operations with international standards, as the parent company does in developed economies.”

According to the groups, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited is also required to ensure that its activities do not directly or indirectly cause consumer rights abuses, and to provide effective remedies to victims in cases of abuses of consumer rights.

The company, they charged, must seek to prevent or mitigate adverse consumer rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.

“The responsibility of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to respect consumer rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate. It exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights. We contend that addressing adverse consumer rights impacts in its operations and practices requires taking adequate measures for their prevention, mitigation and, where appropriate, remediation,” the groups maintained.

“We would consider appropriate legal action if the situation is not urgently and effectively addressed.”

Consequently, the coalition in the petition, has urged Kent to “direct and instruct Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to urgently and publicly state the steps it will take to fully and effectively comply with the recommendations by the CPC, and to publish widely the company’s existing environmental, health and safety policies and practices; to avoid causing or contributing to adverse consumer rights impacts through its activities, and address such impacts when they occur; and to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse consumer rights impacts that are directly linked to its operations, products or services.

Besides, the groups also urged Kent to develop and publish its policy commitment to meet its responsibility to respect consumer rights, including a consumer rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how the company is addressing its impacts on consumer rights and processes, to enable the remediation of any adverse consumer rights impacts which the company causes or to which it contributes.

The groups also demand that Kent should develop a process of meaningful consultation with potentially affected consumers and other relevant stakeholders and appropriate authorities; honour the principles of internationally recognised consumer rights when faced with conflicting requirements; and treat the risk of causing or contributing to gross consumer rights abuses as a legal compliance issue.

When TheNiche sought the position of Coca-Cola Nigeria on the petition, its Public Relations Manager, Clement Ugorji, confirmed receipt of the petition by the company, but added that he cannot comment on it now because the matter is in court.

The CPC – an agency of the Federal government of Nigeria, supervised by the Federal ministry of Trade and Investment –was established by the Consumer Protection Act No 66 of 1992, but became operational in 1999 when its institutional framework was put in place. It provides a holistic protection for consumer in line with the United Nations guidelines.

With the mandate to eliminate hazardous products from the market, provide speedy redress to consumers’ complaints, undertake campaigns that will lead to increased consumer awareness, and ensure that consumers’ interest receive due consideration at the appropriate forum, the CPC also encourages trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields, quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers.

Consumer rights and consumer law provide a way for individuals to fight back against abusive business practices. It protects consumers as to the safety, quality, purity, potency, healthfulness, durability, performance, repair, ability, effectiveness, truthfulness, dependability, availability and cost of any real or personal property, tangible or intangible goods, services or credit and it provides protection of the legal rights and remedies of consumers.

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Law was signed into law by Governor Babatunde Fashola on March 10, 2014.