consumer diaries

A VARIETY of expired goods have flooded Soweto Market in Lusaka with scores of residents scrambling for the merchandise while some people have expressed worry over the development.

The goods range from body lotions, soaps and detergent pastes which have flooded the market, and are suspected to be from different retail shops within the capital city.

Customers interviewed by the Sunday Times were told that some of the products had been discarded by retail outlets but were again found at the hands of traders who were selling them to unsuspecting members of the public.

“There are so many expired goods at Soweto Market and people are just buying. I hope the authorities can do something to stop this because there is no way a product is discarded from the shop and later is found at the black market,” Michael Banda, a regular customer at Soweto said.

Mr Banda said products such as radios and DVD players that had been discarded in shops owned by foreign nationals were finding themselves at Soweto Market, and some of these were damaged.

He appealed to the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to look into the matter and protect consumers from buying products that were considered to be harmful.

Emelda Nkowani said many people had interest in the products because they were sold at relatively cheap prices.

“Because of poverty, people always want cheap products and you always find crowds buying these damaged products, and I wonder if the work and how long they work when they get home,” she said.

She said some women had ended up damaging their faces because of using expired body lotions.

Catherine Ng’uni, who had once bought a bottle of lotion from the street, said the expired products were harmful.

“When I got the lotion, I thought it was just fine but I discovered that with time my face was not looking smooth and it took time to realise that it was because of the lotion I bought on the street,” she said.

She advised other people to be cautious when buying lotions from the streets to avoid health complications.

[Times of Zambia]

 

Article extracted from Lusaka Times website http://www.lusakatimes.com/2012/04/22/expired-goods-flood-soweto-market/