On 15 March each year, the global community celebrates World Consumer Rights Day. The day serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about basic consumer rights, to highlight the challenges consumers face and to advocate for stronger protections against unfair market practices.
A new chapter for consumer protection in COMESA
This year, there was something worth celebrating. The launch of the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025 ("the Regulations"), introduced a wave of enhanced consumer protection provisions designed to improve consumer welfare across the COMESA Member States. The Regulations were approved and adopted by the COMESA Council of Ministers on 4 December 2025, replacing the old regulations that had served the region for more than 20 years.
