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The Department of Trade Industry (the dti) in partnership with the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) will hand over more than 500 stoves to the residents of the informal settlement of Shaka’s Head near KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, 26 October 2018.  This is part of the ongoing campaign to remove unsafe paraffin stoves across the country.
 
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says the campaign is aimed at raising awareness about the usage of safe paraffin stoves to eradicate substandard stoves that contribute to fires that often devastate informal settlements across the country.  
 
“This campaign further enables face-to-face engagement with communities to make them aware of the risks posed by non-compliant products with regards to safety, health and matters of environmental protection and the rights of the consumers.
 
Davies adds that it is imperative for the NRCS to deal harshly with businesses that are not obeying the law when it comes to non-compliant products and ensure that they are brought to book. This non-compliant products, he says, affect the communities negatively.  
 
“The campaign must run throughout the year, with the NRCS inspecting business premises and prosecuting those that are manufacturing, supplying and selling these unsafe products to communities,” emphasises Davies.
 
The campaign which was started in 2015 by the NRCS and the NCC, is aimed at educating consumers about the importance of using approved appliances such as paraffin stoves and heaters to prevent shack fires which often result in loss of lives and properties.
 

Issued by The Department of Trade And Industry