Officers end induction training

The National Business

TWELVE business development officers (BDOs) from six provincial administrations completed a three-day induction training facilitated by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC).
The training was undertaken under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ICCC and the administrations – Milne Bay, Morobe, Hela, Chimbu, Madang and Manus – signed in 2017.
ICCC commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain said the purpose of the agreement was to extend the commission’s presence in provinces and to ensure consumers were protected in relation to the prices, quality and reliability of goods and services as well as to ensure that markets were competitive, efficient and well informed.
“The training is to provide information and a mechanism on how BDOs perform ICCC’s roles and responsibilities,” he said.
“It is also important to provide BDOs an understanding of the roles and responsibilities in a transparent, accountable, professional and ethical manner when dealing with consumers and business houses in their respective provinces.”
Ain said the induction training was also designed to meet the BDOs’ expectations when undertaking their roles.
“They also formulated a BDOs’ induction handbook which contains procedures and process on how BDOs are required to perform ICCC’s roles and responsibilities and report to ICCC under a clear structural reporting framework.”
The key roles and responsibilities, among others, that the business development officers had been trained for include:

  • Representing ICCC in any meetings in line with ICCC’s roles and responsibilities;
  • addressing consumer complaints and referring complaints to relevant state authorities should the complaints fall outside of ICCC’s jurisdiction;
  • conducting monthly price surveillance on declared goods such as rice, flour and sugar; and,
  • Conducting awareness and dissemination of information on PMV and taxi fares, monthly fuel prices, interim and permanent banned products to stakeholders, traders and general public.