UCC cautions e-commerce firms on delivering substandard goods to clients

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has cautioned e-Commerce firms to desist from delivering substandard goods to clients.

While officiating the sectoral workshop on Supply Chain Security and Electronic Advanced Exchange (EAD) in Kampala on April 16, the Director in charge of Industrial Affairs and Content at UCC, Ms Julianne Mweheire who represented the body’s executive director said some e-Commerce firms have made it a tendency to display products different from what they deliver to clients.

“We have also noticed that they don’t deliver in time and that is one of the things we are looking at, training them today as we take them through the due process,” she said.

She added: “A lot of our courier companies have now come into play as we have licensed e-Commerce entities because they now appreciate the need for standardization in the process of delivering services to individuals, particularly on the last mile side.”

UCC as regulators, she said,  ensures customer protection through timely and safe delivery of products.

“We want to ensure that hazardous materials or narcotics are not included within these courier items because internationally and from a standards basis, these are not acceptable,” she said.

Ms Dawn Wilkes, the Program Manager in-charge of Security at the Universal Postal Union said, the Union recognises the indispensable role that networks play in connecting communities and facilitating global trade.

“We are focusing on all the products, to make sure that they are secure and safe and increasing the relevance of the postal sector within the country as well as the entire region and the world itself,” she said.

Mr Mathew Nice, the manager for Global Interdiction on Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) which operates under the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said that they are aiming at helping different countries including Uganda, to improve safety and security globally, specifically related to trafficking in new synthetic drugs that are very harmful substances.

“Those substances are often showing up in supply chains of express couriers or postal…. We work really closely with them to help build the capacity of countries. And also work to integrate information related to how e-commerce and the postal interact with each other," he said. 

The workshop which started on April 16 ends on April 18. It  brought together participants from licensed e-Commerce and National courier operators and government agencies that have a stake in both domestic and international mail supply chain including Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Drug Authority (NDA), Uganda Police Force - Drugs and Narcotics, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) among others.

Ms Mweheire said that the rise in electronic communication and e-commerce has caused a growing need to address concerns related to mail security standards, cyber security and mandatory data exchange requirements.

“These concerns relate to data protection, counterfeit prevention, customer trust, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity risks and over all protection of the supply chain Integrity,” she said.