To mark World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, SOS Consommateurs has chosen "Safe Products, Confident Consumers" as its theme this year. According to the consumer organization, this requirement is far from being met in Senegal.

In this context, SOS Consommateurs highlights the recent scandal involving Softcare products, which is currently the subject of several investigations. The case is being investigated by a commission of the National Assembly of Senegal, the Thiès research section, and the National Office for the Fight Against Fraud and Corruption (OFNAC).

Following the press conference held by the Ministry of Health on March 5, the association denounces an attempt to exonerate the company before the end of the investigations.

Thus, it considers it "regrettable and unacceptable that before the conclusion of these investigations, the Ministry of Health, in coalition with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, is attempting to whitewash the company Softcare, caught red-handed in the act of possessing a stock of expired raw materials for two years (January 12, 2024)."

In light of this situation, Sos Consommateurs is urging citizens to exercise caution. "Based on the precautionary principle, Sos Consommateurs is asking consumers to refrain from purchasing Softcare products until the results of the ongoing investigations are published," the statement reads.

According to the organization, "manufactured products are an integral part of our daily lives. Yet, their safety is not always guaranteed." It also states that "the vast majority of products offered on the Senegalese market are neither safe nor of good quality."

Sos Consommateurs also invites Senegalese people to strengthen their collective defense capacity by joining existing protection structures, calling on consumers "to come together within consumer defense associations to defend themselves collectively."