FTC officially launches Complaints and Market Surveillance Software |19 May 2023
Guests and delegates in a souvenir photograph after the launch
Customers to better track their complaints with new software
By Sunny Esparon
Customers will now be able to better track their complaints with the launch of a new software by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC).
The launch of the Complaints and Market Surveillance Software took place yesterday morning at the Eden Bleu auditorium.
This project has been facilitated through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) being implemented in the Seychelles and funded by the European Development Fund (EDF), 11th Extended Fund Facility.
The software will enable the commission to collect and analyse data pertaining to various businesses, enabling market trend analysis and addressing concerns.
In his presentation, the EU consultant, Neeraj Metha, explained that the new software will allow the FTC to be more efficient.
“The software streamlines complaint management processes, increasing efficiency by automating tasks, assigning complaints to staff members, and tracking their progress. This will in turn, lead to faster resolution times,” he said.
“It will also help improve accountability. It will provide a centralised platform to monitor and track staff performance, ensuring timely and effective handling of complaints,” he added.
In addition, the software will have data-driven insights. With comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, the software enables data-driven decision-making, allowing management to gain insights into complaint patterns, staff performance and areas for improvement.
Furthermore, with the enhanced user experience, the intuitive navigation of the software enhances the overall user experience, making it easier for staff members to handle complaints and access relevant information.
The software will also be scalable and customisable, accommodating the growing needs of the organisation. It also offers options to adapt to specific workflows and requirements.
With the increased transparency, it will provide real-time visibility into the status of complaints allowing stakeholders to track progress, access relevant documents and provide feedback.
To conclude his presentation, Mr Metha explained that the software is secure and confidential. The FTC prioritises data security and confidentiality, ensuring that sensitive information is protected through robust secure measures and user access controls. This will be done with the help of the Department of Information Communications Technology (DICT).
In his opening address, the Minister for Finance, National Planning & Trade, Naadir Hassan, stated that as government paves the way towards a digital economy, “it is increasingly becoming clear and evident that the old way of doing things will soon become a thing of the past”.
He cited that one of the priorities he has been pushing for the ministry is the digitalisation of the services being offered to the public.
“Therefore, with the arrival of the new software, it will address concerns related to internal time-consuming processes that will now be easily and better managed,” the minister said.
He went on to say that the software will bequeath the FTC the ability to manage cases received more efficiently and effectively, provide a platform to analyse data obtained through surveys in the market faster and even provide the general public with the accessibility to track their complaints.
“In a nutshell, the FTC software will provide, to a greater extent, the FTC, and to a smaller extent, the general public, the ability to move forward towards more efficacies in service delivery.”
“As the parent ministry of the FTC, such efforts towards digitalising and proceeding into the paperless government system is welcomed and applauded,” he stated.
EPA project team leader, Maurizio Zincone, explained that market surveillance systems play a significant role in maintaining favourable and safe markets, while fostering trust among consumers and economic operators.
He explained that the software was not developed in isolation but was informed by review and regulations and guidelines, along with the assessment of the FTC’s human resources across the various departments. Through this detailed assessment, the international experts engaged on this intervention were able to fully appreciate the FTC’s organisational structure, existing efforts, successes, and challenges related to facilitating fair competition, consumer protection, legal enforcement, and revision of regulations.
“It is envisaged that the demand driven technical assistance provided to FTC will ultimately contribute to improving safety and compliance of products that are placed on the market, and consequently positively impact protection of consumers.”
He went on to say that the software marks a significant milestone in the evolution of consumer protection and market surveillance landscape for Seychelles.
“The new software will truly revolutionise how the FTC, business operators and the public interact.”
For her part, FTC’s chief executive, Natalie Edmond, stated that the software came about due to the different hurdles the FTC faced last year.
“The digital software systems will be able to help us overcome these challenges better,” she stated.
In this spirit, Mrs Edmond saw it fit that the FTC sought for assistance and therefore received it to be able to develop the software.
This will mean that reporting and analysing data will be much faster and where officers saw themselves wasting a lot of time having to compile information, with the digitalisation, it can be done much faster.
“What is really innovative with the software is that the public will be able to track their complaint and which departments it is moving to,” she stated.
“The FTC wants to join and innovate in the digital era to not fall behind.”
Sunny Esparon
Photos by Joena Meme
