In its 10-year history, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) has seen the environment it is operating in changing radically. The Authority proactively adapted to the trends and carried out, a transformation in the way it operates to fulfill the needs and expectations of its stakeholders.

Sitting down with WhosWho.mt as the Authority celebrated its 10th birthday, Chairperson Helga Pizzuto reflected on some of the changes it has undergone, and some improvements she expects it to make in the future.

Starting from the beginning, she explained that the MCCAA came into being with the amalgamation of three independent entities in 2011 under an Act of Parliament.

Since then, the organisation’s remit has developed in several ways, including a portfolio realignment, additional responsibilities, and capacity improvement to ensure optimal use of resources.

As things stand, the Authority is structured into four distinct entities from a decision-making perspective: the Office for Competition, and the Office for Consumer Affairs, the Technical Regulations Division, and the Standards and Metrology Institute.

“Though they look at different aspects of the market, their focus is on the wellbeing of the consumer”, Ing Pizzuto explains.

From this perspective, the MCCAA aims to make it so that when a consumer purchases a product or enters a service or contract, they get a fair deal. “As a consumer”, Ing Pizzuto says, “you have a number of rights, and we oversee that these rights are not only protected but also improved in line with the changing context”.

“Furthermore, we regulate the products on the market to ensure that they are safe and that they meet EU requirements”. Over the last ten years, the MCCAA carried out over 11,000 product safety inspections.

Ing Pizzuto explains, the MCCAA is also responsible for what is called legal metrology. When a customer buys something by weights or by length or volume, they get what they ordered, and that measuring implements used to sell products are properly calibrated.

In a nutshell, “these different aspects come together to protect the customer”.

Asked to identify some key changes, Ing Pizzuto first identifies the evolving remit of the organisation.

The MCCAA, she recounts, has over the years since its establishment managed a number of changes to its areas of responsibility. Of note, soon after its establishment as an Authority, it took over the responsibility for the rules related to the placing on the market of chemicals.

“A few years ago, we took over responsibility for the making available and use of fluorinated gases, which are ozone-depleting gases normally used in air conditioning systems”, Ing Pizzuto reflects. Recently the Authority was also entrusted with the regulation of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths at National level.

The changes are part of a commitment to ensure that the work of the Authority is based on competence, a scientific and evidence approach for decision-making that is implemented in line with best practice. The Authority is sensitive to ensure optimal use of resources and right capacity to manage the assigned responsibilities.

Aside from its changing remit, the MCCAA has seen the environment it is operating in develop too.

Consumers’ realities include a shift towards online buying and a drive towards sustainable consumption. This has necessitated a review of the regulatory framework which the Authority is carrying out with its European counterparts. Substantial work has also taken place locally to establish the required tools and capacity to be able to monitor digital markets effectively.

“There is today more coordination and more synergy between different entities. We’ve strengthened our corporate functions, by introducing a strategy and planning function, and documenting all the processes that the organisation has internally, helping us ensure consistency also in the way we approach things and improve efficiency”.

In recent years, the organisation has transitioned from a “paper-based” one to digitally driven organisation. Amongst other benefits, this allows consumers to contact the Authority, submit applications, lodge a consumer complaint, and make payments online.

And the investment in these systems has certainly proved worthwhile, Ing Pizzuto explains, especially when COVID struck: “They really provided their worth, as we were able to continue operating with most of our people working from homes, seamlessly”.

However, the COVID pandemic was also a learning experience for the MCCAA.

For example, according to Ing Pizzuto, the “instrumental role of effective communication and coordination between European counterparts was highlighted during early stages of the pandemic”.

When the pandemic struck, it was actually very difficult to import items from third countries, and for the organisation to check whether they were in full conformity with required standards, she says.

“We did get there in the end, but it took a while, and the MCCAA could have benefited from a faster and more coordinated approach at the EU level. Thanks to the efforts of the staff of the Authority and together with European counterparts, we rose to the occasion and implemented the necessary measures to ensure accessibility of safe products in a timely manner”, she reflects.

Aside from the operational challenges posed by the pandemic, the organisation also faced a dramatic increase in the demands for certain of its activities. Notably, for example, it overnight found itself assessing a number of different types of masks and sanitizing products.

Ten years from its formation, the MCCAA has identified the further strengthening of outreach to stakeholders as a key aim for its future because they “can’t protect the consumer if businesses don’t want to work with them”. “It’s not a one-sided thing”, explained Ing Pizzuto.

“We know that most businesses do want to give the right level of service to consumers, which is why it’s so important to work with them”.

Having said that, the Authority is pleased with its “good working relationships” with both consumer and industry representatives, and Ing Pizzuto identifies the maintaining of this relationship as of paramount importance for the future.