Weight and Measures Agency has warned citizens to be careful and to double check the accuracy of scales and other measures when buying products at different stores and business centres.

The agency said there had been some unfaithful traders in the past caught robbing their clients by using rigged under/over weight scales and weigh stones.

WMA Chief Executive Officer, Magdalena Chuwa explained this yesterday at the agency’s pavilion on the Nane-nane exhibition grounds in Dodoma. He named butchers as the most notorious of merchants.

"…be cautious of scales and stones used in weighing…” he advised and warned that there are still many a trader who use fake stones and divise many a devious way to evade the otherwise thorough inspectors.

According to Chuwa a genuine stone recognised by the agency is that with a hole behind it and a sealed national shield inside the hole with two last numbers of the respective year imprinted.

She acknowledged that the role of the WMA is to protect consumers from exploitation.

“We shall continue to do regularly check to identify illegal traders who have been exploiting their customers…” she assured the public asserting the organs stand on the law breakers is to take strict legal measures.

Chuwa underlined that procedures are in progress to enact stringent laws to net unfaithful dealers who have continued exploiting clients.

The current law, she cited, gives minor punitive response to such offenders hwereby at the moment a trader with such an offence has to but pay the rather small fine of 10,000/- or surfer the higher penalty of no more than five years imprisonment or both.

“So it is clear that the current law does not provide penalties that are stringent enough to deter the crime committed…” she admitted.

Chuwa further advised the farmers and all consumers in general to refuse use of invalid scales and measures like, buckets and other devices used.