End of unsolicited phone calls? New opt-out registry proposed to block direct marketing

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit interviews Hardin Ratshisusu, Acting Commissioner at the National Consumer Commission.

Listen below:

Recently, it seems that the volume of direct marketing phone calls has increased, and as Ratshisusu puts it, "you don’t know where your number is as we speak."

In December 2024, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, proposed an amendment to Regulation 4 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) to introduce an opt-out registry for direct marketing.

The proposal was released for public comment, and many respondents supported the creation of such a registry to block unwanted marketing calls.

Once the regulations are enacted in the new 2025/26 financial year, the National Consumer Commission will manage the registry.

"We welcome these amendments by the minister."

- Hardin Ratshisusu, Acting Commissioner – National Consumer Commission

Ratshisusu expresses concerns that despite existing structures and frameworks, "there's still a lot of abuse on consumers."

He emphasizes that once the registry is operational, consumers will be given the opportunity to opt out of the database.

Additionally, Ratshisusu highlights the importance of transparency when receiving calls, emphasizing that callers should clearly identify themselves upfront.

This allows consumers to immediately distinguish between direct marketers and important callers, such as their bank.

"We will, when we publish this, when we put out rules of registration, make it clear that the direct marketers that we register, follow these regulations and ensure that we really stop unwanted calls to consumers."

- Hardin Ratshisusu, Acting Commissioner – National Consumer Commission

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.