Consumers should make it a habit to verify measuring equipment before buying goods and services to reduce the risk of being short-changed, the Weights and Measures Agency (WMA) has told members of the National Service (JKT).
The agency delivered the message on Thursday, October 1, 2026, during a public awareness session for JKT officers and soldiers at the force's headquarters in Buigiri, Chamwino, Dodoma.
The training focused on the use of accurate and verified measuring instruments in everyday transactions, including the purchase of cooking gas, fuel and food, as well as water and electricity services.
WMA Director of Technical Services Francis Olwero said soldiers, like other members of the public, depend on measurements in their daily lives and therefore need to understand how to protect themselves as consumers.
“Soldiers are part of the community, and like other citizens, their lives are surrounded by measurements from morning to evening. That is why WMA considered it important to educate them,” Mr Olwero said.
He urged JKT members to ask whether measuring instruments used by traders and service providers had been verified by WMA before making purchases.
The instruments include weighing scales used in shops, markets and butcheries, fuel pumps at filling stations, cooking gas weighing scales, as well as water and electricity meters.
The advice is aimed at helping consumers establish whether the quantity they receive corresponds with what they pay for, particularly in transactions where goods are sold by weight, volume or other units of measurement.
Private Fatma Mohamed said the training had changed her understanding of her rights as a consumer.
“I have learned that, as a consumer, I have the right to ask and satisfy myself that a butcher's scale or a fuel pump at a filling station has been verified by WMA before I buy,” she said.
She urged other Tanzanians to make use of information provided by WMA so they can identify their rights and take greater responsibility for checking measurements when making purchases.
Lieutenant Isaka Zacharia said the training had also highlighted the importance of accurate measurements in essential services.
“We have learned that we need to satisfy ourselves that accurate measurements are being used in services that affect our daily lives, including water meters and electricity meters,” he said.
He called on WMA to expand its public education campaigns, particularly to ordinary consumers in rural areas.
For Private Michael Mdegela, the training would change his approach to buying measured products, particularly cooking gas.
“We have learned and we are going to put it into practice. From now on, we will pay attention to the proper use of measurements and ask questions to establish whether the products we buy have been measured accurately, especially cooking gas,” he said.
“If the gas has not been weighed using a scale verified by WMA, I will not take it,” he added.
WMA Manager for Communications and Public Relations Veronica Simba said the agency was using different communication channels to reach various groups with information on accurate measurements.
“Our goal is to ensure that education on the proper use of measurements reaches everyone in the country,” she said, citing WMA's slogan: “Accurate Measurement is Your Right.”
The campaign places consumers at the centre of WMA's measurement mandate, encouraging them not to simply accept quantities displayed or indicated by traders and service providers, but to seek assurance that the equipment used has been properly verified.