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| Government toughens law against fake products |
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by
Aubrey Mchulu, 10 November 2004
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11:32:51
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Government said Tuesday an amendment is in the pipeline to stiffen penalties for culprits of counterfeit products because their actions negatively impact on the national economic growth.
Attorney General Ralph Kasambara said when he opened a half-day consultative meeting on counterfeit and smuggled products in Blantyre that the fake products deprive government of tax revenue and creates unemployment because genuine producers face unfair competition on the market.
“We have to join hands to fight this monster,” said Kasambara when he opened the meeting organised by the Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama), adding:
“Counterfeit and smuggled goods force legitimate producers to close down or reduce production which in the end results in job losses to citizens and indeed revenue loss on the part of government.”
He said fake products, on the other hand, also pose a health hazard to consumers because most of the time such products do not meet specifications of genuine products.
Kasambara said the amendment bill to the Penal Code to stiffen punishments against culprits of fake products is pending and should be ready for presentation at the next sitting of Parliament.
But, in the short-term, Kasambara said, industry and advocates like Cama should use existing laws like the Consumer Protection, Competition and Fair Trading and the Pharmacy, Poisons and Medicines to fight the problem.
Earlier, Cama executive director John Kapito said counterfeits had taken over the market and the meeting signified a shared vision of hope among stakeholders.
He complained that culprits are usually given very lenient sentences which, in his words, “will be a mockery to the fight against fake products” if judges and magistrates continued meting them out.
Delegates to the consultative meeting have come from Ministry of Justice, Malawi Law Society, Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Poisons, Medicines and Pharmacy Board, Malawi Revenue Authority, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) and district and town assemblies.
In his presentation, MBS acting director-general Charles Malata-Chirwa said the role of MBS in fighting counterfeits is the provision of testing of locally-manufactured or imported commodities with a view of determining whether they comply with laws on standards of quality.
During the meeting, a wide range of counterfeit and smuggled goods were displayed. They ranged from detergents, drugs and matches to cigarettes, batteries and cooking oil.
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