Be warned, government tells dealers of fake products
Rebecca Miano, the Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade, and Industry.
What you need to know:
- Government argues manufacturers argued to patent their products.
- Dealers of counterfeit products warned of serious legal consequences.
The government has announced that it will continue with the ongoing crackdown on counterfeit products.
The Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade, and Industry, Rebecca Miano, has reiterated the government’s commitment to stamping out counterfeit goods, saying those in the business of counterfeit products of serious legal consequences.
“What most Kenyans don't know is that these products are detrimental to health. To promote good trade, more raids are going to be done until we have a clean market,” Ms Miano said.
Crackdown on fake goods
The CS also called on producers and manufacturers to patent their products to protect them from being counterfeiters.
“We want to have a collaboration that will see us work together with every stakeholder. Kenyans should be on the watch out. Most of these items appear cheap but they are not of good quality. It is better to spend more money on something that will last rather than always going back to the shop for the same product,” Ms Miano said.
The CS also urged business people who are in the importation business to embrace electronic record declaration systems to boost efficiencies as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) processes their imports.
Counterfeit products
The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has launched a crackdown across the country to rid the market of fake goods as a way of protecting genuine manufacturers.
The crackdown comes at a time different sectors have been grappling with widespread distribution of counterfeit products, with manufacturers now calling on the ACA to help uphold the integrity of the market.
“This misrepresentation is damaging both to consumers who may unknowingly purchase substandard goods and to Yamaha's brand image. Affected products are Yamaha-branded microphones, drumsticks, powered mixers, Yamaha Analogue mixers, Yamaha branded guitars, branded drums, branded amplifiers, and branded loudspeakers,” Yamaha, one of the companies most affected by counterfeiting, said in a statement.
