ACA is expected to use the funds to develop an online platform that will improve the efficiency of tracing and seizing of counterfeit goods. The signing ceremony will be witnessed by the ACA Executive Director, Elema Halake, and TMA Kenya Country Director, Ahmed Farah.

This kitty will go a long way in supporting Kenya’s renewed war on counterfeits. According to a study on the vice of counterfeiting in Kenya, which was done in 2012, it is estimated that Kenyan manufacturers are losing at least 40 per cent of their market share to counterfeiters.

An approximate Ksh30 billion (US$ 42 million) is lost by Kenyan manufacturers annually, while the government loses Ksh6 billion (US$80million) as potential tax revenue. The move by TMA comes at a time when the government has heightened the war against counterfeits.

In May this year, President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned a multi-agency team to lead the fight against counterfeits and illicit trade in the country.

It constitutes the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the National Police Service, Kenya Railways, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Board, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Anti Counterfeit Agency, Public Health services, Immigration services and Weights and Measurements Service Kenya.

The team which has heightened surveillance in the country’s points of entry has been conducting raids which have successfully nabbed counterfeit goods worth more than Ksh76.5 billion. During a recent briefing to the President, the multi-agency team said it had identified key areas in which it will focus on as it continues with its operations.

They include the agriculture sector, beauty and cosmetics, electronics, building and construction and alcoholic beverages. Others are food stuffs and bottled water, ICT, motor vehicles, sugar and the oil and gas sector.

Kenya’s private sector led by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance(Kepsa) has since lauded the government’s efforts in combating counterfeit products saying “investor confidence is gradually being restored.”

It has called for public sensitization on the ongoing efforts, while educating Kenyans on the importance of curbing counterfeit goods as the quality of goods pose a direct danger to users.

Kepsa further wants the sources and origin of counterfeits to be tracked to allow government to government interventions to curb the vice.

The private sector lobby group has advised for close monitoring of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, cables and pharmaceutical products, which it says the government is losing a lot of revenue while the public remains at risk from the quality of these products.

Kenya commemorated the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day (WACD) in Nairobi on June 26, 2018 through a series of awareness activities which included a stakeholders’ grand march along the streets of Nairobi.

The event which was led by the ACA also had a public–private sector interactive symposium with participants drawn from policy makers and implementers in the public sector, and the private sector.

The symposium gathered close to 300 people in a conference themed: ‘Combating Counterfeiting: A National Priority in catalyzing the ‘Big Four Agenda’ in Kenya!

Speaking during the event, Principal Secretary, State Department of Trade Dr. Chris Kiptoo said: “Trade in counterfeits is a threat to every one- the government, manufacturers as well as public health. It has reached a particularly worrying level in recent years and it affects every Nation.”

He reiterated that there is need for greater coordination both at the local level and international level by all stakeholders to fight counterfeits.

Source IPP Media

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.