Zanzibar — Despite widespread complaints, substandard, counterfeits, and expired products are still entering the Islands at an alarming rate.
Many consumers remain uncertain about the goods they use including the essential products like foods and medicines. It is thought that importation and sale of substandard, counterfeit, and expired products have doubled in recent years.
Health officers have frequently warned that substandard, counterfeit and expired products can endanger our health and safety, as well as adversely affect businesses by threatening innovation and local production.
The authorities here have been using its Zanzibar Food, Drugs & Cosmetics Board (ZFDB) to stop distribution and supply of substandard, counterfeit and expired products smuggled into the market.
Since its establishment in 2007, ZFDB officers have been working hard to ensure that only genuine goods are sold to the consumers. Thousands of tonnes of goods have been confiscated and destroyed as one of the Boards’ objectives for ensuring Safety and Quality of Food, Drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and related products for people.
The establishment of the Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS) will spur the ongoing efforts by the ZFDB to prevent Zanzibar from being a dumping ground for substandarFood, Drugs & Cosmetics Boardd, counterfeit and expired products.
According to the environmental department, and Ports Corporation, an average of 23,000 containers of different lengths, with diverse items including second hand goods and new items such as clothes, foods, vehicles, and electronics are imported annually, with estimation that 20 percent of the items are fake or counterfeit which later are dumped as wastes.
In strengthening war against substandard, counterfeit, and expired products, the government has announced Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) effective from August 01, this year.
This will be the first time for Zanzibar to introduce the standards program after several countries such as Tanzania mainland, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi, in the region already using PVoC.
The Minister of Trade, Industries and marketing Ms Amina Salum Ali announced here that the ZBS will introduce the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to ensure the quality of products, which must also meet health, safety and environmental standards for the people in the islands.
“We are determined to intensify the war against substandard, counterfeit and expired products because we are tired of it. Such goods should be prevented from entering our country and dishonest traders must be punished,” said the Minister.
Ms Ali said from August, imported foods will require a Certificate of Conformity (CoC), which is a mandatory clearance document for each consignment.
She emphasized that an exporter is liable for any legal or economic consequences arising for goods shipped without the cover of a CoC and that the responsibility of compliance lies with the supplier/ exporter At a press conference to launch the program, the minister mentioned elements of PVoC as physical inspection prior to shipment, sampling, testing and analysis in accredited laboratories and documents checks according to regulations.
According to the minister, priority will be given to commodities that are widely imported to Zanzibar which includes children’s toys, electronics, appliances, vehicles, chemicals and cosmetics, building materials and Mosquito nets.
Furnitures, papers, and printing equipments, security equipments, foods, and clothes including second hand clothes are other items that must be inspected and have CoC before importation into Zanzibar.
Ms Ali said that all importers and the local producers should cooperate with Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS) formed in 2011 and that by the time of the PVoC implementation, it will have its agents in various parts of the world.
Many people have welcomed the introduction of PVoC with hope that it indicates the end of substandard, counterfeits and expired products in the Islands.
However, Mr Hassan Yussuf, says “we need to improve ZBS including having skilled people and facilities before implementing the law.”
He said that new regulations in restricting counterfeit products are good, but it requires thorough preparations to avoid confusion and harassment to producers and importers.
President Ali Mohammed Shein has also, in several occasions, expressed his concerns over influx of substandard, counterfeits, and expired products particularly electronics as he appealed to responsible authorities to control the importation of environmentally unfriendly goods from abroad.
In different speeches Dr Shein has also advised consumers to learn how to identify fake and expired goods so that they avoid buying the commodities that are dangerous to health and protect the environment, emphasizing that multiple measures must be taken before it is too late.
“As we encourage importation of goods, precaution should be high to avoid fake products. Zanzibar should not be turned into a dumping ground for unwanted goods,” Dr Shein says.
Authorities here say that unscrupulous, traders tamper with the official stamped expiry dates to extend shelflives of the items on display. Some commodities from Asia, mainly China and Japan, are easily tampered with because the labels are in Chinese language unknown to majority of people.
Ms Aisha Suleiman, head of the food safety & quality department, appeals to members of the public to be careful when buying items, particularly food items because of increased dishonest traders. She said, “Let everyone be cautious when buying consumer goods.
Importation of counterfeit and sale of expired items continues and it is now the most serious problem affecting consumers in the Islands of Unguja and Pemba.”
Many consumers have been giving their testimonies on how they have fallen victim of either fake items or expired good including medicines, and rice yet many of them cannot even check for expiry date.
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.
