Step up war on fake goods

The proliferation of fake goods poses a grave threat to local industry and jobs, at a time when the country is reeling under an acute unemployment crisis. Economists see a damning connection between the illicit trade and the slow economic growth, poor development of the local industry and high unemployment rates.

This illicit trade is also linked to crimes such as bribery, money laundering, terrorism and tax evasion. Fake products have a low life span and can harm the user. In a strong warning to the culprits, a government agency destroyed some seized counterfeit goods worth Sh32.8 million in Athi River on Thursday. Such goods valued at Sh125 million have been impounded in the past one month across the country.

Most of the counterfeits are from the Far East, with China being the major source of the fake merchandise flooding the Kenyan market and the other East African countries. The goods include electronics, electrical appliances, sportswear and equipment, motor vehicle spare parts, and digital TV antennae. Last year, Kenyan traders lost 40 per cent of the local market to the counterfeiters.

Counterfeit trading was worth Sh70 billion in 2017, rivalling tourism, tea and coffee, the country’s top foreign exchange earners. The country loses between Sh6 billion and Sh40 billion annually in potential revenue. For its part, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers says that its members lose Sh30 billion yearly.

The Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) has its work cut out for it as it grapples with this big threat to the development of the local manufacturing sector. The ACA is on the right track and must wage a sustained onslaught on this lucrative but illicit business. The agency is tracking down foreigners dealing in fake goods in order to have them prosecuted and deported and their illicit gains and assets seized.

By going after the culprits' assets, the agency is taking the fight against the vice a notch higher. It also intends to trace funds stashed overseas. To ensure that the vice is uprooted once and for all, the agency is also targeting the foreigners’ local collaborators. The campaign against fake goods must be stepped up.