Let us do more to fight counterfeits

Government is proposing an anti-counterfeit goods and services law that seeks to impose tougher rules to control the sale, manufacture and importation of counterfeit goods and services. 

The private member’s Bill drafted by Mr Asuman Basalirwa, the Bugiri Municipality MP, proposes to, among others, introduce a 10-year jail term or a Shs500m penalty for anyone who violates the major objectives of the Bill. 

Mr Basalirwa adds that although there are scattered pockets of anti-counterfeit legislation, the country lacks a robust law to control the growing problem.

The proposed law, when passed, is to be jointly enforced by various government ministries, departments and agencies such as Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), and Uganda National Bureau of Standards.  

While the proposed law is welcome, more needs to be done to ensure its effectiveness.  

This proposed law should go together with educating the public, businesses, and relevant industries about the dangers of counterfeit goods and how to identify them. Awareness campaigns will go a long way in reducing the demands for counterfeit products.

Counterfeiting often involves cross-border activities. While we do our best internally, international cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies are crucial. Government should work with its neighbours more to strengthen customs controls to intercept counterfeit goods at ports of entry. 

This can be achieved through sharing intelligence, conducting joint operations, and extraditing suspects, among other strategies, for fighting imported counterfeits. As it is already being done, the URA should continue using advanced screening techniques and collaborate with rights holders to identify counterfeit shipments.

Government also needs to work with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to implement measures to detect and prevent counterfeit products from entering the supply chain. This may include implementing technologies such as track-and-trace systems, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and forensic authentication methods of the labels.

Our suggestion is that the government should adequately train and facilitate our enforcement officers to investigate and prosecute counterfeiters by way of having in place specialised units or task forces dedicated to tackling counterfeiting. Those found to be corrupt should be brought to book as a deterrent measure to corruption.