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Arua residents want Anti-counterfeit Bill passed for consumer safety
A man loading some of the contraband Supermatch cigarettes that were impounded by URA in Arua recently. PHOTO/FELIX WAROM OKELLO.
What you need to know:
- Currently, backers of the Bill say existing laws left some gaps that should be addressed.
Due to the increasing cases of counterfeit goods that have flooded the Ugandan markets, residents of Arua City have asked parliament to expedite the Anti Counterfeit Goods and Services Bill 2023 to be passed into a law.
Speaking during a consultative meeting by Anti Counterfeit Network Africa in Arua City, residents said the law would enable consumer protection from dangerous goods.
“There are a lot of substandard goods in the market and you see a lot of people dying of cancers. Some of the contributions could be from consuming substandard food. The importers should be checked thoroughly because they are affecting the value chain,” Caroline Ocanda, the leader of Arua Women in Business said on Thursday.
“We need stringent laws with punishments that can deter people from importing, producing or dealing in counterfeit goods,” Ocanda added
Previously, cabinet withdrew the Anti-Counterfeiting goods Bill from parliament on grounds that there were other laws to address the issue.
The Bill had been introduced in 2015, aimed at combating importation and sale of counterfeit goods in the Ugandan market.
Currently, backers of the Bill say existing laws left some gaps that should be addressed.
“Even Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) which is mandated to fight fake products is not biting,” Arua City resident Esther Alupo noted.
Several attendees of the consultative meeting faulted the government for allowing counterfeit goods to flood the market.
Lawyer Fred Muwema of the Anti-Counterfeit Network Africa (ACN) said: “We cannot sit and watch our people die due to consumption of substandard goods. We need this Bill passed into a law so that genuine goods are promoted.”
Muwema said if passed, the legislation would encourage the private sector to fight substandard goods.
“Imagine five years ago, some people were arrested for using formalin to preserve meat in Kampala. Then, we also realized that the punishments in the law were not commensurate, and this needs revision to deter people,” he said.
West Nile Regional Police communications chief Josephine Angucia vowed the Force’s readiness to crackdown on counterfeit merchants.
“We do not need to compromise on issues of substandard goods because they can be cheap for our poor people, but detrimental in the long run,” she added.
