ZRP Warns Of Growing Threat Posed By Counterfeit Products
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has warned that the growing spread of counterfeit products in the country poses a significant threat to local industries if not addressed.
Speaking at the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) Dialogue on the Consequences of Counterfeit Products in Harare on Wednesday, 12 March, ZRP national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said that consumers are often deceived by counterfeit items, which are packaged to look identical to genuine products, sometimes even appearing more attractive. Said Nyathi:
If people take this counterfeiting issue for granted, they will wake up with no industry in Zimbabwe because the impact and implications are very broad, to be honest, and it is cutting across all sectors of the economy; look at agriculture which is being supplied with fake fertiliser, fake seed and fake chemicals.
And as police, we are saying the social and economic development of any country cannot effectively take place where there is no order.
From a health point of view, this is a security threat because we now have people bringing in fake vaccines, and some people are cashing in between US$20 000 and US$60 000 per week from these illicit deals.
Buy Zimbabwe CEO Alouis Burutsa said that individuals selling counterfeit products should be regarded as economic saboteurs and dealt with severely. Said Burutsa:
Government is no longer collecting as much because everyone is counterfeiting and informalising. Through the Ministry of Justice (Legal and Parliamentary Affairs), we appeal to you to be serious about these things and put in place serious deterrent measures.
If somebody is caught with a pangolin, they go to jail for nine years. But someone who is killing the economy is given a fine of US$30 and goes scot-free. It does not make sense.
So, we need to be serious as a country and start taking these things and label these people as economic saboteurs and deal with them as such.
More: The Herald
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