David Mugabe
4 November 2009
Kampala — The investment climate facility (ICF) has committed $1m to the harmonisation of commercial laws to fight counterfeit business in East Africa.
Counterfeits account for more than $500m in business losses across the region, according to statistics from the ICF.
Dealers in counterfeit products ride on already established brands avoiding the huge financial bill incurred by genuine brand owners in marketing and brand building.
The chief executive of ICF Omari Issa said a survey on the extent of the counterfeit problem is complete and "the demand for new policies" will be undertaken.
The ICF based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is a partnership between private companies, donors and governments.
Confirming the developments on the legislative front, the secretary general of the EAC, Juma Mwapachu, said a policy document that addresses the menace of counterfeit has been finalised.
"We are now in the process of drafting a legislation which seeks to combat and robustly curtail this economic pandemic," said Mwapachu speaking at the EAC high level regional forum on customs reforms at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania.
Mwapachu confirmed that the legislation should be ready to be considered by the East African Legislative Assembly in the first quarter of 2010.
East African Legislative Assembly member, Janet Mmari, told Business Vision that once the legal provision becomes law at EALA, it will supercede all legal provisions at partner country level.
In Uganda, the anti-counterfeit bill is before Cabinet and is expected to move to Parliament soon.
Besides counterfeits, business in the region is constrained because the costs are high and the time of transporting merchandise is lengthy, a matter attributed to poor infrastructure.
Omari narrated how a typical delay for a truck costs its owner about $400 and each delay for a ship berthed in the port costs about $25,000.
"We need to address these issues urgently. Can public officials help businesses the same way they expect to be helped when they are in hotels and airports?" asked Omari.
Omari predicts that if the infrastructure and turn around time challenges are addressed, the cost of doing business should come down by 50%.
"Can we extend modern IT systems to keep pace with the growth in trade volumes, permitting harmonised information on consignments?" asked Omari.
Omari advised that the region should explore quickly how to win low cost infrastructure projects so that border posts can remain open 24 hours a day.
"We should focus on changing the dialogue into concrete action," said Omari.
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