Counterfeits: A ticking time-bomb calling for urgent action

Kenya Bureau of Standard Quality Assistance and Inspection Manager Barnabas Lihema (in suit) and other officers inspect counterfeit products worth Sh 2 million seized in parts of North Rift region during a past operation. The country loses about Sh69 billion annually due to proliferation of counterfeit goods into the local econom. [PHOTO: PETER OCHIENG/STANDARD]

Reports that the country is losing about Sh69 billion annually due to proliferation of counterfeit goods into the local economy is unacceptable to all those interested in job creation and economic development.

It is particularly regrettable that the national Treasury, the ministry that should be at the forefront in efforts to grow the economy by protecting its manufacturers from unfair and illegal competition has officials sleeping on the wheel. Or how else can its allocation of a paltry Sh200 million to Kenya Anti-counterfeiting Agency in the current financial year be interpreted? Analysts are unanimous that even the Sh500 million that the agency had requested would not have been enough to meet its operational costs if it was to execute its mandate as expected.