Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Secretary General Stephen Mutoro
(R) with Vice Chair John Juma (L) during a a past press briefing. Cofek
decried mounting revelations of increased presence of dangerous
counterfeits and fast-moving consumer goods on supermarket shelves.
By RAWLINGS OTINI
Posted Sunday, July 28 2013 at 11:51
Posted Sunday, July 28 2013 at 11:51
The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) in a
statement to newsrooms said Kebs and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA)
have not exercised their mandate in protecting Kenyans from fake
products that are now awash supermarket shelves.
The lobby group said it is receiving complaints
from consumers for instance in Kisumu, where Kebs officials work in
cahoots to protect wrongdoers at the expense of the consumer interest.
Cofek decried mounting revelations of increased
presence of dangerous counterfeits and fast-moving consumer goods on
supermarket shelves.
"Kebs and Anti-Counterfeiting Agency (ACA) no
longer proactively carry out meaningful mystery inspections. They only
conduct investigations after a public outcry. Even then, the quality of
such inspections is hardly satisfactory. Results are never shared
publicly," said Cofek.
It blamed unscrupulous manufacturers of some major
brands saying they are to blame for churning out fakes and counterfeits
to benefit from the huge consumer fakes market owing to lower pricing.
Lack of sufficient funding for ACA has also left it with minimal capacity to carryout its duty.
Overlapping mandates of various government
agencies has been partly blamed. Kebs, ACA, Pharmacy & Poisons Board
(P&PB), Kenya Revenue Authority and private certification agencies
must be urgently harmonized.
It accused Kenya Revenue Authority officers saying
they must never, as they often do, clear any consignment at the entry
points before thorough clearance by Kebs adding that the current Kebs
management and structure needs an immediate overhaul.
No comments:
Post a Comment