By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana)-The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has urged members of the public to protect themselves from counterfeiting by buying from reputable outlets, verifying labels and avoiding products sold at ridiculously low prices.
In an interview with New Ziana on the sidelines of the launch of the consumer media awards on Thursday, CCZ chief executive Rosemary Mpofu said in the first quarter of this year, they received 2 022 complaints and 3 503 in the second quarter, with over half of these related to counterfeit products.
“If a product that normally sells at a certain price suddenly becomes much cheaper, consumers should ask why. While fair pricing is important, prices that are unrealistically low may indicate counterfeit goods,” she said.
She said counterfeiting has become a global challenge, with counterfeit goods now accounting for more than half of consumer complaints that the CCZ receives.
“It’s not just us, but the whole world. But we look after our own. In Europe and Asia they have their own methods of protecting their consumers. We really want counterfeit out of our markets,” she said.
Mpofu said the CCZ is advocating for a standalone anti-counterfeit legislation as complaints over fake goods continue to rise.
She said while existing laws address some aspects of counterfeiting, the scale of the problem requires dedicated legislation and a specialized institution.
“We are glad the Act is there. We thought it was going to address the issues of counterfeits but unfortunately, it’s not fully addressing the issue of counterfeits,” Mpofu said.
To complement legislative efforts, Mpofu said the CCZ has rolled out several initiatives under its anti-counterfeiting forum.
She said the CCZ has has also developed a “Citizen Verified” digital platform that allows consumers to scan products to verify authenticity.
“Sometimes people can even fake the packaging, so you will be able to scan with your phone to tell if it is a genuine product or not,” she said.
Mpofu added that several companies, including the manufacturers of Kombucha drink, have already integrated onto the platform, with more manufacturers expressing interest to do the same.
She said the CCZ is also conducting nationwide awareness campaigns to educate consumers on how to identify fake products and buy from legitimate suppliers.
“We are also doing the anti-counterfeit campaign, where we go out to the public and talk about the importance of making sure they buy genuine products from proper suppliers,” Mpofu said.
New Ziana
