Dealers applauds campaign against fake electronics goods

Dealers in electronic goods have applauded measures being taken by the police and the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) in fighting counterfeit electronic goods imported into the country, saying the illegal trade is detrimental to business and the economy. They were commenting on the recent seizure of fake TV sets by police in Dar es Salaam shops, noting that the war on contrabands requires concerted efforts and involvement of all stakeholders, including consumers. Kassim Zarafi, the marketing, research and training officer at Freedom Electronics, sole agents of South Korean brand Samsung, said the problem of counterfeits is huge, threatening the survival of businesses in the country.
He said the importation of counterfeit electronic goods especially television sets has been a major constraint to the smooth operations of many companies. "Illegal products are cheap but of poor quality, which makes ignorant buyers discredit even the genuine brands," he said, noting that Samsung is among those brands most affected. He called on buyers to buy from authorized dealers and outlets sourcing their goods from them. Dar es Salaam special police zone commander Suleiman Kova told journalists that the police seized 12 television sets after being tipped that some shops were selling the counterfeits.

The Dar es Salaam special zone commander, SACP Kova in his operation with other colleagues.

Mr Kova said preliminary investigations established that the substandard TVs could negatively affect consumers, including their vision. The commander challenged the police and TBS officials to see to it that Tanzania does not become a dumping market of counterfeit products. Commenting on the other effects of counterfeit electronic goods, Mr Zarafi said most fires in residential and office premises caused by current flow faults are being attributed to counterfeit products, as they fail to cope with the power supply. Apart from denying the government tax revenues because of evaded custom duties the government spends a lot of its limited resources to fight counterfeits, he said. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development put the illegal trade at over $200 billion based on 2005 figures.