Posted by: Webmaster on 5th May,2009
Most of the third world countries, Tanzania inclusive have been a dumping ground for fake and substandard goods whose origin is something of a debate. Fake products are not only a Tanzanian problem, but are becoming a global plague that is on the verge to impede indigenous innovation, and stifle economic growth in many developing nations. This problem is likely to cause environmental predicament, as well as unprecedented health problems. In short, knock off goods are becoming silent lethal killers, and a simmering cauldron that will potentially explode in not too distant future.
Economic reasons will arguably be cited as the main factors why third world countries attract cheaper, fake, and dangerous goods that can be traced back to Asian continent most of the time. Many developing nations, can’t afford the more reliable products from other countries, which are relatively expensive. I also believe that, many people , due to lack of exposure or knowledge, have subjected themselves into this problem of buying dangerous counterfeited goods, which they would not otherwise buy if they had the knowledge. While no precise solution has been identified to tame this rapidly spreading problem, we as the citizens directly affected, must collectively reason on how to control the negative consequences of the pandemic
About a month ago, while in Tanzania, I was compelled to replace our family refrigerator, and went to Kariakoo to find a replacement. The used ones in good condition, ranged from half of a million to a million, depending on the size, condition and the brand name. Since these were used appliances, million price- tag was a surprise, prompting me to look into the new ones as well. I visited more than ten stores within the area and the city center, which sold new appliances. And surprisingly enough, the pricing structure was mixed; some of the newer LG, Toshiba, Samsung, Daewoo, and many other brand names had less prices tags than the used ones, such as Bosch. At the city center, some of these fake appliances fetched up to four million shillings
It triggered unease in my mind to find an excellent looking LG refrigerator for less than a million, whereas in normal circumstances they would fetch more than one thousand dollars. Not only that, these stores stocked state of the art Sony Bravia, Samsung LCD televisions which were all counterfeited, yet selling as genuine for more than three million shillings. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know more on these products. The user manual itself was enough for me to infer that these were counterfeited products; it was photocopied from the first page to the last. More so, there was no manufacturer’s contact information, neither was there a country of origin, with exception of LG electronics instead of LG Corporation as the manufacturer.
When I asked one of the salesmen on the origin of the Samsung Refrigerator, he was enthusiastic to tell me “Singapore” and taunted a two year warranty if I purchased the appliance. The sweet talking young man, a Tanzanian, became nervous when I asked additional questions, and referred me to the manager –Bosi- who was a young guy in mid thirties with Chinese Origin, but very fluent in Kiswahili. When I asked the bosi on the origin of the Samsung refrigerator, he told me it came from Malaysia.
I knew that Samsungs are manufactured in South Korea, and even if the plant was in Malaysia, the patent details would have remained the same, under the umbrella of Samsung Corporation. Unfortunately the store manager could not withstand my probing questions, and left through the back door. No sooner did the manager leave, than the salesman informed me that it was time to close, because of an emergency; a staff meeting.
A shocker of my life came, when a merchant in the city center, boldly told me that he knew he was selling some counterfeit appliances. However, due to the frustration and complexity with the tax system, bribing in order to circumnavigate the bureaucracy and the hefty levies was the only option to keeps his business going. The man went on to say, that fake goods were the only option to keep his business afloat, because he could sell them just like genuine ones and make a good profit. I winded my search for a refrigerator by going to Mlimani City and got into a store selling home appliances, which had rather genuine products, and felt comfortable to purchase whatever I wanted.
Many hard working ordinary citizens, who have toiled to provide shelter for their families, saving little money month to month or making big sacrifices, have been the main victims of these dangerous electrical appliances. These people in the name of economic consciousness have ended up placing lives of their loved ones in extreme danger, by willingly and knowingly purchasing cheaper and faulty electrical components, which have in turn set their houses on fire. Fake television sets have set many houses ablaze, and so are the radios and refrigerators. The fake spare parts have burnt cars, caused avoidable accidents, leaving many people dead or physically impaired
These components have caused more harm than good, and much more economic distress that could have been avoided by spending a little more on more reliable components. Counterfeit appliances have very short lifespan compared to genuine ones. Hardly do these Items get a quarter lifespan of a genuine product. In the long run, the consumers tend to spend more than they would in the ordinary circumstances. Negating the very essence of economic consciousness
Factories in our country have closed because of the stiff and unmatched competition from cheap foreign goods; this has led to many remaining jobless. The negative impact has not only affected factory workers, it has affected raw material producers (farmers) in the countryside, and various suppliers in the long supply chain. It has affected general managers who must sell their finished goods to distributors, to the street vendors who must earn their living by selling the finished products to the consumer. The chain of economic victims of these counterfeited goods is long, and the long list includes the government that suffers the revenue losses by the jobless pack and tax evaders. It includes insurance companies that have to compensate their insured customers suffering unnecessary losses.
In a country where proper healthcare is inaccessible to many poor, establishing the number of those who have been poisoned and perhaps died of these deadly counterfeit products such as pharmaceutical drugs, food items and so forth can only remain a mystery. Whereas developed nations such as Britain, United States, and Canada with stringent quality control on imported Items have suffered out of these fake products, I wonder how silently our country is paying the price. Chinese authorities in their inspection last year discovered that, cancer-causing industrial oils, acids, and even antifreeze were found in their domestic factories that exported baby milk powder, rice, flour, meat, biscuits, seafood, soy sauce, toothpaste and sweets.
We can either agree or remain in denial whether some of these deadly silent killer Items are being sold in our country, and their negative impacts on the health of the people may never be known in the short term, unless they cause mass poisoning or killing. Otherwise, in longer terms we will start to experience strange illnesses, and conceivably an escalation of the prevalent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and many others. Without being careful, the government is gearing for an unprecedented health crisis in the near future.
Environmental problems posed by these products known as Fong-Kong are real, because many of these fake goods have shorter life span, in which, after completing their life cycle or whenever they explode or no-longer needed, they get dumped in our backyards and elsewhere within our environment. Their deadly and toxic chemicals gets in the air we breathe, food we eat and water we drink. We cannot, and should not credit economic salvation from products made in peoples backyards, bedrooms, and unlicensed factories without any research carried out to ensure their safety to the environment and people’s health.
National problems can never be solved on individual basis; they can only be solved collectively. By that I mean for us to solve the dangerous counterfeit products problem in our country, we must, not let the government work it all, we the people must unite as a nation and discuss both short term gains and long term risks. We must wear patriotism in order to prevent the impending catastrophe that is waiting ahead due to the growing threat imposed by fake goods in our economic system. Mind you, a patriot who signs a binding contract to defend and serve his country, would not let into the country anything that is going to jeopardize the lives of his people.
It is not questionable on how these fake products enter into our country, whether smuggled or not, we all know that they pass through our land, air, and sea points of entry. They are being cleared by our established watchdogs such as Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and so forth that employees some of our finest and most educated people. Meaning if these people were keen enough, and had the best interest of the country ahead of their own, none of these dangerous goods would enter the country.
Even though a total ban would be the best option to curb the problem, such an abrupt move may end up backfiring considering how deep these products have penetrated into our economic system. Setting quarters, that will gradually decrease the volume by time, would be a viable alternative that will foster domestic innovation to counter the high priced authentic goods. The epic center of finding a cure to this disease lies in the hands of the people, who must be made aware on the discernible time bomb they are toying with.
Enforcing the existing laws that will involve imposition of heavy punitive measures to the businessmen and companies that imports, distributes and sell counterfeit goods will bear fruitful results in longer terms. Mere symbolic gesture of banning a few these products, yet the entire kariakoo is stocked with counterfeit is a laughable matter. The government must go after these people aggressively, and hit them where it hurts- heavy fines- for them to stop booby trapping our country with time bombs.
Our country can amicably eliminate the fake products nightmare, by encouraging or opening the domestic market for other countries with good track record of manufacturing reliable goods at lower prices. Nonetheless, there should be a requirement for all foreign manufactures or their exporting agents, to register with government all of the goods they export to Tanzania, to ensure that all products into the country can be traced back to their original source incase of any problem. This should include proper labeling and other patent related requirements being visible. Tax relief can also be another incentive to the merchants who imports genuine goods as opposed to the importers of fake products
Our food sources, water sources, hair we breathe, and even the immediate environment are likely to be polluted by these lethal products that are being disposed of everywhere. Our nation is on the verge of suffering a health crisis and environmental catastrophe, as a result. The nation is likely carry heavy economic and social burdens, which can be prevented now if we are keen enough to foresee, or factor the risks and burden ahead of us. It is time for us to keenly weigh on the ramification of short term gains against impending national crisis.
Supposing my assumption above is correct, and hypothetically true. My logical conclusion in this regard is rather going to be gloomy and dismal in relation to the price the country is paying or is likely to pay in longer terms for such unbalanced and unreasonable trade off. Many innocent, poor people will suffer massive economic and health problems due to the dangers they face from deadly, and lethal counterfeit goods as opposed to the perceived economic gains, and the only person who can protect Tanzania, are the Tanzanians themselves. This is my perspective, and would like to know you; our reader’s point of view
Mungu Ibariki Tanzania
John Mashaka
Mashaka.john@yahoo.com
NOTE: To both ardent supporters and opponents alike, let’s refrain from excessive glorification and demonization; let’s debate the subject matter, instead of discussing individuals. This is a national matter, which needs national outlook as opposed to individual accusation, characterization and name calling. This matter is bigger than Mashaka’s personal perspective