The government is said to lose close to 20 billion shillings in revenue through counterfeit products.
Safaricom has urged the government to crack the whip on counterfeit mobile handsets.
The company’s Director of Corporate Affairs Nzioka Waita has said there is need for the Anti Counterfeit Agency (ACA), a government institution which champions for the eradication of counterfeits, to impose strict laws on importation of illegal mobile handsets.
Speaking Monday at a Nairobi hotel during a media workshop on counterfeit devices Nzioka advocated for consumer education in a bid to enlighten the public on the impact of counterfeits.
“Consumers must insist on buying devices from authorized dealers and ask for receipts and warranty so as to enjoy quality services,” he said
Addressing the same forum Safaricom’s Senior Terminals Manager Eric Muthuuri said that there are one million fake handsets on the Safaricom network noting that most people cannot distinguish fake from original.
Mr.Muthuuri pointed out that since January last year counterfeit mobile phones have enormously increased to high levels such that one in every five phones is a fake.
Anti Counterfeit Agency (ACA) CEO Stephen Mallowah noted that counterfeit phones have penetrated the Kenyan mobile phone market and Sh3.2 million has been used in anti-counterfeit campaigns.
In a speech read on his behalf by by ACA’s Deputy Director for Research, Awareness and Preventive Services John Akoten, Mallowah pointed out that China, Hongkong and Taiwan are the world’s leading countries in mobile hand set counterfeits with Nokia being the most counterfeited device.
Mr.Mallowah decried the negative ramifications of counterfeits on the economy noting that they are a health hazard due to the high radiations they emit.
He said to eradicate the vice there is need for ACA to partner with private sector, Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and the police.
The government is said to lose close to 20 billion shillings in revenue through counterfeit products.
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