WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-09-14 Time: 18:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Charles Goredema
The influx of counterfeit goods in formal and informal Southern African markets came under the spotlight again at a recent workshop held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Interpol Regional Bureau provided an appropriate setting for the discussion, which brought together representatives of some of the affected industries and police officials from twelve countries in the region. Of particular concern was the impact being encountered at present, and what can be expected in the future.
Counterfeiting means “unauthorized representation of a registered trademark, with a view to deceiving purchasers into believing they are buying the original goods.”
In Southern Africa today, the variety of what is traded is endless, including consumable substances, such as pharmaceutical drugs. Money, clothing, cigarettes, toothpaste, soap, matches, spare parts for machinery and cosmetics have also been counterfeited. Four countries in the region, namely South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana have had recent experience of counterfeit currency notes. It has therefore become common to use the term commodities in preference to goods.
Worsening economic positions and declining health being experienced in many parts of the region have worsened the exposure to counterfeit goods. The workshop noted that there has been an increase in crimes that utilise a combination of theft, forgery and counterfeiting. In all countries this applies to the use of falsified passports, falsified academic certificates, as well as credit and debit cards.
Because not all instances of counterfeiting are reported, and even where reports are made, losses have not been quantified, no accurate figures on the value of the counterfeit commodity industry could be given. It was however agreed that the trade in counterfeit commodities in the region is a multi-billion dollar industry. Case studies show that a fair amount of professionalism is involved in the production, distribution and marketing of the commodities.
As financial gain motivates trafficking in counterfeit commodities, it is inevitably accompanied by money laundering. Opportunistic organised crime networks have taken an interest either in producing and marketing counterfeit commodities or in reaping some benefit from them.
There is very little appreciation in the region of the harm attributable to counterfeit commodity trafficking. Unstructured surveys conducted in various countries ahead of the workshop showed that some influential officials who should know better even regard counterfeit commodities on informal markets as useful to poor people, on account of affordability. A similar argument is raised regarding counterfeit DVDs and CDs.
It is contended that if the producers of genuine commodities would only charge affordable prices, this would reduce the market for counterfeit commodities. Dar es Salaam and other cities in east Africa have witnessed significant increases in counterfeit medication, prompting three major police operations. There is absence of harmonised legal frameworks to prevent, detect and reduce the proliferation of counterfeit commodities. Only three countries appear to have relatively modern laws that could assist in evaluating the quality of traded commodities.
The writer is the Programme Head, Organised Crime & Money Laundering, South Africa
Original date published: 13 September 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009140994.html?viewall=1