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"id": 181365,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/181365/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muriithi",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Industrialisation",
"speaker": {
"id": 91,
"legal_name": "Ndiritu Muriithi",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will be very brief indeed as the hon. Members are urging me to be. I rise to support this Bill. This matter of counterfeiting is a very serious one for our economy and, in fact, this House has addressed itself to this issue a couple of times in the very recent past. It has asked the Minister on a couple of occasions to show what he is doing about combating this menace. Some Members have brought to the House what it is that this economy is losing because of counterfeiting and I do not wish to repeat. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me just point out a couple of things. The first one is about we as a nation, developing and securing markets for the goods that we manufacture in this country. We have set ourselves the objective to be the manufacturer of choice, particularly for basic goods in the East and Central African region. I have on occasion had to work with other departments like the Customs and so on, to intercept transit goods made in other countries. In one particular instance in recent times, we have found a consignment destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) originating from China and transiting through the port of Mombasa. Those goods were hand tools like ores, pangas, umbrellas and pens, all bearing the names of Kenyan manufacturers and yet clearly from the documentation, they were not manufactured in Kenya. 3198 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 30, 2008 So, it is very critical that we provide for a mechanism to be able to secure the markets that we already have because the reason a counterfeiter in a third country is copying goods made by Kenyan manufacturers and taking them to the market in the region, is because those goods from our country do in fact enjoy that market. Their quality is seen to be excellent. Therefore, as I have already indicated, we have set ourselves a target as a nation to be a manufacturer of choice in the region. We have said in fact that we wish to double the market share of our products in this region in the East African Community (EAC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (COMESA). To achieve that, we must ensure that we do not allow counterfeiters to take advantage of the market we have already developed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of innovation, growth and employment has already been spoken about by my colleagues who have contributed to this Motion. Therefore, I would not wish to repeat. However, let me congratulate the Minister for the consultative process that had been put in place to ensure that all the stakeholders involved in this matter are part of the process. This is about us, as a nation, getting together to say; \"look, this is hurting us and we need to provide for a mechanism to protect ourselves in law\". Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, if one reads Clauses 11, 12 and 13 of this Bill, you will see that we have sought to look at issues of civil and criminal liability. I know a good thing can be made better. Many hon. Members have said we could improve on the institutions that have power under Clause 12. However, the reason to provide for the power of seizure is to ensure that counterfeit goods do not find their way back into the market, even when they have been so determined. Clause 13 provides for specific penalties. After all, the purpose of this law is to punish and, therefore, deter the activity of counterfeiting. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}