Accra, Jan. 26, GNA- Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Friday condemned the practice of counterfeiting and piracy, saying its effects were grave on the national economy and the lifestyle of the citizenry at large. He said not only did the perpetrators of the heinous crime committed massive fraud on legitimate traders, but also such activities amounted to serious public deceit, undermining of the economy and posing a great danger to the people. Mr Baah-Wiredu was speaking at the launch of an anti-piracy and counterfeiting campaign on Friday in Accra, to mark the International Customs Day, which is observed on January 26, every year. He said "It is only a criminal, malicious and an inhuman mind that will fake items or manufacture fictitious items for human consumption. Their activities on daily basis violate the universal moral code and good conscience." Mr Baah-Wiredu noted that the dangers posed by the steady increase in counterfeiting and piracy required that stakeholders intensified their efforts to combat the practices. He said the practice imposed a lot of responsibility on the Customs, Excise and preventive Service (CEPS). Mr Baah-Wiredu, therefore, urged CEPS to implement efficient, intelligence and investigative measures that would enable the service decisively deal with breaches of existing legislation on piracy and counterfeiting. He said such measures, must aim at protecting 'rights holders' and industry as a whole and recommended that CEPS should institute a unit to expeditiously handle issues regarding piracy and counterfeiting. Mr Baah-Wiredu said such initiative should form a critical aspect of a medium to long-term programme for building the professional competence and the needed capacity to battle the menace. He said the fight against counterfeiting and piracy should be through the adoption of coherent and coordinated strategies within a collaborative framework of identified security agencies with CEPS at the helm of affairs. Mr Baah-Wiredu asked CEPS to consider the enforcement of the laws on counterfeiting, and piracy that was part of their mandate as an important component of their community protection responsibility. He urged all stakeholders to intensify efforts to ensure that regulations regarding proper labeling of imported goods were adhered to. Mr Emmanuel Doku, CEPS Commissioner, said piracy and counterfeiting has now been recognized as two of the most serious crimes being perpetrated in international trade. He said it was estimated that the total world trade in counterfeit goods now exceeds 500 billion worldwide. Mr Doku said the direct impact of such illegal conduct on the health of consumers and the global economy was incalculable, leading to distortions in global trade, revenue and job losses, health hazards, damage to innovation and investment. He said the practices were so serious that most countries appeared overwhelmed by the problem, especially efforts at enforcing intellectual and property rights in developing nations. Mr Doku noted that there were no concerted efforts on the part of individuals, agencies and institutions to combat the menace, with most measures being piecemeal, uncoordinated and unsustainable. He said another challenge that undermined efforts at solving the problem, was the fact that most Customs administration paid little or no attention to goods meant for export, transit and trans-shipment as well as goods entering free zones. Mr Doku observed that the ineptitude of consumers, also contributed to the perpetration of the illegality. He noted that most consumers did not consider intellectual and property rights as a development problem, and were completely oblivious of the health and public safety implications and the potential damage to the national economy. Mr Doku noted that counterfeiting and piracy were so pervasive and sophisticated that it would require a combination of efforts and strategies to bring the perpetrators to book. He said for maximum effect, CEPS intended to increase cooperation with its stakeholders and thus called on agencies and individuals that dealt with issues related to intellectual and property rights to work closely with the service to stem the menace. The International Customs Day is an annual event during which major challenges facing global Customs administration are brought to the fore and thoroughly discussed with the view to finding solutions. The Day is an important event on the World Customs Organization's calendar. This year's celebration was under the theme: "No to Piracy and Counterfeiting".
Accra, Jan. 26, GNA- Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Friday condemned the practice of counterfeiting and piracy, saying its effects were grave on the national economy and the lifestyle of the citizenry at large. He said not only did the perpetrators of the heinous crime committed massive fraud on legitimate traders, but also such activities amounted to serious public deceit, undermining of the economy and posing a great danger to the people. Mr Baah-Wiredu was speaking at the launch of an anti-piracy and counterfeiting campaign on Friday in Accra, to mark the International Customs Day, which is observed on January 26, every year. He said "It is only a criminal, malicious and an inhuman mind that will fake items or manufacture fictitious items for human consumption. Their activities on daily basis violate the universal moral code and good conscience." Mr Baah-Wiredu noted that the dangers posed by the steady increase in counterfeiting and piracy required that stakeholders intensified their efforts to combat the practices. He said the practice imposed a lot of responsibility on the Customs, Excise and preventive Service (CEPS). Mr Baah-Wiredu, therefore, urged CEPS to implement efficient, intelligence and investigative measures that would enable the service decisively deal with breaches of existing legislation on piracy and counterfeiting. He said such measures, must aim at protecting 'rights holders' and industry as a whole and recommended that CEPS should institute a unit to expeditiously handle issues regarding piracy and counterfeiting. Mr Baah-Wiredu said such initiative should form a critical aspect of a medium to long-term programme for building the professional competence and the needed capacity to battle the menace. He said the fight against counterfeiting and piracy should be through the adoption of coherent and coordinated strategies within a collaborative framework of identified security agencies with CEPS at the helm of affairs. Mr Baah-Wiredu asked CEPS to consider the enforcement of the laws on counterfeiting, and piracy that was part of their mandate as an important component of their community protection responsibility. He urged all stakeholders to intensify efforts to ensure that regulations regarding proper labeling of imported goods were adhered to. Mr Emmanuel Doku, CEPS Commissioner, said piracy and counterfeiting has now been recognized as two of the most serious crimes being perpetrated in international trade. He said it was estimated that the total world trade in counterfeit goods now exceeds 500 billion worldwide. Mr Doku said the direct impact of such illegal conduct on the health of consumers and the global economy was incalculable, leading to distortions in global trade, revenue and job losses, health hazards, damage to innovation and investment. He said the practices were so serious that most countries appeared overwhelmed by the problem, especially efforts at enforcing intellectual and property rights in developing nations. Mr Doku noted that there were no concerted efforts on the part of individuals, agencies and institutions to combat the menace, with most measures being piecemeal, uncoordinated and unsustainable. He said another challenge that undermined efforts at solving the problem, was the fact that most Customs administration paid little or no attention to goods meant for export, transit and trans-shipment as well as goods entering free zones. Mr Doku observed that the ineptitude of consumers, also contributed to the perpetration of the illegality. He noted that most consumers did not consider intellectual and property rights as a development problem, and were completely oblivious of the health and public safety implications and the potential damage to the national economy. Mr Doku noted that counterfeiting and piracy were so pervasive and sophisticated that it would require a combination of efforts and strategies to bring the perpetrators to book. He said for maximum effect, CEPS intended to increase cooperation with its stakeholders and thus called on agencies and individuals that dealt with issues related to intellectual and property rights to work closely with the service to stem the menace. The International Customs Day is an annual event during which major challenges facing global Customs administration are brought to the fore and thoroughly discussed with the view to finding solutions. The Day is an important event on the World Customs Organization's calendar. This year's celebration was under the theme: "No to Piracy and Counterfeiting".
