Zambia has abandoned the implementation of the Pre-export Verification of Conformity system that was aimed at blocking counterfeit mobile phones and other Chinese ICT products from entering the country.
Zambia is among several African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, whose telecoms markets have been flooded by counterfeit mobile phones and other ICT products from China.
The Pre-export Verification of Conformity to standards plan was designed to ensure that imported ICT products were first verified through physical inspection and laboratory testing by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) with the help of two international companies.
The Bureau Veritas of France and Soci'et'e G'en'erale de Surveillance of Switzerland were contracted by ZABS to conduct inspections on all electronic products coming into Zambia.
The plan has, however, been abandoned by ZABS, meaning more fake electronic products from China will continue flooding the Zambian market.
Counterfeit handsets from China are being sold cheaply, threatening to put genuine handset manufacturers out of business.
ZABS acting director Nathan Sing'ambwa said this week that the Pre-export Verification of Conformity system would not be implemented because of flaws that were identified by stakeholders during the consultation process.
“We have abandoned the Pre-export Verification of Conformity to standards system, and we will not be going back to it in the near future,” said Sing'ambwa.
The system would have allowed electronic goods to be inspected from the source and not at the point of entry, as is the case now. However, inspecting the goods at point-of-entry method has proved unsuccessful.
The Pre-export Verification of Conformity standards system drew criticisms from various stakeholders, including the Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) and the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI). They argued that the system would hurt Zambian businesses.
Last year, Chinese Embassy officials in Zambia tried to help Zambia counter the influx of counterfeit electronic products, and condemned Chinese companies that were exporting them.
The Zambian market, as well as other markets in East and West Africa, including Kenya, are flooded with a wide range of cheap mobile handsets from China, bearing Nokia and Samsung branding, but which are not genuine. Most pirates have targeted the companies because of their brands' popularity in the region.
The Kenyan government, through the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), has already directed all mobile phone operators to disconnect all counterfeit mobile phones from their networks in a bid to stop the entry of the phones into the country.
In Zambia, Samsung Southern Africa is still testing the efficacy of an anti-counterfeit squad. The squad consists of Samsung officials, the police's Intellectual Property Unit, partners and authorised dealers. It conducts random inspections of outlets that sell electronic products to ensure that Samsung products in stock are genuine.
If successful, the initiative is expected to expand to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Mali.
Chinese officials in Zambia said in February this year that the Chinese government will start inspecting all ports in China, and monitor goods from production end, to prevent counterfeit electronic products from being exported to Africa, claiming China's reputation was being damaged.
Studies have shown that counterfeit phones emit radio frequency radiation that is higher than what is internationally stipulated as safe for human exposure, and therefore may be harmful to those who use them.
Chinese company officials or nationals caught exporting counterfeit products to Africa face jail sentences of up to 20 years, according to Zou Xiaoming, an economic counsellor at the Chinese Embassy, in Kampala, Uganda.
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