Online Reporter
Good day!
A diverse array of business delegates is gathered at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo for the Annual Consumer Conference.
Vice President Dr Chiwenga is expected to officiate the event, which is a flagship event aimed at shaping the future of consumer engagement in the country.
Representatives from retail, manufacturing, finance, technology and consumer advocacy groups are gathered, setting the stage for robust dialogue on emerging market trends.
The conference is running under the theme, “Combating Proliferation of Counterfeit Products for Enhanced Industry Competitiveness and Consumer Safety for the Realisation of Vision 2030.”
Our reporters Sikhulekelani Moyo, Peter Matika, Judith Phiri and Chief Photographer, Eliah Saushoma are at the conference and will be giving us live updates.
Annual Consumer Conference focuses on fighting counterfeit goods
The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to address the menace of counterfeit products threatening local industries by causing revenue loss, damaging brand reputations, and leading to job cuts.
Giving welcome remarks at the Annual Consumer Conference in Bulawayo, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Mrs Netai Magade said the event was key to coming up with strategies to deal with the menace of counterfeit products
She said the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) [Chapter 14:44] was established to protect consumers by ensuring a fair, efficient, and transparent marketplace. It outlines consumer rights like the right to quality goods and safety, fair value, information, and redress.
Mrs Magade said the NDS2 to be launched by the end of this year will focus on strengthening the rights of consumers and curbing illicit market practices like the spread of counterfeit goods.
“The implementation of NDS2, covering 2026 to 2030, builds on the country’s existing legal framework established by the Consumer Protection Act of 2019.”
She said safeguarding consumers from deceptive, fraudulent, and improper trade practices was critical, while marketplace fairness was important in building a fair and transparent marketplace where both consumers and businesses comply with regulations.
Vice President Chiwenga is set to officially open the two-day conference on Friday. The conference is running under the theme: “Combating Proliferation of Counterfeit Products for Enhanced Industry Competitiveness and Consumer Safety for the Realisation of Vision 2030.”
Consumer Protection Commission calls for unified fight against counterfeit goods
THE Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) has called for a holistic approach in addressing a significant problem the country is faced with of counterfeit products and developing strategies to protect consumers.
Speaking at the Annual Consumer Conference in Bulawayo, Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) Board chairperson, Mrs Respina Zinyanduko said since January to date, 1923 businesses have been prosecuted.
“These businesses we found to be selling counterfeit products that include food, beverages, and vehicle parts and electronic gadgets among others.”
She said the Commission has carried out a number of awareness campaigns to educate consumers on the effects of counterfeit products.
Mrs Zinyanduko said working with the law enforcement and other agents they continue to conduct raids and crackdowns on shops selling these goods, but the issue persists.
She said consumers face risks from these fake products, which also harm the economy and legitimate businesses.
“The private sector has been crying about this menace. Take advantage of this conference to come together to find solutions on how to address these challenges as we work towards achieving Vision 2030.”
Mrs Zinyanduko said the illicit supply chain was a major driver, with counterfeit goods being smuggled into the country and repackaged with fraudulent labels.
On hotspots areas, she said these places target marginalized markets, while manufacturers of substandard products are targeting markets where consumers may be less aware or discerning.
Mrs Zinyanduko said Consumer Protection Act (CPA) was key to protecting consumers by ensuring a fair, efficient, and transparent marketplace. It outlines consumer rights like the right to quality goods and safety, fair value, information, and redress.
The conference is running under the theme: “Combating Proliferation of Counterfeit Products for Enhanced Industry Competitiveness and Consumer Safety for the Realisation of Vision 2030.”
Counterfeit products, a “cancer” affecting Zimbabwe businesses
ZIMBABWE businesses have said counterfeit products are a “cancer” affecting their operations and inflicting severe as well as systemic damage on their financial health, brand reputation and customer trust.
Counterfeit products are a significant issue in the country affecting various sectors and posing health and economic risks.
Speaking in a panel discussion at the 2025 Annual Consumer Conference in Bulawayo, SeedCo Regional Agronomist for Matabeleland, Mr Wallace Banda said as a company they were also having challenges with counterfeit seeds.
“They are giving us a big challenge and when they come to the market they will be cheaper than the certified seeds, so farmers end up falling for these cheap products unaware that they are counterfeits.
“These then affect their yields while we are also losing a lot of sales. Some of these counterfeit seeds are being put in packages almost similar to ours and farmers pick them unaware,” he said.
He said such seeds lead to low yields, financial loss for farmers and threaten national food security.
Mr Banda called for increased enforcement and public awareness campaigns to address the challenge of counterfeit seeds.
Eversharp Regional Sales Manager, Mr Julian Mbono said as a division of listed Amalgmated Regional Trading (ART) Holdings they have been around since 1972 making it 53 years.
“We are a Zimbabwean brand originally designed in Zimbabwe and doing exports into the SADC region to countries like Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa among others.
“We do produce pens, pencil, rulers among other writing instruments. We are the only pen manufacturing company in Zimbabwe but we have witnessed other products similar to ours that are coming in at a very low price which is a quarter of ours,” he said.
“These are not only in Zimbabwe but you will find them across the region affecting our exports. Counterfeit of our products are found in places where we would not even have done marketing there.”
He said this had a great impact on them and they have lost a lot of revenue through the counterfeit products, which has also done a great damage in that they have lost consumer confidence.
Mr Mbono said clients were complaining about the performance of the counterfeit pen and some were saying they cannot use the product because of the substandard products that are coming in.
“This has affected us on our growth because we are now more busy trying to counter these products which are a big problem. As Eversharp it has been a big challenge to us when we talk about counterfeits.
“These are also coming in not being environmentally friendly to our children and all our users, so that has greatly done some harm to what we are doing. Counterfeits are a cancer that is killing us,” he added.
Treger Products Group Marketing Director, Mrs Sithokozile Ndlovu said for a company started in 1911 on its second century, all their divisions have been affected by counterfeit products.
“Treger Products has five divisions being Monarch Steel, Kango Products, Treger Plastics, Zimbabwe Grain Bag and Tregers Harare. Counterfeit products have slowed down our growth going forward and we have been affected a lot especially on the household goods,” she said.
“We are getting a lot of enamel products coming into the market which resemble exactly the products that we manufacture. They copy our design including the colour and this has damaged our image on the market.”
She said they were getting a lot of people coming to inquire how why their products have become lighter and are no longer durable when in actual fact they would have bought some counterfeit products.
Mrs Ndlovu said their labels were being replicated and put on the counterfeit products such as pots which makes it difficult for the consumers to really tell the difference between their products and the fake ones.
“We have come up with strategies to try and counter these counterfeit products. They have copied even the shape of our bellied pot and they are even painting the fake ones black as well. On appliances there are also a lot of counterfeits.
“We have established service agents throughout the major towns to ensure that the consumers get the right expertise especially on appliances,” she added.
The two day event hosted by the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) in partnership with Zimpapers is running under the theme: “Combating Proliferation of Counterfeit Products for Enhanced Industry Competitiveness and Consumer Safety for the Realisation of Vision 2030.”
Annual Consumer Conference enters Day 2
DAY two of the Annual Consumer Conference has commenced at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition and Conference Smart City in Zimbabwe.
Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Raj Modi is expected to officiate the conference on behalf of the Vice President, Dr Constantino Chiwenga.
In her welcoming remarks, which were done by the Permanent Secretary Mr Paul Nyoni, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said counterfeit products have imposed health risks to consumers, especially vendors selling different pharmaceutical products.
She said the counterfeit menace is undermining fair business practices.
“Counterfeit products undermine innovation and affect viability of our industries,” said Minister Ncube.
Running under the theme: “Combating Proliferation of Counterfeit Products for Enhanced Industry Competitiveness and Consumer Safety for the Realisation of Vision 2030” saw players from different organisations that represent consumers, industry, and other stakeholders in attendance.
The event also saw attendance from different Government ministries and officials.
Africa faces high risk of counterfeit goods, Comesa Warns
In a presentation delivered on his behalf by Mr Steven Kamukama, Comesa Competition Commission (CCC) director Dr Willard Mwemba highlighted the alarming prevalence of counterfeit goods in Africa.
He revealed that between 30 to 60 percent of goods traded across the continent are counterfeit, with Africa accounting for 42 percent of global counterfeit medicines.Dr. Mwemba emphasized the continent’s vulnerability to fake products, stating, “Consumers are the most important part of a business transaction and yet they are the vulnerable due to their weak bargaining power.”
He stressed the importance of raising awareness among both consumers and businesses to ensure market safety.
To address these challenges, the CCC and the Consumer Protection Committee developed the Comesa Model Law on Consumer Protection.
This legislation aims to establish uniform standards for protecting consumer rights, responsibilities, and obligations for both businesses and consumers.Dr Mwemba noted that the Model Law will also ensure consumers receive consistent protection across both online and offline platforms.
