Zambia Association of Manufacturers has engaged in an active drive to address the challenges its members have been facing arising from illicit trade in the form of smuggling at the borders, as well as the sale of counterfeit products in the domestic market.
To this end, ZAM has engaged the Zambia Revenue Authority, as well as the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce in an effort to ensure the development and implementation of policy and non-policy measures to curb this vice. Notably, illicit trade has negatively affected the domestic industry by creating an unlevelled playing field wherein locally produced products have had to compete unfairly with a flood of illicit products which have rendered local products uncompetitive. Further, counterfeit products on the market have contributed to the preservation of erroneous perceptions about the quality of locally manufactured products on the market.
To this end, ZAM is working to address the various issues arising from illicit trade by re-establishing the Customs to Business Forum between the private sector and the Zambia Revenue Authority as a means of enhancing formal platforms for dialogue on trade issues that are plaguing the performance of the manufacturing sector. Further, the formation an Illicit Trade and Counterfeits sub-committee under the Association will serve to support the work of the ZRA and Local Government through Industry submissions on smuggling, and the production of counterfeits on the market. Similarly, the launch of the implementation of the Proudly Zambian Campaign will see the Association roll out the official Proudly Zambian Logo with the view to make the identification of legitimate, high quality Zambian products more practicable in order to address the counterfeiting challenges.
