Counterfeit phones: Samsung wants action

Samsung Uganda has called for an immediate multi-stakeholder intervention to deal with the proliferation of counterfeit mobile handsets in the market.

Amos Mugalo, country manager for Samsung Electronics, raised concern lack of policy against such would see the problem get out of hand. The senior official urged Uganda to emulate some neighbouring countries, which have adopted measures to combat counterfeit phones entering the market.

"Our neighbors such as Kenya have taken the lead on this issue and recently switched off all fake phones.

"As Samsung, we nonetheless recognise there are challenges towards implementing this policy in Uganda but we believe a robust discussion needs to be started immediately between the handset manufacturers, telephone operators, the regulator, government bodies and consumers.

"Otherwise the situation is gets worse," said Mugalo.

Mugalo urged consumers to purchase handsets from reputable retail outlets to avoid falling victims to syndicates that trade in such forged products.

In the event that handsets are faulty, reputable retailers replace them, unlike the bogus trades, he added.

"As Samsung we can guarantee that all phones that consumers buy from our official distributors and retail outlets are genuine which is why we are confident of giving the 24 month guarantee.

"I urge buyers of our phones to provide details and insist on getting proof of purchase to enjoy benefits we offer, such as warranties," added Mugalo.

Mugalo's company is using the current Samsung Week to tackle the rampant issue of counterfeits, which is disregarding intellectual property rights of the manufacturers, denying government revenue from taxes and also posing serious health risk to users.

Unlike original versions, counterfeit handsets do not meet the global manufacturing safety standards.


 
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