Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa together with his Soroti City West counterpart Jonathan Ebwalu have announced plans to start public consultations on the Anti-Counterfeit Bill 2023, ahead of its planned tabling before Parliament later this year.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament, the duo said that the proposed legislation is intended to combat economic drain and protect legitimate businesses, explaining that consultations will be done with the support of the Anti-Counterfeit Network (ACN) and venerated Partners.
According to Basalirwa, public consultations are crucial in gathering views from various stakeholders to ensure that the legislative process is inclusive and it leads to an effective legislation to combat counterfeits.
The consultations shall be carried out for a period of 3 months beginning April 2024 and will take place at selected locations in the Central, Eastern, Northern and Western regions of Uganda.
He defended the move to enact the Anti-Counterfeit Goods Bill, arguing that Uganda has no single piece of legislation that comprehensively addresses the issue of counterfeits.
Meanwhile Soroti City west MP, Ebwalu decried the menace of counterfeits which continue to afflict the people of Uganda, irrespective of their political inclination, gender, tribe or social standing, saying the proposed Bill is a non-partisan people’s law.
“This is a very important piece of legislation. It is going to protect our children, great grandchildren, our future and those who will come after us. We want to call upon members of the press to support us in any way you can so that this information reaches the furthest part of the country. Counterfeit products are everywhere,” said Mr Ebwalu.
