By Julie Badui Owa – EMTV News, Lae
The Member for Lae, John Rosso says there should be a zero tolerance of fake products being sold at foreign-owned shops in PNG. This follows the call of the Commerce and Industry Minister, Wera Mori, for a ban on the imports of counterfeit bilums and meri blouses into the country.
This response comes after members of the public, raised their concerns over counterfeit products made overseas and are being sold at Asian-owned shops in the country.
Mr. Ross will further liaise with Minister Mori and other responsible departments, to enforce the law on the import and selling of counterfeit products at foreign-owned shops.
This follows Minister Mori’s orders on Asian-owned shops to remove the counterfeit bilums and meri blouses from their shelves, by the end of this month.
Mr. Rosso said Lae District will work together with the Morobe Provincial Government and the National Government, to make sure laws are enforced to help combat such issues.
Last month, Morobe Governor, Ginson Saonu demanded all foreign-owned shops in the province to stop selling counterfeit bilums.
He was unhappy about how the bilum is being copied, mass-produced in China, and imported into PNG.
Saonu said these counterfeit products will destroy the small businesses owned by Papua New Guineans.
A week ago, the Director for PNG Customs Services, Intellectual Property Rights, Tom Vere, revealed that there is a lack of awareness on the roles of relevant Customs Agencies and Departments.
He also added that PNG’s art and creativity are now being taken over by foreigners.
Laws violated by various foreign companies operating in PNG and selling counterfeit products are the Copyright and Naming rights law 2000, Investment Promotion Act 1992 and National Identity Regulation 1973.
According to Minister Mori, PNG is now 8 days away from having all counterfeit bilums and meri blouses removed from the shelves of all Asian-owned shops in the country.
