The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), in collaboration with police, has impounded substandard and counterfeit paint at Naiga Plaza in downtown Kampala.
Several suspects were arrested and are set to be arraigned in the Standards and Utilities Court.
UNBS spokesperson Sylvia Kirabo said the operation followed intelligence on counterfeiting and adulteration of products in the central business district.
“Today we are here in downtown Kampala in the central business area on tips of marketing intelligence about counterfeiting and adulteration of products, and specifically on the paint. At Naiga Plaza, top roof, we have found some people who are manufacturing paint. And the most important thing is that these people are not genuine manufacturers. One, they are not registered by government. Two, they are doing everything illegally,” Kirabo said.
She added that the suspects lacked the technical competence required to produce safe and standard paint.
“When we got here, we found appropriators and the workers. They do not have technical competence in manufacturing paint, because UNBS has standards for paint, and these standards give specifications that are supposed to guide manufacturers on what to do, what to mix,” she said.
“There is also a global concern about paint. It contains lead. Lead is a heavy metal and prohibited. If you are to mix lead in paint, there are permitted levels regulated by UNBS. The kind of people we have found here have no knowledge whatsoever on what paint is supposed to be mixed of, so they cannot make decisions to put a quality product on the market.”
Kirabo also revealed that the suspects were counterfeiting multiple well-known paint brands.
“The other issue that we have also found out is that they are counterfeiting many of the known brands on the Ugandan market. We have found over six brands being counterfeited. Currently at UNBS, we have over 40 manufacturers certified to manufacture paint, putting forward over 230 products and brands. If we find such people who are not recognized by government, who are not paying taxes they are infiltrating the market and taking resources that should accrue to genuine manufacturers and investors.”
She further explained that the counterfeiters were producing finished products with forged seals and distributing them through retail outlets:
“We have found finished products. They have forged seals. They finish the product and pack it in a known brand packaging material. Then they have outlets and retail facilities they are supplying these products to. Unsuspecting consumers or someone constructing in Kampala will not know, just by looking, that what they are buying is not genuine or has been adulterated.”
UNBS emphasized the importance of certification for manufacturers and warned that such illegal operations undermine fair trade and economic growth.
