Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) Centre Coordinator Chenai Mukumba has appealed to government to ensure that foreign investments in the country are monitored.
Ms. Mukumba says most Foreign Direct Investment entering the country is left unchecked posing a threat to consumers.
The Centre coordinator was reacting to a recent scandal of Chinese nationals producing fake mineral water under the Aquasavanna brand in Lusaka recently.
She stated that as a consumer organisation it is a breach of trust to the consumers as the faith that consumers have on the particular brand is affected.
Ms. Mukumba noted that it is Important to make thorough follow ups and inspections especially with the foreign investment coming in the country.
She explained that it is important for the foreign investors to indicate that they have enough resources to invest in the country to avoid dishonest practices.
Ms. Mukumba added that follow ups and inspections should thereafter be conducted to ensure that the investors are actually undertaking the specific activity that they registered for.
She urged Fairy Bottlers Zambia Limited who are the owners of the Aquasavanna brand to put in place measures to ensure that the situation is corrected and that consumers are protected.
This week, investigation revealed how a Chinese-owned company called Simuliya has been manufacturing counterfeit mineral water for various bottling companies in Zambia, among them Aquasavana and Aquarite and that certain police officers have been accused of trying to cover up the incident.
Chief government spokesperson Dora Siliya says if found guilty, the Chinese nationals will be deported immediately.
Dr Mohamed El Sahili, the company director of Fairy Bottling which produces Aquasavana Mineral water, alleges the Chinese were making counterfeit products, taking empty Aquasavana bottles obtained from supermarkets and filling them with the fake water.
After the suspects were taken to the police station, several top officers at the Kanyama police station attempted to cover up the crime, Sahili asserted.
A man claiming to be the President of the Zambia China Business Association arrived at the station and told senior officers that his association had made a lot of donations to the Kanyama police.
A senior police officer at the station then warned that it would be better not to pursue any further action because it could ruin Aquasavana’s business.
The Zambia Bureau of Standards has taken samples of the water for testing.
The Chinese businessman involved in this scam should be deported and police officers at Kanyama police station who attempted to cover it up should be summarily dismissed. Period.
The senior police officer was more concerned about NOT ruining Aquasavana business… doesn’t seem to care if Aquasavana ruins the health and lives of Zambians. Protecting Chinese business seems more important than protecting the lives of Zambians… sad
WHAT NOSENSE IS THIS; COVERING UP A CRIME WHICH BORDERS ON PUBLIC HEALTH OR IS IT PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE.
THESE POLICE OFFICERS MUST BE CHARGED FOR CONSPIRING OR ABATING A CRIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THESE CHINESE ARE NOT TO BLAME PRIMARILY, ITS US ZAMBIANS WHO, LIKE CUTS AND THE PF REGIME CHOOSE TO GLOSS OVER SUCH DEADLY CRIMES.
This is not a deportation case.
Aquasavanna is not immigration. Aquasavanna boss is a cool guy, ine that chinese nga nalimuponono.
Chinese company misunderstood, they get bottles for refill. You saw they had their own bottles.
Its same like we people use a bottle of cooking oil saladi from sunflower, use same bottle to resell chinkondya.
Or Use cooking oil 2 litters container (Akakunkubiti) to sell Chibuku beer.
Zambia breweries can be sued for selling Chibuku mu tubudiza twabene.
Ifya deportation is just racism.
Lungu this is all your fault. Corruption and stealing is in Lungu’s DNA.
The country has been auctioned by these lawless PF Politicians …I can guarantee you non of those Chines will see jail as they have State House in their pocket.
START FROM FIRING THE MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR INSPECTIONS OF FACTORIES AND REENFORCING PRODUCTION STANDARDS. THESE MINISTERS ARE JUST SLEEPING MU ZAMBIA. I CAN’T IMAGINE A SLEEPY COUNTRY LIKE ZAMBIA.
I maintain you can’t have police relying on donations. Whoever donated will naturally feel he is above the law. Police is funded by tax
Who is giving these fake investors business VISAs to come into the country? How do they get into the country? Wow. Very incompetent leadership in Zambia. Lungu and his leadership must be fast asleep. Please allow only quality investors who prove that they have enough money to carry out the type of business they want to do in Zambia. Also a business investor should have proof of a minimum amount of money such as a USD$100,000. Anybody that does not have the money should not be allowed to come into the country as a business investor. Get all these fake investors out of the country, as they’re nothing more than crooks and con men, who’re a danger to the country. Wake up PF lazy leaders!
Mwebantu this country is run by incompetence chaps who in offices to leap what they did not sow.Chinese are protected left & right ,it doesn’t matter how big the crime is they are untouchable .Edgar lungu must go.
UMUTWE NGA WABOLA …….
That’s what happens when essential services operate on donations:
” told senior officers that his association had made a lot of donations to the Kanyama police.”
The donor can do illegal stuff because he pays the piper. He calls the tune
Nothing will change whether I say something or I don’t. So I will say nothing.
This is the only country I know of, where Chinese are small gods. They can pollute rivers, they can become police officers, they can beat up workers, they can manufacture and sell fake items. They will not be touched and never deported.
It was the English, then Indians and now the Chinese; AFRICA TWASEBANA INDEED. Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe saw this coming and said it decades ago; the likes of Rupiah Bwezani Banda, Tekere Banda and Micheal Chilufya Sata accused this great son of Africa of madness.
Look now the same RB and Tekere Banda are key advisers to ECL and HH respectively. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Its not only foreigners that require monitoring. All manufacturers, especially those processing food stuffs need to be given a close eye.
Chinese Police Commissioners appointed by Kanganja! I believe some are even on the President’s security detail! My foot! They have plan these Chinese, don’t they?
what were those police officers doing? The owner of Aquasavanna was totally alone in this fight. If it was an innocent woman or man who called Edgar Lungu as Chakolwa (which is a not an insult), those police officers would have manhandled just there.
UMUTWE NGA WABOLA……. NEFIKO FINE KULYA FYE BANE, KABILI NAFIBOLA FYONSE
In fact it’s not only foreigners that require monitoring. All manufacturers, especially those processing food stuffs need to be given a close eye. Twlya ifiko pafula while the so called inspectorates and watch dogs have gone to sleep
When is the talking gonna end for action to begin?
CHANGE TO QUALITY AND TRULY GOD FEARING LEADERSHIP
That is the Chinese trade mark…making fake goods and corruption.
We Zambians have ourselves to blame for not dominating businesses with profound investments in our country. The government can only assist those that establish themselves, in most cases Chinese or Indian enterpreneurs.
For as long as we remain consumers and not producers ourselves, we will always be at the mercy of such devices by conniving foreign businessmen.
It’s easy to blame from abroad. Come home and try to start a business, and you will soon realize how much advantage the Chinese have: loans from their country, which you can’t get from Zanaco; 5 year tax free for an “invester”, which you can’t get; mentality of Zambian customers that “everything foreign” is good, which will briefly work against you as a local start up company. No government policies to protect local businesses, which are there even in most capitalist economies like the USA. In the US aviation, agriculture, energy are protected from foreign investment or ownership.
I am not saying that you can’t make it, but the Zambian system favors more the foreigners than the locals in business.
I get your point. I guess the best way would be to partner with foreign experts and secure a loan from outside the country.
That company is owned by a Zambian where do you think Mohamed El Sahili is from???
“A man claiming to be the President of the Zambia China Business Association arrived at the station and told senior officers that his association had made a lot of donations to the Kanyama police.”
These case is not going anyway in this corrupt govt….this is the selfsame association where IG of Police has given police reserve positions to Chines for this specific reason to bail out their people!!
The country has been sold to the Chinese because that’s what you wanted, when we told you Lungu is no president material, you blessed us with insults. So enjoy the ride. As much as you hate HH he was the better of the two at the last elections.
While the Heat is on I have never in my life heard something like fake water. God did not make fake water. It can o
There is a difference between borehole water and spring/mineral water…so many breaches here ie branding, health and safety etc.
Zambian reading culture is a problem …this why we need more libraries.
Don’t be shocked if the director of Aquasavanna gets deported. Such is the power of the China man in our country…
CUTS, CCPC, Zambia bureau of standards are useless and lazy. Where have they been. How many counterfeit products are being consumed while they are well paid? This is just one of them. There websites should be active and uptodate to give us access to them. In this case we can be providing evidence at minimal cost to us. While in Kitwe I took a 100W light bulb to CCPC which had no name of manufacture they couldn’t tell whether it was the issue for them or ZBS.
Even muti for vaccinations should be checked before you give it to people , we are tired of the vaccines for elephantiasis in Ndola . There’s Cancer and other complicated deceases because of drugs please inform and educate people before the exercise . Don’t put fear in people .
This iz what happens when essential services like the police operate on donations:
” told senior officers that his association had made a lot of donations to the Kanyama police.”
Kanyama police should operate on our tax.
The donor can do illegal stuff because he pays the piper. He who pays the piper calls the tune
Fi Lusaka times stop censorship of my posts maintain you can’t have police relying on donations. Whoever donated will naturally feel he is above the law. Police is funded by tax
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Fi Lusaka times stop censorship of my posts.
I maintain you can’t have police relying on donations. Whoever donated will naturally feel he is above the law. Police in normal countries is funded by tax not by donors. He who pays the piper calls the tune
May this government be extra vigilante in ensuring the native Zambians don’t suffer at the hand of the ” investors” whose economy they ate boasting is not ours.
Why should it take Fairy Bottling Co. owner to discover when we have authorities paid to to check that only certified safe products are sold and consumed. Boma fakanikoni nzeru, this matter is life threatening.
When there’s news about Chinese, people become excited, the meadia knows about that. Is there anybody who knows the whole issue? Customers brought all these bottles and they want the factory to refill. Even Aquasavanna itself was sued by Manzi Valley for the same problem and the case is still in court. Maybe, to refill water in other company’s empty bottles is not proper, but almost all the water factories are doing so right now. We need the law to explain, if this is a infringing upon intellectual property. Before that, it’s too early to use words like “fake”, “Scandal”. When we start talking, let’s do some investigation, do not be played by those medias.
HH invested in this fake company because he too is fake.
The police is no longer, police force to recon. We need change, no more Chinese coming in the country for 5 years. We need to control the influx of ba choncholi.
Kanganja is no longer effective. Too much corruption in the police force.