About CACIT Ghana

The Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Illicit Trade, Ghana (CACIT, Ghana) is a body set up to seek the enforcement of intellectual property laws, copyrights, patents, and trademark protection, and licensing laws, in order to protect consumers from counterfeit and pirated products and all other forms of illicit trade, thereby defending the integrity of member organization brands.

Our strategy for achieving our goals is to use all legal means at our disposal to significantly increase brand protection levels. These include working for the enactment of tougher laws and the education of the business community, consumers, and the media and interaction with authorities – local and international – to strengthen the enforcement of those laws governing illicit trade in all its forms.

We believe that illicit trade is an economic, social and moral problem of national importance that impacts the interests of states and societies. Counterfeiting and smuggling are a direct violation of local, regional and international laws, as well as rights of consumers. Failure to combat illicit trade encourages the growth of crime and corruption, discourages legitimate business development and investment, threatens the health and safety of consumers, destroys citizens’ confidence in their governments, and has a major negative impact on government revenue collection.

We will work to obtain the active cooperation of consumers, government agencies, industry partners, and the media, who naturally share our desire to free the Ghanaian market from these illicit products.

Coalition Against Counterfeit And Illicit Trade, Ghana (CACIT,Ghana) was launched in on Wednesday July 18, 2007 to work towards creating a more conducive operating environment where legitimate trade can thrive for Ghanaian and foreign investors alike.

Objectives

• Safeguarding the interests of consumers,
• Preventing job losses,
• Preventing loss of revenue to the state,
• Ensuring that local traders and industries operate on a level playing field; and
• Protecting the image and reputation of Ghana.

Guiding Principle

The Coalition Against Counterfeit and Illicit Trade, Ghana (CACITGhana) acknowledges that competition is healthy as it offers consumers choice and forces local industries to be more efficient and effective. However, it believes that:
• The products bought and sold in our markets must be safe and healthy for all.
• There must be a level playing field for all.