Stabroek Business has been reliably informed of what appears to be a major infringement of the Cricket World Cup Sunset legislation by local importers who are distributing CWC souvenirs and memorabilia to retailers and street vendors for sale as official CWC items.
This newspaper has been shown a fake CWC “swing tag” marked Made In China that was attached to an item of clothing reportedly bought from a vendor in the city. The fake tag appears virtually identical to the legitimate CWC swing tag but for the fact that a small circular white sticker attached to the genuine swing tag is printed onto the fake tag. A watermark that appears on the authentic swing tag does not appear on the fake one.
When Stabroek Business contacted Elizabeth Deane-Hughes, co-proprietor of the Calabash Gift Shoppe, the local franchise holder for CWC memorabilia, we were told that fake items were indeed on sale locally and that further shipments of such items were expected to arrive in the country shortly. Deana-Hughes said that she had notified the CWC authorities in Jamaica about the infringement and had also spoken with Chief Executive Officer of the CWC Local Organizing Committee about the matter. Regional CWC officials were due to arrive in the country on Wednesday and Deane-Hughes said that she would be meeting with them to discuss the matter and to seek to address it.
Asked whether she expected that the penalties for licence infringement set out in the Sunset Legislation would be imposed against the transgressors Deane-Hughes would only say that she expected that “such action as is stipulated in the legislation would be taken.”
Deane-Hughes, an Attorney-at-Law, told Stabroek Business that such action as is taken would include the confiscation of the fake items that are already on the local market and the seizure of subsequent shipments since such a course of action was provided for under the law. Stabroek Business understands that at least one city wholesaler is known to have been distributing the fake items.
The flooding of the local market with fake CWC souvenirs and memorabilia could deal a major financial blow both to the official licensee as well as to local craft producers whose handicraft has already secured official approval as CWC souvenirs and memorabilia. A local craft producer with whom Stabroek Business has spoken said that the fact that the fake items had not been detected by customs suggests that the safeguards that were necessary to ensure no infringement of the Sunset Legislation may not have been put in place. “This is something that Guyana should have been prepared for,” the craft producer said.
A Customs and Trade Administration source told Stabroek Business that it was “very likely” that large quantities of the fake items may have already been imported into the country. The source could not say whether the Customs and Trade Administration had been briefed on the likelihood that attempts might have been made to import fake CWC memorabilia into the country or whether the agency had been officially notified of the fake imports.
Meanwhile Hughes told Stabroek Business that genuine CWC souvenirs and memorabilia had been sent to local outlets for sale to the public. Fogarty’s, Nigel’s Supermarket and the West Indian Sports Complex are among the outlets that have already received official souvenirs and memorabilia for sale to the public. The Calabash Gift Shoppe will also be marketing souvenirs and memorabilia from its retail outlet inside the Providence stadium on match days.
