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Local manufacturers go wild ...ask gov’t to stop
Chinese illegal activities or else…
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Dec 1, Ghanadot - Members of the Textile, Garment and
Leather Employees’ Union of Ghana Federation of Labour are not
too happy about Chinese invasion of the industry.
They have therefore asked government to as a matter of urgency
stop the Chinese from their nefarious activities before they
cripple the local textile industry.
To this end, they have appealed to government to set up a
taskforce, comprising representatives of the security agencies,
Ghana Standard Board, the local manufacturers and the Trades
Union to conduct periodic checks at the point of sales of
smuggled products, with the view to arresting culprits and
confiscating goods smuggled into the country.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference on the upsurge in
smuggling of African Textile Prints and Pirating of Designs, the
General Secretary of the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees’
Union of Ghana Federation of Labour, Mr. Abraham Koomson
observed that the escalating illegal activities of some traders
and their Chinese counterparts had aggravated the woes of the
textile industry in the country, the employees and the Ghanaian
economy.
He stressed that “The workers in the industry live in constant
fears of losing their jobs because of the illegal activities of
people in the textile trade”
Indeed, the fears of workers are genuine because the sector
which used to employ about 25,000 workers in the 1970s, have
only 3000 workers made up of casual and permanent staff. While
the state losses over GH¢40million as revenue annually.
Mr. Koomson flanked by Mr. Moses Zizer told the journalists that
apart from smuggling fake textile products into the country, the
Chinese traders and their partners in crimes were also engaged
in copying of brand design and brand names, names of local
companies, among others.
He therefore appealed to the media to help them expose and deal
severely with these economic saboteurs and nation wreckers.
On wide disparity in product pricing between China and Ghana,
Mr. Koomson mentioned included low cost of raw material, low
interest rates, highly subsidized electricity by the Chinese
Government, and evasion of appropriate taxes by the Chinese
traders as the major advantages enjoyed by the Chinese traders.
However, he indicated that local textile manufacturing companies
faced challenges included high cost of raw material, high energy
cost, high interest rates, no export subsidy and high cost of
electricity in the country.
Instructively, in 2005, the government took steps to address the
issues and accordingly directed as follows: “Imported African
prints, real super wax, block prints, super real wax imitation
wax, java and fancy prints-were being regarded as “high risk
goods” and should be subjected to 100% physical examination
jointly to be conducted by CEPS and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB)
at the entry points”.
The directive further stressed that “the new measures formed
part of the guidelines to control the numerous unfair trading
practices as evasion of import duties and other taxes, under
invoicing, poor quality prints, pirating of patents and trade
marks”.
These good measures are yet to be enforced to save the country
of heavy revenue losses, collapse of industries and loss of
jobs.
Ghanadot
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