TASK FORCE DESTROYS FAKE TEXTILE PRINTS (SPREAD, OCT 4, 2010)

THE Ministry of Trade and Industries (MoTI) has sent its strongest warning yet to dealers in illegal textiles, by publicly destroying 391 pieces of counterfeit wax prints smuggled into the country.
The action was undertaken in Tema last Friday by a task force, made up of officials of the ministry, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and the Ghana Police Service.
It was the first such public wax print destruction to be undertaken by the task force, which was established earlier this year with a mandate to monitor the movement of smuggled fabrics, target relevant warehouses and seize for destruction pirated and smuggled textile prints to deter the dealers and others who may be tempted to deal in such goods.
A representative of the ministry who briefed newsmen at the site said the action was a warning to all dealers that the ministry was determined to destroy the illicit trade and salvage the local textile industry.
The fake wax prints, alleged to have been smuggled into the country mostly from China and labelled with the logo and trademarks of the three local major textile companies, namely Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), Textiles Ghana Limited (GTP) and Printex Limited, were set ablaze at the Kpone Landfill Site.
Representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), the Ghana Textiles Manufacturers and Importers (GTMI) and the Textiles, Garment and Leather Workers Union (TEGLEU) were also present at the site.
The Acting Director of Import and Export at the Ministry of Trade and Chairman of the task force, Mr Appiah Donyina, lamented that the industry, which formerly employed more than 30,000 workers, currently employed only 3000, signifying the government’s loss of revenue from the sector and significant job losses in the cotton and textile industries.
According to him, the pirated designs, said to have originated from China, were substandard and constituted dumping, which destroys local textile industries.
“The pirated designs, apart from being substandard and inferior, are also a menace to users as chemical components used in their production pose major health risks to consumers,” Mr Donyina stated.
The Head of Destination Inspection at the GSB, Mr Prince Arthur, said the wax prints contained over 28 banned chemicals that were not allowed in textile manufacturing the world over owing to their ability to cause skin cancer and other skin diseases in the event of usage.
The General Secretary of the TEGLEU, Mr Abraham Koomson, lamented the apathy displayed by the public towards the government’s efforts to stop the illegal trade in pirated prints.
That, he stated, was impacting negatively on the economy.
He said TEGLEU had, since 1990, been advocating consistent and effective national policies to protect the country’s textile industry.
The importation of cheap pirated designs into the local market was a major contributory factor to graduate unemployment among industry players some of whom have folded up and are engaged in commerce,” Mr Koomson said.
He noted that the dwindling fortunes of the country’s once vibrant cotton industry, coupled with recent agitation among producers, was a clear indication of the gloomy future the industry faced if stringent measures were not enforced to protect it from total collapse.
He challenged policy makers to join TEGLEU in the war against the smuggling of pirated wax prints into the country, while developing programmes that would boost the textile and manufacturing industry in the country.