Exhibit more Ghanaian goods at fairs — CJ

CJ, Mrs Georgina Wood

THE Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has called on the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to ensure that more Ghanaian products, apart from clothing and garments, are exhibited during future trade fairs.

According to her, growth in the trade sector across eastern and southern Africa ought to serve as a motivation for people in charge of promoting Ghana’s trade potential across the continent.

She bemoaned the increased exhibition of clothing and garments at export fairs and wondered whether it was only clothes that were produced in Ghana.

Mrs Justice Wood made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the ongoing 10-day  fair in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Chief Justice was in Nairobi as a member of the judges and magistrates vetting board mandated to reconstitute Kenya’s Judiciary as part of that country’s judicial reforms.

The fair was put together by GEPA, the Ghana High Commission in Kenya and the Export Promotion Council (EPC) of Kenya.

Clothing and garments constitute majority of the items on display at the fair.

The Chief Justice advised GEPA to endeavour to involve stakeholder bodies such as the Ministry of Tourism and the Information Services Department (ISD) in the organisation of its programmes and activities.

The two bodies, she said, could be encouraged to take part in such fairs, provide information on the country’s tourism potential and engage counterpart bodies in host countries for business opportunities.

That, she said, would give a massive boost to the sector as a way of increasing domestic tourism revenue.

“We cannot continue to depend on donor funds and the traditional means of revenue generation for development when the tourism sector is left unexploited,” Mrs Justice Wood counselled.

She also called on the Ministry of Trade and the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) to diversify its approach to funding export fairs by including tourism and the manufacturing sector.

She was, however, hopeful that future fairs would offer the organisers the opportunity to address the lapses as GEPA made strides to improve non-traditional export revenue in totality.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Thur May 24, 2012