LOCAL textile manufacturers and the Joint Anti Piracy Task Force against pirated textile prints have vowed to sustain their operation to seize pirated wax print from various markets nationwide as a way to curb the menace of importation of the trademarks of local manufacturers.
They have also indicated their preparedness to ensure that persons engaged in such nefarious activities are brought to book and also publicly destroy pirated textiles tthat may be seized.
The counterfiet wax prints which were alleged to have been smuggled into the country mostly from China according to officials, 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.
According to the General Secretary of Textiles, Garment and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU), Mr Abraham Koomson, the activities of persons aiding smugglers that bring in fake pirated imports do not only undermine the credibility of the local manufacturers but also go to compound the already bad situation of crippling the local textile industry.
Addressing a press conference in Tema following a Daily Graphic publication on Tuesday August 23, 2011that suggested that traders at the Makola 31st December Market chased out members of the Anti Piracy Local Textile Designers Task Force, when the group visited the market to seize what were considered illegal prints, Mr Koomson questioned the traders who claimed to be doing legal business why they were hiding under the cloak of anonymity when they spoke to the media.
He indicated that the task force, which had police personnel as members, fled the market to avoid bloodshed, since armed police personnel with them could have fired in the heat of the melee.
He further explained that the setting up of the task force by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2010, was in response to numerous appeals from the union and local manufacturers for the government to step in to halt the upsurge in the pirating of textile designs belonging to local manufacturers.
The general secretary explained that Ghana was said to have lost some GH¢30 billion of its total revenue of which the textile industry was a major contributor following the massive loss of jobs in that sector.
The operation being carried out by the group has been in existence over a decade even before the setting up of the task force about a year ago, Mr Koomsomn explained.
He said the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) signed by a number of countries of which Ghana was a member had ensured that governments all over the world had in place punitive measures to ensure existing and prospective dealers in pirated textile prints were dealt with.
Thus, it was, therefore incumbent on the government to show commitment to protect and promote industries and enterprises in its quest to sustain a striving economy, since such actions have the potential of discouraging potential investors.
He lamented over the growing decline in the industry which had in the past employed more than 25,000 people.
The Marketing Director of Tex Styles Ghana Limited (GTP), Nana Kwabena Yentumi, urged the media to adequately support the task force to ensure that set regulations against the practice were curbed to avoid the annual loss of some GH¢30 million in revenue through the smuggling of textile fabrics.
According to him, the previous employment of some 25,000 in the textile and garment industry represented some 27 per cent of total manufacturing employment in the past, which had since dwindled to a minimal figure of 2,500 among the three major manufacturers, namely, GTP, Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) and Printex Ghana Limited.
He similarly urged traders and their protoges who were burnt on seeing the local industry crumble to refrain from such activities and rather contribute to the growth of the sector.
Representatives of GTP, ATL and Printex were present at the briefing.
Source: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Aug 25, 2011
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