Kumasi, Feb. 28, GNA - The Anloga Carpenters Union in Kumasi, has urg= ed the Forestry Commission to endeavour to roll comprehensive training programmes to build the capacity of carpenters to ensure improvement in their work. Togbe Mawufeame Fugah, the President, noted that programmes geared towards sharpening the managerial and technical skills of small-scale carpenters could for instance go a long way to help them to come out with value added products for the benefit of consumers locally and internationally.

He made the call when he led the Union and the Ashanti Regional Voltarian Coordinating Council (VCC) to pay a courtesy call on Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, the newly appointed Regional Minister, in Kumasi. The visit was to welcome him and also brief him on the operations of th= e Union as well as introducing to him the leadership of the VCC. Togbe Fugah indicated that the carpentry industry had over the years contributed immensely to enhancing job creation and meeting the needs of th= e people, saying it was unfortunate that most apprentices entered the industr= y without any foreknowledge and skills.

This, he said, affected them in their performances thereby depriving them of coming out with improved products for the sustainability of the industry. The President, therefore, appealed to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to be supportive of the Union by mobilizing resources towards the improvement of their work, especially now that they had been relocated to the Sokoban Wood Village such as constructing a show room at the place to showcase their products. Togbe Fugah stressed the need to also train chain-saw operators, who ha= d been rendered unemployed due to the ban on their activities on the alternative means of using timber residues in the forest to improve their lot. Dr Agyemang-Mensah lauded the carpenters for their hard work, noting that he would find time to tour the village, interact with the workers and know their challenges for prompt action. He called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to team up with the VCC in its endeavours since ensuring a better Ghana remained the responsibility of all.