Importation of African Textiles Prints into Ghana

; A layman?s views and suggestions

Can somebody either within the NPP government or outside please advise the affable, handsome, and smiling Honourable Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry to please tread cautiously, because the indications are that he is being blackmailed by Agents of Textiles Manufacturers assisted by his own staff who are being heavily influenced. Can he please order background investigations into the activities of some of his officers?

His new Rules governing the importation of African Textiles into Ghana started on 1st July 2005. Can he please brief cabinet or Parliamentary Trade Group on the effects of his guidelines so far? They have failed and they will continue to fail. Smugglers can only succeed if government?s actions create difficulties for genuine importers. Creation of new structures as he is doing will only create bureaucracy which will end with corruption dens.

There are enough structures to check smuggling and tax evasion if that is his concern. If he finds them ineffective or being abused by his own agents then he should strengthen them by introducing stringent measures against customs officers who assist importers/smugglers to evade tax. Strict enforcement of laws on pirating and the system of manufacturers submitting their product to destination accredited laboratories to test products and submit reports. Creating new institutions will only create more avenues for unscrupulous Ghanaians to extort money like it is being done at the moment.

Mr Minister please enforce the existing laws and regulations governing the importation of African Prints. Do not create new ones. They would fail and this may dent your political future.

Presently the whole ministry?s attention seems to be focused on the Twenty Thousand Textiles workers who instead of shedding their bureaucratic incompetence are rather fighting to maintain the status quo. We should consider the plight of the genuine importers and the millions of ordinary Ghanaians who for various reasons prefer the imported imitation /fancy textiles prints. Their number is huge, they are Ghanaians and have interest which needs to be protected. Their only problem is that they are silent and they have no ?influence? to move the Press and the Bureaucrats in the Ministry of Trade.

Let us consider some of the rules and regulations passionately not emotionally:

All samples of African Prints to be imported will have to be registered with both the Ghana Standards Board and the Registrar General?s office, it is felt that this particular rule cannot be obeyed by the Ghanaian Importer, because the traders normally travel overseas on a shopping spree to make their selection. It is therefore going to be impossible to travel overseas just to make a selection and then bring back samples for registration before travelling for the actual importation. These traders are in business to make profit and time is essential.

It is strongly believed that the slogan ?Golden Age of Business? aims at making business in the country easy. Therefore Minister for trade and Industry please do not make business difficult. The old system where manufacturers have their products tested by accredited laboratories and issue certificates should remain. Sir do not re introduce import permits, they brought corruption as well as untold hardship to both traders and consumers.

Further more registration of each sample will attract a fee of ?95000.00. Normally one bale of wax print contains about 20 different designs therefore this new rule will automatically add Two Million Cedis to a container. This extra cost will be borne by the consumer. Sir, you surely do not intend to burden the poor consumer with extra cost.

Under the old method, each importer makes his or her own selection and keeps it close to his or her chest. This ensures that there is always something unique on the market for consumers to select from. We do not want to go to the ?Adwoa Yankey? era.

The tried and tested method of the Ghanaian Trader travelling overseas to buy and export various items of choice to Ghana cannot be practiced under the new rules. It must be emphasised that our traders prefer this method because they are able to inspect their goods physically to avoid unscrupulous exporters; they are further able to bargain for reasonable prices, which benefit both the consumer and the trader.

Another rule is that for African Prints to be imported into the country, the sample must first be tested and then a printed sample must also be tested. This we believe will cost the trader and subsequently the consumer a lot of money in terms of bureaucracy and corruption. We already have enough corruption dens in our scheme of doing things and we pray that nothing should be made to aggravate the situation.

Rule number 2 says all African Textiles should be routed through Takoradi harbour. No trader would object if this directive had been properly evaluated and a consensus decision arrived at. As it is, Mr Kofi Osei Ameyaw is ramming the decision down the throat of the traders; a procedure which seems to be making the NPP government unpopular but regrettably cabinet or nobody seems to check this practice. This is just like the Agyiri Blankson decision to sack street traders from Accra streets without weighing its implications to the traders and also the ?caring? government that we elected. The same can be said of the handling of the Ghana Airways saga. If Ministers concerned had been called to order and their decision evaluated, a lot of pain, embarrassment and money could have been saved.

If Mr Ameyaw had found out how often ships carrying items such as Textiles go to Takoradi Port, He would have realised that Takoradi Port is mainly for raw materials such as timber, manganese, cocoa etc. Therefore with this directive a trader who imports one or two containers of African Prints will have to tranship the container at an extra cost. There will also be delays which will result in pilfering and damage to the goods during the transhipment.

The directive to route Textiles through Takoradi Port took effect from 1st July 2005 but on the 22nd July Mr Ameyaw was on inspection of the facilities needed to implement this order which should have taken effect on 1st July 2005. What was he expecting traders to do between the 1st and 22nd July. Worse still without any apology to the traders and the country which have both lost revenue.

Mr Ameyaw without any remorse stated during his tour that construction of three new warehouses at the Port would be completed soon so the port would be ready to receive imported African textiles print. Sir do you realise that you have caused financial loss to the government? I know you normally do not care about the ruled and therefore will not think of their loss of revenue. Sir, are you aware that as a result of this confusion one lady importer has died of heart attack? Bank loan pressure.

Can anybody in the NPP government call the Minister to order, he is causing pain to the ruled even though the effect may not be obvious now. All government decisions should be to the benefit of the ruled not to punish them unnecessarily. Why did the honourable Minister fail to include members of the Ghana Importers and Distributors Association in his entourage to Takoradi? After all they are going to use the place and should have an input in all decisions affecting them. It is believed that in an appeal sent to the minister the traders complained about the fact that the minister never invited them to any meetings before and after the new regulations which mainly affect them.

The indications are that all decisions in respect of this textiles saga have been skewed towards the textile manufacturers. Are they influencing any advisors in the ministry?

Mr Ameyaw, should an importer have his /her goods damaged as a result of poor facilities at Takoradi port? In this day of armed robbers on our highways should any unfortunate incident take place what would your reaction be? Will it be ?I do not care I am the boss?? Or would you regret it? If you would, then listen to the traders, sit with them to formulate rules that can stand the test of time.

Mr Ameyaw I would want to throw you a challenge; your new method to try and reduce or stop smuggling will fail and sir if it does will you be bold enough to resign?

I challenge you to get an independent team to evaluate your new measures after 90 days of its implementation and you will marvel at the results. These measures will not work. You are only creating new corruption dens.

The argument that our Textile industry is dying because of the Chinese imported textiles will need to be evaluated objectively. It is strongly believed that our local manufacturers are blackmailing the government. It is believed that they have problems such as old obsolete machinery which increases cost. Their workers effectively work for three hours a day and collect eight hours? wages. Some manufacturers still import from their parent companies as a result of their history hence over invoicing and expensive end products.

Marketing research is lacking. The modern Ghanaian who uses the African prints prefers a new print anytime he has to use one rather than buying the old super wax which will cost him his whole month?s salary but still be called ?Adwoa Yankey?. Also he would not want his identity to be replaced by that of the cloth. Taking into account the numerous fashionable designs that are available it does not make economic sense to buy super wax and use it for a lifetime. The consumer needs variety hence the cheaper option.

It must be driven home to our manufacturers that we are in an era of mergers, take-overs and relocations to areas where products can be produced relatively cheaper. The Chinese are not sitting down and moaning to their government to waive taxes to make them competitive. Our local manufacturers should break from their socialist origins; where government had to spoon-feed them. A company like Ghana Commercial Bank has braced up for the competition. Government Agencies are not being forced to keep accounts with GCB, yet they are competing.

A situation where workers have to be given allocation every month does not lend itself to progress. Union leaders should not be pushed to blackmail governments to give favours. It is a fact that the Chinese Textiles Companies are hiring Ghanaian textile designers to China to tap their knowledge at a fee. Has any manufacturer in Ghana tried the opposite or they are waiting for the government to assist them.

Finally is the Minister of Trade aware that the UK does not own any car company now, the last British car company to go was The Rover Car Company. It closed down under a labour government. Not a conservative government that believes in free trade.

We should not allow our Textile Companies to Blackmail the Government. Over to you Honourable Kofi Osei Ameyaw.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.