The Ministry of Trade and Industry has revealed it will
constitute a taskforce on textiles to address the influx of pirated textiles
into the country.In a statement, the Ministry said it will set aside 11
October, 2017 as the date to inaugurate the taskforce.The
announcement follows a picketing action by workers of the local textiles
industry in Accra on Monday, 2 October over the continued delay in setting up
the taskforce to help stop smuggling of fake textiles into the Ghanaian market.
The
Ministry of Trade and Industry set up the anti-piracy taskforce in 2010 to halt
the activities of pirates. The taskforce, which included personnel drawn from
the security agencies, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Union of
Traders Association, tackled the problems associated with piracy of the local
textile industry.According
to the Textiles, Garment and Leather Employees Union (TEGLU), things were getting
better when the taskforce was operational, but since the taskforce stopped its
operations, the pirates had returned.They, therefore, mounted pressure
on government to reconstitute the taskforce.Meanwhile, TEGLU has
cautioned government not to impede the work of the taskforce after its
inauguration.
Speaking
to Class News, General Secretary of the Union, Abraham Koomson, said: “We only
expect that come Wednesday, 11 October, they will inaugurate the taskforce. We
do not want to witness only the inauguration, but they should allow the
taskforce to perform or function and the mandate that will be given to them,
they should allow them to exercise that mandate to help the local industry.”
Source: GhanaWeb, Ghana Wednesday, 04 October 2017