Tamale, Oct. 17, GNA – Smock weavers in the North
have been urged to improve on the quality of their products
and promote its use under the “National Friday Wear
Programme”. Mr Kwadwo Asiedu Afram, Deputy Minister of Trade,
Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s
Special Initiatives, made the call when he launched the
“National Friday Wear Programme for the Northern Region
in Tamale on Tuesday. He said: “As a programme that mirrors culture, we must
acknowledge the National Friday Wear Programme as an
avenue through which we can safeguard our cultural
heritage and traditional values bequeathed to use by our
forefathers”. “These cultural heritage and traditional values were
expressed in local fabrics and garments and it is our duty to
uphold and jealously guard this expression of heritage and
values through the National Friday Wear Programme”, he
added. Mr Asiedu Afram said it was for this reason that his
Ministry had established shops in the regions and
designated them as “National Friday Wear” shops to bring
the programme closer to the people. He noted that the programme, apart from creating the
unique identity for the people in various local areas,
Ghanaians must not forget that its overall patronage with its
national dimension could foster unity and cooperation in the
country. “If those in the North patronise the Friday Wear
products of the South and vice-versa, we create a bond of
unity and respect for each other’s cultural identity”
Mr Asiedu Afram urged stakeholders in the textile
industry to take advantage of the unique opportunity to help
the government to achieve its policy goals, urging the
people to discard the notion that anything local was of
inferior quality. He urged educational and training institutions to
encourage the youth to patronise the National Friday Wear
garments to uphold the Ghanaian identity and national
pride. On the influx of foreign goods and smuggling of textile,
the Deputy Minister said the government had set up a
cabinet sub-committee comprising the Ministries of Trade,
Finance and Economic Planning and the Interior to check
the activities, especially textile smuggling into the country,
which he said had had a debilitating effect on trade and the
economy. In a speech read on his behalf, the Northern Regional
Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris said the failure to develop
the textile and garment industry was mainly due to the
negative attitude of many Ghanaians towards
made-in-Ghana goods. “Almost five decades after independence the average
Ghanaian still believes and accepts that everything foreign is
ideal and the best”, he said, adding: “This attitude does not
only cripple our economy but also impacts negatively on our
national identity”. He said the launch of the programme in the Region
should serve as a challenge and encouragement to the
people to shift their priorities and attitudes towards
made-in-Ghana goods.
Source: GhanaWeb
