Importing Toothpicks, Needles And Pins

Anytime I hear government officials and the President for that matter, calling on Ghanaians to patronize Made in Ghana goods, I laugh my heart out.  The other time when the president was making his State of the Nation address and displayed his pair of shoes which he said were made by a Ghanaian manufacturer I saw him as a joker.  Right behind the podium where he was standing to deliver the speech was displayed a Made in China kente and the chairs on which the parliamentarians and the Speaker of Parliament were sitting on were also made in China.

Ever since he called on Ghanaians to patronize made in Ghana goods, he has always been seen wearing custom made suits, and shoes.  The truth is that it is not true that Ghanaians abhor made in Ghana goods.  The gospel truth is that apart from the fact that some made in Ghana goods are substandard, they are costly as compared to imported ones because of the way the government is taxing local manufacturers.

For the close to two decades that the (P)NDC held the nation at ransom, all the factories in Ghana were closed down and sold at give-away prices to themselves.  I sympathize with the younger generation because they were born too late to experience the good life that we used to enjoy.  In Takoradi alone we used to have the following factories:  Takoradi Veneer Company Limited, producing plywood, Cocoa Producing Factory, producing chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa butter etc, Paper Convention Company (CPC), producing toilet rolls, Chinese Factory, producing corrugated iron sheets, cups, pans etc, Takoradi Flour Mill and many more factories.  Unemployment was unheard of as the youth in Takoradi got employed in these factories.

In the same Western Region, we used to have the Tarkwa Bonsa Factory, producing tyres.  Second hand tyres were not imported into this country because that factory could produce enough to feed the market.  If you did see any tyre other than the one produced in Bonsa, there were Michelin tyres imported from the UK.  At the same Tarkwa, we had the Aboso Glass Factory producing bottles, glasses and others for the breweries.  There was also the Samreboi Plywood Factory which was operating at full capacity. Apart from the then vibrant railway network which used to cart manganese, bauxite, timber, cocoa etc to the Takoradi harbor for export, we also used to have the Ghana Black Star Line which could boast of sixteen ships bought by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's CPP government.  In fact it was only Liman who ordered four more brand new ships from South Korea to add up to the existing sixteen ships.

Even before the Osagyefo bought the ships, he had established the Nungua Nautical College to train seamen to man the ships.  Talk of a leader with foresight and you can't bypass Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.  Even when Ghana had not dreamt of striking oil in commercial quantities, the Osagyefo saw the need to build the Tema Oil Refinery.

In the Central Region, there was the Komenda Sugar Factory, producing sugar for local consumption and the Saltpond Ceramics as well as Cape Coast Citrus Factory.  In the Ashanti Region we had the GIHOC Shoe Factory, GIHOC Distilleries and many more factories producing different types of good which Ghanaians patronized.  Are you aware Ghana never imported matches?  It was because we used to have the Kade Match Factory in the Eastern Region.  We were not importing corned beef because we had the Bolgatanga Meat Factory.

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Those were the days Ghanaians never saw any imported tinned tomatoes because we had the Pwalugu and Wenchi Tomato Factories.  We may not be aware that Ghana used to export furniture to countries like Germany, US, UK etc because we had the Scantile Furniture Manufacturing Company located in Goaso in the Brong Ahafo Region. The Akosombo Textiles and the  Juapong Textiles were producing enough textiles to feed the local market and so there was no need to import textiles from China because as compared to the Chinese textiles, the made in Ghana textiles were superior.  As for the Tema Food Complex which used to produce canned fish, the least said about it the better.  The mention of this particular defunct company fills one with nostalgia. The people of Nsawam Aduagyiri will never forget the days when the Nsawam Cannery used to be vibrant; canning pineapple juice, mango juice and many more. All these lofty dreams have gone with the wind by the grace of Rawlings and his (P)NDC.

Just look at what has happened to our Kente industry.  Instead of resourcing the kente weavers to produce more for the local market and for export, we prefer to take samples of our rich kente cloths to China for them to imitate and later export them to Ghana. If you see a chief wearing kente cloth, get very close and you will realize that the kente he is wearing is not made by the weavers from Bonwire or the Volta Region but from China.  The sad aspect of this scenario is that because the Chinese know nothing about our culture, sometimes they turn the design upside down.  As for the Northern smock which used to be the pride of Ghana worldwide, these same Chinese have made a mockery of the tradition.  They bring in materials similar to the ones used to sew our smock and our tailors sew them and make them look like the real “fugu” made in Daboya, Tamale, Wa  or Bolgatanga.  But should we blame the Chinese?  The answer is a big no because they are in business and they have got willing Ghanaian importers who are ready to play ball.  I will not be surprised to see made in China 'Ahenema' sandals in our markets very soon

Today, Ghana imports pepper, tomato, cabbages, onions, pestles, cocoyam leaves and even “Kwawu Nsusaa” from neighbouring countries like Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Ivory Coast.  Don't laugh because it is true and serious.  The other time when the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi embarked on tour of Africa by road and travelled from Burkina Faso through Paga, Techiman, Kumasi to Accra, he told his people when he returned to Libya that Ghanaians were lazy people.  Addressing Libyans on their national TV, Gaddafi said when he went to Ghana and saw green forest lying fallow, he regretted being an African.  According to Gaddafi even Libya which is ninety percent desert could produce enough vegetables for home consumption.  Ghana, a country which started well and on her way to industrialization is now importing toothpicks, needles and pins and even second hand panties, handkerchiefs, shoes, socks etc.  Questions lingering the minds of Ghanaians are:  What went wrong?  Who turned the clock of progress backwards?  Can't we go back to repair what has been destroyed?  Should we continue this way?  How do we want to be remembered by generations yet unborn?  You see, dinosaurs became extinct because they could not adapt to the changing environment.  We as a people living in a country called Ghana are not dinosaurs and as such we can adapt to the changing environment. Let us think and act NOW.

The mark of a real man is the one who falls, rises up, falls again and still has confidence.  We need to start from the scratch and learn from our mistakes.  I have confidence that this country can rise again but surely not under the current regime whose main objective is to win elections, create, loot and share the booty.  Structures of all the factories mentioned above are still standing and need just renovations.  If any government which will hold the reins of power in November wants to revamp these factories, it will be simple.  You just fish for strategic investors and surely the job will be done.  As for roads, schools, hospitals etc every government will continue to build them but in order to improve upon the standard of living of the masses, there is the need for us to think about industrialization.

Eric Bawah