Local furniture producers angry at Parliament over Chinese chairs
The Woodworkers Association of Ghana, an amalgamation of local woodwork artisans and factories, has condemned Parliament’s preference for Chinese furniture over its products.
Advertisement
Parliament resumed sitting at the beginning of this month in a chamber refurbished with imported furniture, at a cost of GH¢21,950,855, which has drawn heated debates among a cross-section of Ghanaians.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the president of the association, Mr Raymond Debrah, expressed shock that the representatives of the people could throw away such an excellent opportunity to practicalise the recent call by President John Mahama for the patronage of made-in-Ghana goods.
“We are not asking Parliament to contract the refurbishment of the entire House to Ghanaians alone to undertake, but at least they should have shown some commitment to the development of the local industry by sub-letting the manufacture of the swivel chairs to local industry,” he said.
According to Mr Debrah, all the ceremonial chairs being used by the President, the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice which had stood the test of time were made by Ghanaian woodworkers.
He said the association was replete with highly trained manpower, including highly skilled and experienced wood architects and artisans comparable to their colleagues in any part of the world, and were ready to manufacture better and more durable swivel chairs than the imported ones.
Endorsement of local goods
Mr Debrah said members of the association were overjoyed when, in his State of the Nation Address at the beginning of the year, President Mahama wore a pair of made-in-Ghana shoes and publicly attested to their quality and user-friendliness.
“We also welcome the advice of President Mahama to Ghanaians to always patronise made-in-Ghana goods and services to create employment, boost the local industry and save the free fall of the cedi against the country’s major trading currencies,” he added.
Other Trending Stories
As a goodwill gesture, Mr Debrah stated that the association was ready to replace five of the newly purchased Chinese-made chairs in the House that broke down barely 48 hours after use.
Capability of local manufacturers
The Managing Director of Peewood Processing Limited, Mr Adu-Arthur, said the company, together with three others had supplied samples of tables and chairs for some offices in Parliament four years ago but none of them was asked to supply the furniture after several follow-ups lasting two years.
“We are capable. You name anything to do with wood and we can do it,” he stressed.
The Chief Executive Officer of Agorwu Modern Furniture Company, Mr Samuel Diabo, debunked assertions that local manufacturers could not manufacture swivel chairs for Parliament.
“People were saying we can’t do that kind of furniture here and I said we can do it. We have so many ways of producing furniture,” he said.
He said although they had provided furniture for Parliament, the Jubilee House, the Judicial Service, the Ghana Police Service and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in the past, no request was made to them this time round.
Breakages
Less than 24 hours after Parliament had resumed in its newly furnished chamber, some Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed shock that the newly purchased chairs had started breaking down.
The MP for Lower West Akim, Ms Gifty Klenam, threatened to go for her old chair if Parliament did not take steps to replace the China furniture in the refurbished chamber.
She argued that sitting on the new chair prevented one from seeing a colleague in front or catch the eye of the Speaker of Parliament.
The seat allocated to Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the MP for Anyaa Sowutuom, broke when she sat on it, drawing concern from other MPs on the quality of the seats.
Writers' emails: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh/Donald.Dapatem@graphic.com.gh