Some Members of Parliament (MPs) have questioned why imported furniture from China was used in refurbishing the chamber of Parliament.
One of such MPs, Derek Oduro, the MP for Nkoranza North, wondered why the contract was not given to local industries.
[contextly_sidebar id=”JA0LsJcMAxUyxgdvHVv73JYhEJ7kIMhN”]According to him, local furniture manufacturers in Ghana have acquired sophisticated equipment for the operations “and so why didn’t we give the contract to them? They even use treated wood which can stand the test of time.”
He called on the government to rectify the problem to avoid spending huge sums of money on imported goods which could be produce in Ghana.
The President since the beginning of the year has been championing a campaign for citizens to patronize made in Ghana products in a bid to reduce the country’s import dependency and help local industries create jobs.
He has since been imploring citizens to change their uncontrolled taste for foreign goods and switch to made-in-Ghana goods.
On the back of this campaign, some MPs are baffled that government failed to use locally manufactured chairs to refurbish the nation’s Parliament.
According to Citi News’ Parliamentary correspondent, Richard Dela Sky, “further imports will be made to supply the offices of Members of Parliament and people are beginning to ask serious questions as to why we are depending on imports to furnish our Parliament.”
President Mahama on several visits to local manufacturing companies in the country has reiterated government’s commitment to support indigenous manufacturing companies to blossom to maturity.
The President released a list of made in Ghana products he uses in his home daily and urged Ghanaians to do same.
He said: “With every piece of clothing we wear, with every item of food we buy to prepare our meals, with every single thing we use, we should ask ourselves, “Was it made in Ghana?”
“In fact, many of the items that we spend millions of cedis to import could easily be produced right here in Ghana,” the President remarked.”
Also, the cost of the refurbishment according to Sky is yet to be announced.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan