A Financial Analyst, Sydney Casley Hayford has described as senseless, government’s decision to import chairs from Italy.
“We hear they are importing furniture from Italy as well to be able to do job 600, we’ll we will find a way of stopping it because it doesn’t make any sense.”
Parliament has begun importing more chairs from Italy just days after Parliamentarians received heavy criticism for importing furniture from China.
The Speaker of Parliament, in his opening remarks last Tuesday revealed that “some Members of Leadership and MPs as well as Members of the Technical Team travelled to Italy to inspect and confirm various facilities and units of furniture.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”HEnXM0dviQOptgcwvbr56gw85wh0r5vr”]Though Local furniture companies have criticized government for ignoring them to import what they describe as “inferior” chairs and tables from China.
The leadership of Parliament has explained that it imported furniture from China because it was impossible for a local company to produce the over 300 furniture pieces within the limited time.
But speaking on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, the Financial Analyst described Parliament’s justification as insincere.
“What we are seeing is the insincerity of Parliament to the people of this country. It is insincerity on Parliament’s behalf to even come and justify what they have done…,” Sydney Casley Hayford maintained.
He believes Parliament could have consulted local producers to manufacture the furniture to save the country from incurring losses.
“Could we have done it here in Ghana locally? We could have done it… Now I can tell you off the top of my head, I can easily name you some furniture companies in the country who could have done this without a problem. If you had given a contract like this to Ekuaba, it has enough plants to be able to cut and fix three hundred chairs without a problem.”
Speaking on the same platform, a lecturer at Ashesi University, Lloyd Amoah said “Parliament has made a gross mistake” by resorting to foreign partners for the production of chairs for Parliament.
“In an economy that is …stagnating,… the choice of China is a huge mistake. The message that we are sending to our local people is that we don’t believe in their capacity when it matters most.”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana