Trade Ministry Inaugurates 12-Member C’ttee to Vet Seized Textiles

A twelve-member vetting committee has been inaugurated by the Trade and Industry Ministry to facilitate the work of the Anti-Textile Piracy Taskforce.

The Committee among other things is expected to determine whether all textiles confiscated by the taskforce are fake or not.

The move comes barely a month after the textile workers union hit the street to demonstrate against the influx of fake textiles unto the market.

The textile industry which used to employ about 27.000 workers in the 70’s now employs less 3.000 as a result of the collapse of textile firms.

Speaking to Starr Business, the Deputy Trade Minister Carlos Ahenkora observed that the inauguration of the vetting committee is critical to the fight against pirated textiles onto the market.

“When the taskforce arrests the textile material, a committee needs to identify whether the materials are pirated, counterfeited or uncustomed,” he stated.

“So what we did with this new task force that was formed… we give them a term of reference that included issuing or issuance of detention receipt when they seize anything.”

He explained that within fourteen days the owner of the cloth that was seized will be expected to appear before the vetting committee with the issuance detention receipt to determine whether the seizure was right or wrong.

“We don’t want to do things to disenfranchise anybody because we are all Ghanaians and we all have a right to live, right to trade and a right to business,” he stated.

Source: Starrfmonline