The call by President John Mahama on Ghanaians to patronise made-in-Ghana products must be heeded to put the economy on an even keel.
The admonition comes in the wake of the collapse of all local manufacturing industries in the country, creating an alarming unemployment situation.
We are told that the textile industry that used to employ more than 30,000 people a few years ago now employs just 5,000.
This is not an issue for debate because every discerning Ghanaian can feel the consequences of the collapsed industrial sector that used to boost thriving poultry, textile and other productive activities.
What we have done to our economy is encourage the growth of the trading and the services sectors, to the detriment of manufacturing, which is now virtually non-existent.
We used to have the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC), a holding company for many industrial activities such as meat, textiles, alcoholic beverages and tomato puree production, vehicle assembling and rattan manufacturing.
Regrettably, the Ghanaian has developed a taste for foreign goods, to such an extent that millions of foreign exchange is used to import rice and other items to sustain that taste.
We have refused to accept that the burden of change from the present situation of promoting other people’s products falls on us.
We must rediscover our self-esteem and self-belief that nobody can change our present circumstances unless we lead the process for change.
Unfortunately, majority of our people have been made to believe that local products are inferior and anybody who patronises them must have a cheap taste.
Therefore, any policy initiative to promote local consumption ends up being cosmetic rather than a progressive step to change the status quo.
When, in the mid-2000s when the government introduced the Friday wear policy, only a few people saw the move as a progressive step towards reviving our local industries, especially the textile sector.
We cannot continue along this path of being only consumers of other people’s products, instead of adding value to the many resources with which God has endowed us.
Let history not record this generation as the group of Ghanaians who presided over the destruction of the economy, our values and, indeed, our heritage.
In encouraging us to move from Friday wear to everyday wear at the 57th Independence Day Parade at the Black Star Square in Accra last Thursday, President Mahama said, “Ghana’s greatest resource is its people, gifted with talents and resources, so let us use that potential to develop our nation.”
The Daily Graphic thinks we have reached a stage where our leaders must think seriously about a national vision devoid of political party manifesto.
Such a vision will compel every political party that wins power to stick to the national agenda, notwithstanding its ideological beliefs.
We think that is the only way by which our politicians can be compelled to stay within policies that promote national goals, instead of the partisan agenda.
We have to push the agenda of local production and consumption even when other countries decide to retaliate. Our national interest must override any sectarian interest.
