I write to comment on the above article in the Daily Graphic of January 5, 2015.
I wish to state that there is no company in Ghana that manufactures swivel chairs with a gas lift mechanism. All companies selling this product only assemble the imported knocked down parts. The chair in your article in which you boldly stated was manufactured by Kpogas Furniture is, thus, inaccurate.
The export of specialised woods such as mahogany, cedar, odum ,sapele etc is more beneficial to the country than using it to make a writing desk.
How much force do we exert in writing to justify the use of hard woods which take about 70-80 years to mature to make a desk ? There was a company in Ghana called BMK PARTICLE BOARD which was set up to process leftover timber from the sawmills to produce hard pressed/chip boards.
These were to be used to manufacture home and office furniture. I am sure , as with every other thing in this country, it has collapsed. Furniture produced from chipboard can last if handled well.
Private entities who buy these products use them for a long time while government agencies mishandle theirs because anything for government is to be mishandled.
Let us be honest with ourselves.The refurbishment of the parliamentary chamber could never have been accomplished within the required time frame by any Ghanaian firm. Ghanaian furniture manufacturers should stop crying foul over something they could not have done.
Finally, the importation of furniture into the country helps to sustain our ever-depleting forest cover.
Victor Doh Domeku,
Accra.
Tel .233 208246867, 233 244623880
