The Ghana Leather and Footwear Manufacturer Association (GLFMA) has submitted an urgent petition to Parliament, warning that an unmitigated economic crisis threatens to permanently dismantle the nation’s indigenous manufacturing sector and trigger immediate job losses for thousands of local artisans, producers, and young workers.
Speaking to the media after delivering the petition to the House, GLFMA President Gilbert Akwesi Ntim highlighted three key drivers behind the industry’s rapid decline, anchored primarily by a massive influx of cheap foreign footwear. He pointed specifically to foreign operators—particularly Chinese traders—setting up directly inside retail zones legally reserved for Ghanaian citizens.
“This petition to the August House is a final resort born out of complete desperation,” Mr Ntim stated. “We have spent months exhausting peaceful, administrative remedies through high-level state channels, but nothing has changed.”
Despite extensive dialogue, the association reports that government agencies have failed to deliver tangible protection or regulatory oversight for local producers.
He added, “We have submitted formal petitions and held bilateral meetings with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Local Government Authorities, and Statutory Revenue Agencies. Despite repeated diplomatic assurances from these bodies, there is zero effective enforcement on the ground.”
With state enforcement absent, the association warned that failure by Parliament to act swiftly will result in direct, local action to protect their livelihoods.
The GLFMA president cautioned that the association will take matters into its own hands and forcibly shut down foreign-owned retail shops if their grievances remain unaddressed.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
