Task Force impounds 378 pieces of pirated textiles

The Anti-piracy Task Force on Wednesday seized 378 pirated textiles at the Accra Central Market after mounting surveillance in the vicinity.

The task force would wait for directives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to prosecute offenders and burn the textiles.

Mr John Kwesi Amoah, Assistant Manager, in charge of Brand Protection at Akosombo Textiles Limited, said the task force was set up by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2010, with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Standards Board and the Textile Manufacturers and Textile Importers Association of Ghana.

The aim is to prevent traders involved in illegal textiles business as well as protect the local industries in the country.

Mr Amoah, who is also a member of the task force said prior to the exercise, the taskforce had educated the traders on the fake goods but yet others were adamant and resort to dealing in pirated goods.

He said for the past years, the Textile industry had expressed concerns about the high rate of imported pirated textiles into the country, which was affecting their business and as such there is the need to respond to their plight to ensure sanity in the system.

Mr Amoah stressed that their outfit welcomes competition from the market but that should be done with the dictate of the law and appealed to the traders to be wary of such goods and stay clear from them since the law would take its course when a culprit is arrested.

Mr Nasir Ahmed Yartey, Deputy Communications Manager, Ministry of Trade and Industry said the country has witnessed a significant loss of revenue due to the smuggling of pirated textiles, hence the need for the establishment of the task force to curtail these phenomenon.

He said the Ministry under the supervision of Mr Murtala Mohammed, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry recently supervised the burning of 3,500 pieces of pirated textiles confiscated from traders in various markets in the country at the Kpone Landfill site, near Tema.

Mr Yartey explained that when the goods are confiscated, it goes through series of vetting to identify the fake and the original textiles before the goods are destroyed, and that, the culprits would be processed for court.