Parliament must apologise to Ghanaians - GCPP

The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) has  described  the purchase of Chinese-made furniture instead of Ghanaian quality wood furniture to refurbish Parliament as a big let-down to Ghanaians.

According to the GCPP, the refusal to reverse the “import at all cost practice” would continue to push Ghanaians into economic hardship and unemployment.

In a statement signed by Dr Henry Herbert Lartey, Chairman and leader of the GCPP, it said Ghanaians  had bought into the domestication concept and nothing must be done to stop it.

 “It is clear that countries such as  China, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, France and even emerging ones such as Brazil, India and Malaysia  practise domestication to improve their reserves,’’  the GCPP stated.

It called for Ghanaians  to be encouraged to realise their  full potential, saying  “ it is the only solution to our economic problems’’.

The GCPP said it would continue to preach the concept of domestication, which Mr Dan Lartey introduced during the 2000 presidential election debate at the Accra International Conference Centre.

“This is the only way  to send a clear and loud message to Parliament to practise the idea of “Grow what you eat and eat what you grow and sell the rest to make money for the country,” the statement said.

It  said the GCPP could not fathom how  the legislative  arm of government  would set aside  the buy made-in-Ghana goods campaign, which could  save the  nation from economic difficulties.

According to the statement, President John Dramani Mahama,  in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament this year, lamented the country’s dependence on foreign goods.

He said the President, therefore, called on the whole country through Parliament, who are the representatives of the people, to develop the habit of promoting Ghanaian indigenous products.

The statement expressed regret that instead of  Ghanaians buying those goods that  could be  produced locally, they were rather importing  them, thus wasting scarce resources needed to strengthen the  economy.