An experienced kente weaver is predicting danger for the kente Weaving Industry if nothing is done to fix major challenges facing the industry.
The prediction comes at the back of lack of interest in learning kente weaving and commitment of governments to sustain the business through support.
In view of this, the Chief Executive Officer of Ohene Kumah Enterprise, a kente weaving outfit at the National Museum of Ghana, Richard Ohene Kumah, has cautioned that if care is not taken, the kente weaving business will collapse in Ghana and foreign countries will take advantage and profit from it than Ghana.
He said that “what we have here is original. That is the tradition. What the Chinese are doing is only material. They can’t do what we are doing here. But because we don’t get assistance, the Chinese are collapsing our market with their inferior Kente cloths.”
Touching on calls for government support the industry, Mr Kumah emphasised the need for government to assist them in terms of providing adequate resources to enable them train more people.
“This is where the President should come and assist us. I have personally tried several times to solicit government’s support to get me the needed resources so I can train as many youth who are willing to learn, but to no avail. I believe that when this support is given, it will help in developing the country,” he said.
He continued that he has acquired enough skills in the business such that foreign countries have tried several times to engage his services.
He said that there are people in Ghana who are very willing to learn the trade, adding that he can train more than 50 people a year in kente weaving, when given the support.
“This is a job that has really helped me a lot. I have done it for over 30 years now and I was able to build my house and educated all my children through this job,” he said.
He also called on private organisations to assist him train more youth so that they will also benefit from the business.
He also added that the public interest these days in the kente cloth has gone up. This, he said, has made the business quite attractive than it used to be.
According to him, “kente was known for being the cloth for chiefs alone. But that perception has changed recently, and that kente is worn by everybody regardless of their status.”
On how his call for government support will help reduce the current unemployment rate, he challenged the government to try him and see how many jobs he can create within a year or two. He said he’s confident that the government would not regret it if it decides to support them.