The Printing Press Association of Ghana has appealed to the government and major stakeholders in the economy to come out with clear cut policies and interventions to save the printing industry from imminent collapse.
According to the association, it perceived moves to deprive its members of their jobs which provide them income to care for themselves and their families.
Mr. Yaw Oti Boateng, Acting National Chairman of the association, who made the appeal at a press conference in Kumasi, mentioned that the association is threatened by the paperless regime and IT solutions, which are likely to render most of its members jobless.
The association expressed grave concern over non-availability of government policies and interventions to the printing industry, unlike what pertains in other industries.
The Chairman explained that since the introduction of Free Senior High School policy, procurement of educational materials such as exercise books, note books and other stationery has been centralised at the national headquarters, contrary to former arrangements where procurement was done at schools and the district levels.
He further explained that before the rollout of free the education policy, schools were permitted to procure supplementary text books in addition to those supplied them by the government, which created jobs for their members and workers.
Contrary to the previous arrangement, the association indicated that the current system does not permit schools to procure supplementary text books anymore, thus depriving its members off their livelihoods.
He said what has been the practice was that, at the end of every term within the academic year, the Ghana Education Service (GES) mandates Directors of Municipal Metropolitan and District Education Directorates to contact external test providers to supply them with examination materials, where the providers, in turn, sublet the printing aspects to their members and offer them jobs.
The association further lamented that following the reopening of school for Junior High School (JHS) Two pupils, the government had contracted foreign companies (Chinese & Indians) to supply printing equipment and A4 copier papers to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directorates of Education across the country for the printing of examination questions.
“We are told other examination materials such as answer booklets will be supplied directly from the national headquarters in Accra,” Mr. Oti Boateng stated, and pointed out that some politicians had invaded the printing industry and taken over the miniature jobs and contracts they used to get from the schools.
Mr. Oti Boateng said the association was not against any government policy, except that they were appealing that certain windows should be created in policy formation to inure to the benefit of all and sundry, and not deprive other citizens off livelihoods at the expense of a few interested people.
The post Printers seek govt intervention to save industry appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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