By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Member of Parliament for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, has begun an initiative to revamp the Kente (known in the Ewe language as Kete) industry to create sustainable jobs for thousands of people and also add value to local handwoven fabric in the Keta Municipality.
The MP announced the plans, which are underway, to establish a ‘garment and accessories making’ workshop in the constituency, as part of efforts to revamp the kete business and boost other economic activities in the constituency, in a statement released on February 3, 2023, as he collaborates with a non-profit foundation, Small Actions for Enterprise (SAFE Ghana), to establish the workshop in no time.
The workshop is intended to serve as a hub for making clothing, bags, curtains, cushion covers, and purses, among others, using Kete/kente and other local fabrics. These will all be sown according to high standards so they can be exported to European and American markets.
“In furtherance of this laudable and destiny-changing initiative, some constituents have undergone a two-week pilot training to prepare them to work in the workshop. They were taken through basic sewing techniques by celebrated German clothing maker Brigitte Pappe to sharpen their skills so they can sew according to international standards. The participants had the privilege of using quality Anlo kente produced by Wordu Kente based in Anlo-Afiadenyigba for their training,” the statement said.
Mr. Gakpey believes in the saying that “it is better to show a man how to fish rather than to give him a fish,” when asked about the motivation behind the initiative.
Kete/Kente weaving is one of the major economic activities for the people of the Region, especially in the southern part. But for some years now, the sector has been declining.
The MP says the project was well thought through to revive the dying kente industry in the entire Volta Region.
He explained that the initiative will ensure that those constituents, among the over 1,000 young people under the MP’s apprenticeship programs in the area of dressmaking, will have the opportunity to get direct jobs.
Since he became MP for Keta just a little over two years ago, Mr. Gakpey has taken several initiatives aimed at creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the constituency. His job creation policies focus on areas of agriculture and agribusiness, apprenticeship, entrepreneurship, tourism, and sports.