The Chief Executive Officer of Northshore Apparel Ghana Limited, Nurideen Mohammed, has appealed to the government to award part of its contracts for the production of uniforms for the country’s security services and other public institutions to local manufacturers.

Speaking at the official commissioning of the Northshore Apparel Industrial Park in Savelugu in the Northern Region on Friday, August 28, Mr Mohammed said Ghana continued to spend foreign exchange importing uniforms that could be produced locally.

“Mr President, we recognise that the biggest market back home is the government. Our security services are clothed. Our schoolchildren are clothed. Our health workers are clothed,” he said.

“Much of that cloth is presently made outside this country and paid for in foreign exchange,” he added.

Mr Mohammed said Northshore Apparel was not seeking protection from competition or preferential treatment but an opportunity to compete for a share of the government’s uniform procurement contracts.

“We request that a share of the national uniforms’ wallet be considered for facilities such as this one. We will guarantee competitive pricing, quality and delivery, measured against any competitor worldwide,” he stated.

“Give us the specifications and the volumes, and we will meet them here, with Ghanaian hands, in Ghanaian cedis, in a district that needs the work.”

According to him, procuring uniforms from domestic manufacturers would retain foreign exchange within Ghana, create jobs, generate tax revenue and provide factories with stable orders as they expand into international markets.

“Every uniform stitched in Savelugu instead of abroad is foreign exchange retained, a wage paid to one of our own and a tax contribution to the state,” he said.

“An order book at home is what steadies a factory while the export book grows.”

Mr Mohammed said the company had already demonstrated its capacity to meet international production standards, with major global retailers and suppliers finalising agreements with the factory.

He mentioned South African retail chain Pick n Pay and suppliers carrying labels such as Walmart, TJ Maxx, DKNY and American Rag among the businesses that had assessed the company’s samples.

“They have seen our samples and are satisfied that we meet their global standards. Our first export containers are due in October,” he disclosed.

Mr Mohammed said the interest from international buyers demonstrated that government institutions could also trust the company to produce uniforms that met the required standards.

The Northshore Apparel Industrial Park currently has 50 sewing lines and has trained and deployed more than 2,300 operators. Its facilities include a cutting and design centre, warehouses, a clinic, a crèche and a 500-kilowatt peak solar power system.

GEXIM supported the establishment and operationalisation of the factory through a blended financing model involving the Investing for Employment facility of Germany’s KfW Development Bank and equity from the project promoters.

The factory has 50 sewing lines, a 4,000-square-metre cutting and design facility, and 8,000 square metres of storage space for raw materials and finished products.

Its first phase has created 3,000 immediate jobs, with direct employment projected to rise to 10,000 when the facility reaches full operational capacity.