Hon Isaac Adongo
Bolgatanga Central

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I rise to commend the maker of this important Statement.

The fugu or batakari or smock, as we have come to know, has been an age-long clothing that we use, and you can see right from the days of independence that the smock was part of our culture, even when we gained independence.

In recent years, successive governments have taken turns, particularly our presidency, to outdoor the cloth called the smock. However, it appears that the effort they made to promote the smock did not gain prominence until recently, when His Excellency visited our neighbours in Zambia to foster the closer relationship that we have had with our brothers in Zambia.

Incidentally, we all know that culturally, our dressing differs from one country to another, and no particular dress is superior to the other, except that the people who wear them appreciate them the way they dress in them. So, it was not a surprise that our colleagues took exception and began to tease our President and refer to our revered clothes in very funny terms.

In fact, they referred to it as a “blouse”. But we can forgive them because they did not know the significance of that. As His Excellency, the President, indicated that he had worn this elegant dress in most of his engagements with the United Nations (UN) and even at the biggest world stage, the smock was featured.

Unfortunately, it was surprising to him that the people of Zambia had not noticed that he had that proverbial liking for dressing in this attire. But then our neighbour, the President of Zambia, in an attempt to atone for the misunderstanding of his people, indicated that he was on a mission to order several smocks for the people of Zambia. That gesture was a very interesting one for him to calm the social media banter that ensued.

Mr Speaker, I see the declaration by His Excellency to refer us back to wear this cloth on Wednesdays as a means to energise the industry and provide livelihood support to the people who deal in this clothing. What is important for us is that as a Government, we need to provide concrete support to the weavers and those who sew this clothing so that they can meet the emerging huge demand that we expect for the smock in our country.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I want to encourage my Colleagues, particularly for those of us from communities where this clothing is woven, to provide the support that they need so that they can meet the market demand, earn some income, and boost the local economy.

Mr Speaker, this is the dawn of the Ghanaian that we have always yearned for, and that in the future, on Wednesdays, I would be happy to see the Hon Speaker in the Chair in this elegant dress so that the people of Ghana will see that we are responding to the call of His Excellency. I understand that the call was made only yesterday, and some of my Colleagues were not prepared for this day. But I know from next week I will see my good Brother, Habib, dressed in the proverbial attire that he has been used to, and Nanton Naa will be happy to see him cladded in the proverbial smock.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity, and I thank the maker of the Statement. This is the beginning of good things to come for the smock industry in Africa and in Ghana.

Hon Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi
Asante Akim Central

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As have been said by the last speaker, some of us were not aware of this information that we had declared Wednesday to be a fugu wearing day.

Last week, I was in my normal smock, when I was about to enter the Chamber, I met some of the pressmen who said that we had declared last Friday as fugu Friday. I asked why, because I did not know anything. It was Friday, and normally we wear traditional wears on Fridays. Then I was informed of the misinformation that had been given by the Zambians. Some said that our President was wearing a parachute, others also said that he was wearing a kaba.

Mr Speaker, this is the highest form of ignorance. This is not the first time that we are wearing smocks. We have taken it to functions, and we have taken it on travels. Everywhere in Africa and the rest of the world, anybody who sees a smock admires it. Besides, those of us who wear smocks, because they are made from cotton, it does not matter whether the weather is hot or cold; we are comfortable to wear smock. It should not take us as Parliament for the President to wear it for people to make derogatory remarks on them before we cherish our culture. Culture is defined as a way of people, including the clothes they wear and the food they eat.

Mr Speaker, I know that several Statements have been made on the kente cloth. I remember when our Colleague from Bonwire was here, almost every year when they were celebrating the Kente festival, she gave a Statement on the kente cloth. I, myself, am a weaver of kente cloth. When I was a young boy, that was how we started it. It is part of that.

Mr Speaker, I have lost count of the number of smocks that I have both at the constituency and in Accra here. So, it is part of us and I think that we must be certain if we are taking it on Friday as a traditional wear. It would be better. So maybe Leadership should put their heads together and if we are able to start this from Parliament, I am sure that it will transcend to the rest of Ghanaians so that the rest of the world would cherish what we wear. We must cherish it ourselves. But now I think we are confused whether we have to wear it on Wednesdays or on Fridays.

As a matter of fact, when I wore it last Friday, I did not have anything in mind that I was making a conscious effort of what we have decided on. It was a normal wear that I had worn on a Friday, and I think if we are able to go by that, it will help. So, when the press asked me, one of the things that I said was that I am not wearing it because of H. E. President Mahama, but I would not sit down for anybody to make derogatory remarks about our President, even though I have never voted for him. I would not allow anybody to make a derogatory statement about him because he had worn a smock. This is pure ignorance. It is high time we, as parliamentarians, woke up and made sure that we are proud of our culture so that the rest of Ghana, Africa and the world would appreciate it.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much, but I still emphasise, let us come together and agree on one thing.

Hon Laadi Ayii Ayamba
Pusiga

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you, Hon Majority Chief Whip for yielding your position to me.

Let me also thank Dr Ayensu-Danquah for the Statement she made. I overheard some people say earlier that she is not from the north. No, that is a very big mistake. Mr Speaker, the fugu, as it is popularly called it here, is an indigenous cloth. Although it is emanating from the northern sector as most of us know, it covers a lot of traditional areas for their own cultural purposes. The fugu as you have seen, these two colours I am wearing are made from my Constituency, and we have different colours. I overheard the Hon First Deputy Minority Whip talk about how the cap should be worn.

Mr Speaker, even colours send messages. There is a particular colour which you will not find often worn, or it is not everybody that wears it. In my tradition, they call it Kpang Kɔɔbug, the feather of a guinea fowl, meaning that there is nothing that you can do to wash the colour of a guinea fowl, no matter how much it rains. Mr Speaker, the fact is that that cloth is being used by people who are “spiritually matured”, and they use it for a whole lot of juju or voodoo or whatever you may call it. It is a particular type of fugu.

Mr Speaker, we have the white, and with that we have the very bright white, and the cream white. Many a time, you see us women using the very white cloth, especially our Queen Mothers. They like to use the very white one for our cultural purposes. You may sew it as I have, and still have a cloth like what I have to drape over your shoulders, with the edges frayed and properly woven for decorative purposes. In those days, you wear just the two. One under, and then one on the chest, and the small draped over, as I have said. It is these days that we have gone into sewing like I have sewn.

Mr Speaker, the fugu is a cloth accepted by many tribes, many districts, many people, and it fits basically everybody. It is not for any particular tribe, and you will realise that the late President Rawlings had a fugu that he used to wear, and we used to say, that is how the Ewes wear theirs. So, he would wear a long sleeve shirt underneath, and wear what we would say Kwalung in Kusaal, which is the small one on top of it. The Dagombas especially, have them in so many decorations and shades. The Gonjas have it the same way.

If you watch the sewing, Mr Speaker, many people do not understand, and they cannot use the sewing to tell which fugu comes from where. The best fugu you can get are those that are sewn by hand. Every thread is sewn by hand. These days, people sew them with sewing machines, and it is not as nice as the one that is hand-sewn. Now, some people these days also sew it with a sewing machine, but still use the needle and thread to decorate it. I have seen so many of them, basically almost all those here have that type. But there is one person here who is wearing the proper handsewn one with all the decoration. Hon Maxwell Kwame Lukutor, Member for South Tongu, is wearing the locally sewn one. [Hear! Hear!] Hon Yusif Sulemana is also wearing one that comes from the Gonja area, and because of my knowledge about them, I am able to tell. But we will prefer, if Hon Yusif can help us make sure that it is a properly sewn one, and that is from his hometown. Now, I am making all these statements to corroborate what Hon Stephen Amoah has said about us supporting skill-workers or entrepreneurs.

Mr Speaker, the fact is that if we are able to support the woman or the girl child, right from the growing age, very early stages—Some of them are actually not in school, but they go as apprentices to learn how to weave. The only thing they need from us is funding to buy those machines they use these days, and also to buy the thread. Some of them can hire the machine, but they do not have money to buy the thread. They need a lot of support.

Our vocational schools are doing so well, but they need that support and the market for it. If we decide that we are going to wear it on a particular day, then we should also be able to ensure that we use our good offices to support our various assemblies, to at least, identify some group of persons, both men and women who are weaving, to ensure that they produce the fugu. Then we can carry along with the “Fugu Day”, whether it is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, although it has no particular day on which it should be worn. That is now for us to decide and it will make us continue to communicate to the outside world that it is not a parachute, neither is it a blouse. It is quite interesting.

So, Mr Speaker, let us continue to work hard, support our people, and portray our culture. Let me congratulate the Rt Hon Speaker on the way he dresses for the Chamber. He has refused to stick with wearing the suit and tie every day. Mr Speaker, with all respect to you, the Rt Hon Speaker wears fugu or an attire from the Volta Region, Ashanti Region or any part of Ghana. Everyone agrees it is beautiful and nice—So, let us go that way, let us buy the idea and let us project our country and ourselves. I thank Hon Ayensu-Danquah and wish us all the best as we continue.

Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.