The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) has made a historical breakthrough in the development of the country’s artisanal engineering sector by inaugurating the Suame Magazine Automatics Technical Institute (SMATI), the first of its kind in the country’s informal artisanal sector.

The official opening of the automatics technical institute came on the heels of a similar feat last year in developing a modern industrial village for Suame Magazine – under the leadership of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and Pro. Frimpong Boateng – which was seen as a major landmark achievement and a significant climax to the successful self-determined efforts of the artisans aimed at self-advancement.

The launching was on the theme ‘Harnessing the potential of artisanal engineering for Ghana’s industrialization. Addressing participants at the inaugural ceremony, Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who was the guest of honour, commended SMIDO for the initiative – particularly for collaborating with recognised institutions like KNUST and the Kofi Annan ICT centre to advance their trade.

The Vice President called on artisans at the Suame Magazine to go to other technical institutions to sharpen their skills and to improve their knowledge. He advocated the re-training and re-tooling of talented young people in the country to make them more productive and to ensure the sustenance of their business.

Giving a brief history of Suame Magazine, the President of SMIDO Mr. George Asamoah Amankwa says Suame Magazine is the economic heart of Kumasi, and together with the timber and wood industry had the enviable description of being the heart and soul of Kumasi in the 1970’s and 80’s. He said with virtual collapse of the timber and wood industry and the visible consequences of mass-unemployment unleashed on the economy of Kumasi, Suame Magazine had become the lone surviving industrial estate in Kumasi.

Asamaoah Amankwa emphasized that in case of the timber and wood industry, even though the signals were clear right from the onset, there was no bold alternative planning intervention initiated to save the thousands of families whose livelihood were under threat. The dwindling prospects of the wood industry affected all sectors of the economy with which the industry shared economic linkages. The economic soul was virtual lost, leaving the economic heart of Suame Magazine to sustain Kumasi’s industrial economy.

Source: Business & Financial Times Monday February 16, 2009
By Seth Krampah, Kumasi