Alan Kyerematen
THE MINISTER of Trade and Industry, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has made a strong case for Parliament to adopt and approve the new automotive policy that has been introduced by government as part of efforts to enhance industrial transformation agenda of the country.
According to him, Ghana currently imports over 100,000 vehicles every year, which amounts to an import bill of US$1.14 billion, representing 12 per cent of the nation’s import bill, and noted that this was the leading single item of import in Ghana.
Speaking on the Floor of Parliament in favour of the Custom (Amendment) Bill, 2020, yesterday, the minister said only 10,000 of the 100,000 imported vehicles were brand new.
“As a government that is seeking to enhance industrial transformation, based on our parallel strategy of export enhancement and import substitution, there could be no better testimony in implementing this policy than to be able to reduce the import of vehicles by producing substitutes locally,” he argued.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) for Ho Central and Tamale Central, Benjamin Kpodo and Alhassan Fuseini Inusah, had suggested that the amendment bill ought to be put aside as it would push used vehicles dealers out of business.
But the Trade Minister disagreed and said the MPs were making those suggestions because they had not yet considered the support given to existing local assembling companies and the benefits that would be enjoyed by used vehicle dealers.
“Why would we want to industrialize but at the same time want to create jobs for the automobile industry in other countries?” he asked rhetorically, and stated that it was not by accident that all the leading economies in the world are countries with strong anchors in the automobile manufacturing industry.
Potential job losses
Mr Kyerematen said suggestion of job losses is not founded or based on evidence and disclosed that already the Kantanka Group and Neoplan Ghana Limited had been engaged in an extensive discussion by his ministry on how they could participate in this programme.
“A beneficiary of the policy is the Kantanka Group,” he noted and added that the automotive policy would not only promote the assembling and manufacturing of vehicles, but create jobs, pointing out that the issue of job losses does not arise because the dealers will still deal in used vehicles which are not over 10 years.
“The new vehicles that will be assembled and manufactured will become potential candidate for the dealership community,” he added.
The minister said when a fully built unit was brought with the benefit of no taxes; obviously it becomes more affordable than otherwise would have been the case.
“We are making it less expensive for those who will like models either than used vehicles. The beneficiaries of this incentive can only activate that incentive on the basis on work they produce,” he pointed out.
By Ernest Kofi Adu & Thomas Fosu