The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Kantanka Automobile Company Limited, Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr, has asked the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to give Kantanka motors tax waivers if indeed government is serious about giving support to local industries to compete in the international market.
The Kantanka CEO's admonishing comes in the wake of a descision by Germany's Automobile giant ,VW, to set up an assembling plant in Ghana.
Managing Director of VW Africa, Thomas Schaefer, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Ghana to begin the process of establishing an assembling plant in the country to serve the West African sub-region.
The assembling plant is expected to produce about 5 000 units of vehicles every year with plans to increase production depending on the market demand.
But CEO Kantanka Automobile, Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr ,In an interview with Ekourba Gyasi on Atinka AM Drive, said although President Akufo Addo posted on his social media handle in the run up to the 2016 elections that he will support the Kantanka motors by purchasing vehicles for his ministers should he win the 2016 elections, he is yet to fulfil the promise.
According to Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr, Angela Merkel and the VW Africa team came to Ghana to promote their local brand to a President who has done very little to support his own local automobile manufacturing brand.
He mentioned that Kantanka Automobile pays duties as high as GHS 25,000 on the least of their cars that have been assembled and manufactured in Ghana which he says add up to the high cost of the vehicle .
“How well has the President helped his local automobile manufacturing brand, Kantanka, in terms of tax waivers,as others like Angela Merkel is doing for her local industry VW?. We are paying high tariffs and high electricity bills and we have gotten no help from the government. If it is about job creation, Katanka Automobile already has a staff strength of about 450 workers at the automobile plant”, he added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa