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Business News of Wednesday, 8 August 2018

Source: goldstreetbusiness.com

Governments have consistently neglected Kantanka – Kwadwo Safo Jnr.

Kantanka Automobile CEO, Kwadwo Safo Jnr, explaining a point to the media at the company Kantanka Automobile CEO, Kwadwo Safo Jnr, explaining a point to the media at the company

The Kantanka Automobile Company Limited has called on the government to institute a quota system to enable it market and sell its brand of indigenous vehicles. The company said successive governments’ neglect and the lack of support in various ways, is hobbling the company’s growth.

CEO Kwadwo Safo Jnr told the Goldstreet Business that the major challenge confronting the company is the payment of duties on the vehicles, which are domestically manufactured.

The company pays 29.5 per cent duty, comprising five per cent import duty, import VAT 17.5 per cent and other charges constituting five per cent, on completely knocked down vehicles (CKD) which attract no tax in other countries including Nigeria.

“In India, and other countries we visited, the quota system is put in place to enable them to give priorities to their brands,” Safo said.

Currently, Kantanka Automobile produces 200 vehicles a month, with 50 per cent robotic application. It plans to go fully robotic by next year.

The company also said a current move by the government to bring in two new foreign vehicle assembling companies into the country, before the end of the year, makes a mockery of the ‘made in Ghana’ campaign.

Last week, Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo hinted at the establishment of two new foreign automobile plants in the country.

“In two separate MoUs submitted to the government about two months ago, which had already been approved, the two companies expressed interest and asked permission to build their assembly plants in the country and we have certain incentives for them,” the Senior Minister disclosed.

At the same forum, the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Prof. Alexander Nii Oto Dodoo, assured Ghanaians that vehicles produced by Kantanka Automobile meet the required standards.

However, Safo mentioned that the announcement from the Senior Minister comes as no surprise to the company as it has always been like that.

“In 2016 when this whole campaign of promoting made in Ghana started, we wanted to have our cars displayed at one of the events organized by the government but we were not given the permission,” he said.

The company’s General Manager, Mr. Francis Kudjordjie, explaining some of the company’s new strategies for entering other markets in the sub-region, said “we’ll soon start manufacturing in Tanzania and other countries on the continent.”

He noted that plans are far advanced to go into motorcycle production, minibuses, and electric cars.

“As we work towards that, our immediate plan is to open showrooms in various locations nationwide so as to bring our products closer to clients,” he said.

The company, which recently opened a new ultra-modern showroom at Achimota, explained that the move is to serve customers and to spare them the hustle of driving all the way to the plant to place an order.

Some of the company’s models include Amoanimaa, Onantefo 4X4, Omama 4×4, K71, Omama, and Mensah.