The Minority in Parliament has accused the Akufo-Addo led administration of attempts to collapse the local car dealership in favor of foreign interests.
According to the caucus, the recently passed customs amendment acts allows importation of already assembled vehicles without paying duties. This, the minority argues, will put all local dealers out of business.
President Akufo-Addo recently assured the dealers at a meeting their job will be protected after agitations form the dealers.
Minority spokesperson on roads and transport Governs Kwame Agbodza argues the entire government policy on the automobile industry is inimical to the local dealership.
The Adaklu MP said any future NDC government will review the act to amend portions of the project.
He said, “the fact that we are not happy about is before the manufacturing, You have written in the law ‘shall be granted’, so anybody who is part of the Ghana automotive development under that program, you shall grant them the right to import fully built vehicles.”
“And we are saying that so far, we have been shown pictures of VW polo being assembled. So, it is not a situation where we are against the production of vehicles, we are saying that the way you’ve crafted the law by even giving tax exemptions to the manufactures as against the local importers, you are going to skew the market that if you even sell VW polo for 60,000 how many nurses how many teachers.”
He went on “and I’m saying do you think Ghanaians can afford new cars and have chosen to buy used cars, no, it’s because of the purchasing power of the people. We are not against VW assembling vehicles, we welcome hem. But if you give the same condition to the local importer, they could sell cheaper than 60,000.”
“So, the president is not doing us any favour, he is basically going to do exactly what he did to the banks by collapsing the local dealers. The impact of it would be worse than the banking crisis. It is too skewed to a few at the detriment of the lives of thousands,” he ended.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/
