Okyereko (C/R), Feb. 14, GNA – The Kantanka Automobile Company Limited has dismissed public calls on government to insulate the company against competition from global automotive brands in the country.
Advocating a “free market”, it said such a move would defeat government’s agenda to make Ghana an automotive industry hub in the West Africa Sub Region.
Instead, Mr Francis Kudzordzi, the General Manager, noted that what the company needed was easy access to affordable loans to enable it compete favourably.
“We started with our own capital without government support. But once the industry is expanding and demand is getting higher than our capacity financially, we need to go for loan. Accessing loan to meet demand is a very big challenge. It is not easy to access loans,” he bemoaned.
Government, through the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, is looking to make Ghana a car manufacturing hub.
Under the programme, Toyota Tsusho Manufacturing Company in 2021, commissioned an assembly plant to assemble Toyota and Suzuki brands of vehicles in the country.
Already, Volkswagen and Sinotruck have been in Ghana since 2020.
Government, in its 2022 budget statement, announced that four more vehicle assembly plants namely Nissan, KIA, Hyundai and Renault were also expected to start commercial production in the country in 2022.
In light of this, some Ghanaians have suggested that government must, in the spirit of patriotism and building local capacity, protect Kantanka against these global giants who are relatively far better resourced and experienced.
But, Mr Kudzordzi believed that would not augur well for Ghana’s industrialisation drive, insisting that the company had the capacity to compete.
The Kantanka Automobile Company Limited was established by Apostle Dr Ing. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka in 1994 and incorporated as a Limited Liability Company in 2004.
Currently, the company manufactures Pickup, SUV and Sedan vehicles and has market in West Africa and Europe.
It has been registered under government’s One District One Factory policy and is entitled to benefit from 60 percent discount on interest of loans it secures.
Additionally, the company has been given a 10-year tax holiday with a tax-exemption deal on imported materials for assembling and manufacturing purposes under the Ghana Automotive Development Policy.
According to Mr Kudzordzi, Kantanka Automobile was poised to move Ghana to the next level, through automobile manufacturing.
“We are the eye opener of the contemporary stage of the Ghanaian automotive industry. We are trying to demystify the notion that we cannot do it,” he said.
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