The Automobile Dealers Union of Ghana, ADUG, says it will go ahead with its planned demonstration despite the Trade Ministry’s call on them to further engage government on their concerns about the Customs (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The Act bans the importation of second hand cars of more than ten years old, as well as salvage cars, locally referred to as ‘accident cars.
ADUG insists the Act when fully implemented in October this year, will cripple their businesses and cause massive job layoffs.
The Trade Ministry last week asked the dealers to arrive at an amicable solution, but the group is certain the meeting will not yield any positive result.
General Secretary of the Union, Clifford Ansu, told Citi Business News they will go ahead with the planned demonstration if their demands are not met.
“We went through a similar dialogue but nothing changed so how sure are we that the second dialogue will be different and yield result? If they say they are not going to give us comfort to run our car business, then we are also not going to give the assemblers peace of mind to run their business. We are not going to accept that in any way. Our position is clear, they should either withdraw it before the two weeks’ time or let us know their plans for us ahead of the demonstration because we are not going to back down our plans to demonstrate.”
Government launched the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, GAMDP, in August 2019 to promote the manufacture of automobiles for both the domestic market and the West African sub-region.
This is part of government’s transformational agenda to identify Vehicle Assembly and Automotive Components Manufacturing as a strategic anchor industry that will promote economic development in the country and provide incentives for auto manufacturers.
Some known car brands have already set up Assembly plants in Ghana, and have started manufacturing to meet local demand.
