Support vehicle-assembly plants to survive

A fifth vehicle-assembly plant has been established in the country.

Owned by Rana Motors and located at Amasaman, a community 26 kilometres from Accra towards Nsawam, the plant was inaugurated by President Nana Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo yesterday.

There are already the stories of VW, Toyota, Nissan and Renault, in addition to native Kantanka Motors.

The government is obviously encouraging the vehicle assembly plants as part of its industrialisation vision.

It is worthy of note that the government is not only interested in the assembling of the vehicles, but also in spare parts

This is evident in a newly-proposed Components Manufacturing Policy under which it will provide support to the private sector to invest in the local manufacturing of components and parts, including electric harnesses and wires, air and oil filters, lead acid batteries, shock absorbers and brake system components.

Ghanaians love vehicles and they obviously acquire foreign-made vehicles and at very high prices because of the absence of assembly plants in the country.

What is worrying is that most of the imported vehicles sold in the country are secondhand ones with defects that give owners all manner of headaches.

It is therefore everyone’s hope that eventually, these

assembly plants emerging in the country would provide quality vehicles at affordable prices to save owners the headaches associated with imported secondhand vehicles.

We know this is possible because the government is making every effort towards that.

For instance, the government is giving the assemblers incentives, including tax exemptions.

The manufacture of spare parts locally would also give a lot of relief to vehicle owners because they will escape the diabolic acts of some sellers of vehicle parts.

It is an open secret that some shopowners collect spoilt shock absorbers, for instance, repair them and sell them, knowing very well these parts would not last and in some cases can even cause accidents.

.The issue of some prospective vehicle owners being swindled by importers of vehicles into the country can also be eradicated.

Whenever the vehicle assembly takes root in the country, the government can proudly mark that as a great achievement that can boost the country’s economic growth.

Some of the benefits of a sustainable vehicle assembly plants in the country that would accrue to the citizenry are obvious and include employment.

When artisans and others are employed, unemployment in the country would reduce and the employees will pay income tax to boost government revenue.

No doubt, the benefits of the vehicle-assembly plants to the country are going to be enormous, so the government must continue to think of policies that can give them impetus to continue to operate.

We also wish to appeal to the citizens who will be employed by the plants to seek the interest of the employers and avoid acts that can collapse their businesses.

While we say this, we also want to appeal to the plant owners to respect the country’s labour law and citizens who will work with them.