The Kantanka Automobile company has expressed shock at governments decision on the Volkswagen(VW) deal adding that it was signed without broader stakeholder consultations.
 A statement from the Ghanaian Automobile added Government was yet to consider any of the numerous proposals they had sent to them but quick to work on the signing the Memorandum of understanding with the German Car manufacturing company, Volkswagen.
"We are also shocked to learn that government has fast-tracked the signing of the MoU and want to ask the sector minister, still the Minister of Trade and Industry and again his Senior Minister the last time they have fast-tracked any of the numerous proposals that we have submitted to their offices."
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Katanka Automobile in a statement, also expressed disappointment in the MOU signed with VW, stressing that "We are again shocked that in the MoU, government has agreed to buy “a certain amount of the cars†from the companies yet to be established and want to ask the Senior Minister if Kantanka has ever been given that opportunity."
Read the full statement below
We want to state emphatically that we welcome the news of VW setting up a plant here in Ghana. We are not against it. We are aware there will be competition, as there has always been and this is going to give us the marginal propensity to work hard and achieve our long-term goals for mother Ghana and Africa.
However, we are of the view that government has hastily signed the agreement without broad stakeholder consultations.
We are shocked to learn that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is part of this deal and want to question the Minister’s position in the promotion of trade and industry in Ghana vis-à -vis the local automotive industry.
We are again shocked that in the MoU, government has agreed to buy “a certain amount of the cars†from the companies yet to be established and want to ask the Senior Minister if Kantanka has ever been given that opportunity.
We want to find out:
i. Under which policies are the international companies going to operate?
Under which Custom Procedure Code (CPC) is their knockdowns going to be treated?
iii. Under which tax and duty regimes are they going to be classified?
We want to remind all Ghanaians once again that Kantanka is not against the setting up of auto assembly plants in the country but nostalgic memories are that we have seen Nissan here in the early 70s, DAF and Neoplan existed and when the going got tough they closed down and left us.
Kantanka has come to stay.
God bless our homeland Ghana and make Kantanka greater and stronger.
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