Government boosts automotive industry with supportive measures

The government is evaluating the automotive policy to incorporate local manufacturing of big vehicles like as graders trucks, excavators and bulldozers. This is because the Ghana Automotive Development Policy (GADP) in its recent form concentrates on new passenger cars, sports and utility vehicles (SUVs) and mini cargo vehicles.

Talking to reporters in Tema last Wednesday following a working visit to Zonda Tec Ghana Limited, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, stated that the current auto policy didn’t include large truck Assembly.

Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare said “We are reviewing the auto policy to include what companies such as Zonda Tec do. I think these are the things that will encourage them to produce more and employ Ghanaians.”

The minister also showed that the government was developing a part under manufacturing policy to inspire individuals to go into the manufacture of components, so that some of the vehicles that were assembled in Ghana would include parts originally made in Ghana. 

The minister drew to attention the importance of utilizing locally raw materials, like tyres and batteries, to meet requirements for duty-free and quota-free trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). She reaffirmed that the government’s support for Ghana’s vehicle manufacturing sector, concentrating on allowing companies such as Zonda Tec Ghana Limited to succeed and stressed objectives to attract increased Chinese investment. 

She praised Zonda Tec for its dedication to skill transfer and employee development through the development of a training school and efforts to train these workers in China, stressing that it would help more young people to get on-the-job training in the sector. 

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the government targeted at creating more jobs for Ghanaians and with Zonda currently employing 500 people, linked with efforts to integrate into the 24-Hour Economy Policy. Mrs Ofosu-Adjare was hopeful that more employment opportunities would be created. Yang Yang, the Managing Director of Zonda Tec Ghana Limited, disclosed the company’s plans to expand its operations in Ghana. 

She said from 2019, they have  been training Ghanaian employees in the production of heavy equipment like bulldozers, graders, excavators and trucks with Chinese engineers offering on-site training, and also sending some of the Ghanaian workers to China for advanced training. He commended the supportive atmosphere in Ghana and how Ghanaian workers are skilled, the way they expresses their willingness to expand their domestic investment and prepare more Ghanaian engineers. 

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