MP for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi
The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has called on Ghanaians to support the country’s vehicle assembly industry, expressing frustration over the lack of patronage for locally assembled cars.
He explained that the government introduced policies to encourage local vehicle manufacturing, but Ghanaians still prefer imported second-hand vehicles.
“We brought about seven different vehicle assembly plants to Ghana. We wanted to reduce the number of old cars being imported, as they cause emission problems,” he stated in an interview on GHOne TV, monitored by MyNewsGh.
However, he lamented the resistance faced when the government attempted to regulate the importation of overused vehicles, especially those older than ten years.
“When we tried to introduce strict policies to curb the import of overused vehicles, some interest groups in the industry deliberately frustrated our efforts. As a result, we have not been able to fully achieve our goal,” he revealed.
The MP emphasised that Ghana must gradually reduce its reliance on imported vehicles and focus on developing its automotive industry.
“If we truly want to grow, we must start valuing and buying what we produce. That is the only way to make progress,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:
You can also watch the latest episode of #Trending GH as Ghanaians call for economic solutions instead of KIA renaming