Local automotive industry must be sustained

What started as a vision by the government to develop a local automotive industry about three years ago came to pass yesterday, when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo unveiled the first Volkswagen car to be assembled in the country.

The German-based company, in 2018, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana, has through months of preparations with its local partnership, officially started operation.

Indeed, this is not the first time a car has been assembled in the country, given that immediately after Independence, the government of the great Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, established an assembling plant that produced cars locally.

For those who are old enough, the mention of the name “Boafo” evokes a lot of nostalgic feelings. In recent times one cannot speak of the automobile industry without mentioning Kantaka Automobile, which is fully owned by the Ghanaian industrialist, Apostle Kwadwo Sarfo.

However, what makes yesterday’s event exceptional is that the automotive industry has been given a shot in the arm and set on the path of development that would come with many benefits.