10-year cars not cause of road accidents – Secondhand car dealers

Members of the Secondhand Car Dealers Association of Ghana have rubbished assertions that 10-year-old vehicles they bring into the country are the cause of accidents on the country’s roads.

According to the association, some 10-year-old vehicles are even stronger than some brand new cars.

The association’s reaction follows the passage of the Customs Amendment Bill.

The Customs Amendment Bill, 2020 which entails the proposal to ban salvage vehicles over 10-years-old was passed on Tuesday, 3 March 2020.

The Bill is expected to be fully passed after the debate of the amendment.

Also, a total revenue of GHS802million has been estimated by the government to be lost after the policy is reviewed.

But the introduction of the bill has been met with stiff resistance from some car dealers who argue it will collapse their businesses.

General Secretary of the secondhand car dealers, Clifford Ansu, reacting to the passage of the bill in an interview on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Wednesday, 4 March 2020 said the bill if passed will have a negative impact on the economy.

He told show host Benjamin Akakpo that: “If you ban these cars, it’s going to have a very great negative impact on our business even the economy as well. Trotro drivers are going to lose their jobs, trotro drivers’ mates are going to lose their jobs because buses are not coming again, mini buses are not coming. The trucks that is used to carry food stuff from the hinterland to the city are also going to be banned because they’re all older than 10 years. Nobody can go to South Korea and bring less than 10- year trucks to this country. We don’t do that; we cannot buy from them, when you bring them here, nobody can buy.

“When you go to Europe, the Toyata Hiace and all that, they’re more than 10 years, that is why we’re able to afford them and when you bring them here the price that we sell, it’s because they’re more than 10 years that is why we sell them at that price.

“Go to Nissan and say you want their brand new bus; you’ll see the quotation that will be given to you. So if you’re passing a bill on issues like this there should be broader consultation, a lot of education should go in, a lot of understanding must come in. You don’t just have to walk in and say you’re banning second hand cars because somebody has expressed interest to come and establish his or her business.”

The association, however, feared the implementation of the bill may exceed what has been documented and emphasised that 10-year-old vehicles are not the cause of accidents on the country’s roads.

“Whoever says 10 year vehicles are the cause of accidents on our roads is a liar…There are cars in Ghana that are more than 50 years and they’re still running on our roads. Go to Chorkor and see that cars over Go to Kasoa other hinter areas and then you’ll see the buses people use there. They’re more than fifty forty years. You can’t tell me that those ones are the causes of accidents on our roads. The ten-year-old vehicles that are in Ghana they’re stronger even more than some of the brand new cars here in Ghana.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said Government’s decision to ban the importation of salvaged cars of more than 10 years old is geared towards making the acquisition of vehicles affordable and ensuring the safety of roads across the country.

Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Tuesday, 3 March 2020, Mr Nkrumah expressed the government’s stance to pass the bill, saying, it will go ahead with the policy.

“What we want to do is to make cars in Ghana very cheap so the person who is tempted to bring in an over-aged vehicle because it is cheaper- never minding the fact that it leads to a lot of emissions - or someone who will buy a condemned vehicle and assemble can now buy one of the new cheap vehicles manufactured in Ghana. How do we do that? In the investment plan that we will bring and approve, we will negotiate with them [assembly plants] on the sale parameters and prices so that we ensure that we are not pricing out the Ghanaian who wanted to use condemned vehicles which are not safe”, said Mr. Nkrumah.