President Akufo-Addo has moved his advocacy for the citizens to prioritise locally made goods a notch higher by urging Ghanaians to purchase garments and vehicles produced in the country.
At the moment, there are over three automobile companies that produce vehicles in the country, which includes Kantanka and Volkswagen.
On Monday, August 3, 2020, President Akufo-Addo unveiled the first Volkswagen vehicles assembled in Ghana. It was at this event, which was held in Accra, that he urged Ghanaians to purchase vehicles produced in the country.
The move, he explained, was part of the government’s key objectives set in response to the havoc the novel Coronavirus has wrecked on the country. He said the government had resolved to seize the challenge of the pandemic as an opportunity to inspire the expansion of the country’s domestic capability, and deepen its self-reliance.
“To wit, we want to rely on the things we make and grow, not on the things we import. Indeed, the pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain, but it is also opening up opportunities for us to enhance our industrial, productive capacity, increase our agricultural output to engender our food security, and, generally, boost Ghanaian exports to markets in the continent and beyond,” he said, citing the local production of Personal Protective Equipment with the onset of the pandemic in Ghana.
Not long ago, the Chief of Staff, Madam Frema Osei-Opare, issued a directive to all state institutions to first prioritse locally produced vehicles when using public funds for that purpose.
President Akufo-Addo, in his address at the unveiling event, noted that “with the support of government, our hitherto, dormant domestic garment factories have, over the past few months, been revived, and have been able to produce, currently, fifteen million face masks and other personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, and all those, i.e. students, teaching and non-teaching staff, involved in the partial reopening of our junior and senior high schools, universities and other tertiary institutions.”
President Akufo-Addo expressed his delight at the decision taken by Volkswagen “to assemble a number of its brands right here in Ghana, not only for domestic use, but also for the West African market.”
It will be recalled that on Thursday, 30th August 2018, at the invitation of the President, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, paid a brief visit to Ghana, where an agreement was reached between the government, Volkswagen and its Ghanaian partner for the assembly, and, ultimately, the production of VW vehicles in the country.
According to President Akufo-Addo, there were many who expressed doubts about the feasibility of such an assembly plant being established in Ghana, and there were those who, for narrow, partisan considerations, described this announcement as nothing but a hoax, which would never see the light of day.
“Two years on, we have confounded the doubting Thomases, and I am happy to be here this morning to launch, officially, the first Volkswagen vehicle that has been assembled in our country. It is a good day for Mother Ghana,” he added.
VW’s presence in Ghana, President Akufo-Addo noted, had been facilitated by the government’s bold move to develop the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, with generous fiscal incentives.
“It is gratifying to note that VW is going beyond the ‘Beetle’ to assemble in Ghana other brands, namely Tiguan, Teramont, Amarok, Caddy, Polo and Passat. Volkswagen means ‘The People’s Car’, so I am expectant that the brands being assembled in Ghana will not only be affordable, but also be of the highest quality,” he added.
The President assured Volkswagen Ghana that the government would continue to support the company in diverse ways, to ensure the sustainability and profitability of this venture in Ghana.
The post President pleads with Ghanaians: Patronize locally produced goods appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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