Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana ( CADEG) has urged the Tema Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority in charge of clearance of goods and vehicles at the country’s ports and Harbour’s to advise government to keep the dollar rate stable for at least three to six months to help increase government revenue at the port.
According to CADEG , the consistent Dollar rate increment at port is making importers not able to plan for their operations and also increases cost of imported goods.
The chamber made this known when its executives were invited by the newly appointed Sector Commander of the Tema collection to discuss ways to improve the mandate of the Division at the port.
The Executive Secretary of the chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana (CADEG) Mr Dumenu George indicated that, there are several agencies with multiplicity of rules and regulations at the port which must be complied with including port charges . He said ” we plead that all these agencies should be a unified, code all boxes into one with a single charge to avoid duplication of functions and the waste of time at the port” .
An Executive Member of the Chamber Mr Kusi Ankomah who is the owner of Erata Motors Company also added his voice on the growing concerns about vehicles imported from America and Canada that are sometimes classified as ” Stolen Vehicle” in Ghana. He said the recent raid in various dealerships by Economic and organized Crime Organization ( EOCO), National Investigation Bureau ( NIB) , Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) , Royal Canada Mount Police ( RCMP), and the Ghana Police Service leading to seizure of several vehicles and subsequent arrest and harassment of owners of these dealership (garage owners) has created huge mistrust between purchasers of used vehicles and dealerships in Ghana.
He said “we are of the view that, these inspectorate agencies are required to verify all these vehicles and their requisite documents and approve same before we are allowed to pay huge import taxes to the state” It then comes to us as a surprise that these vehicles after going through these checks are now tagged as a “Stolen Vehicles”.
Mr Kusi Ankomah indicated that the checks and balances in these countries are so strict that an ordinary trader from Ghana does not have the sophistication needed to perpetrate such crime easily and called on Government to intervene to save businesses.
The Sector Commander (Customs Division) Tema collection, Assistant Commissioner Christiana Adjei who invited the Chamber and other Trade Associations such as Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Union of Trade Association (GUTA), Trade Advocacy Association of Ghana (TAAG) Which uses Tema port as point of clearing their import said the aim of the invitation is to seek to improve efficiency at the port and appealed to importers to collaborate with her to improve service delivery, revenue mobilization and also fast track activities at the port.
Assistant Commissioner Christiana Adjei said her team is ever ready to receive any information or complaint from the importers and called on them to report any problems they face at the port to create friendly a environment .
Commenting on the problems facing the Automobile industry in Ghana, she promised CADEG that her office will talk to the needed agencies to help resolve some of the problems facing the sector.
The Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana CADEG led by Mr Elliott Boateng, the Executive Chairman and Nana Adu Bonsu is one of the leading executives and Founding member who championed the unification of all vehicles Dealership in Ghana with the vision of providing, engaging leadership and strong Advocacy to influence and enhance broader engagement with all stakeholders and government in formulating policies affecting the auto industry in Ghana
