The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism has visited Rana Motors Assembly Plant as part of a tour of industrial areas.
The goal was to learn about successful companies, understand how they work, and find out what problems they face. The Committee also wants to know how the government can help these businesses grow by removing obstacles.
At Rana Motors, the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kassem M. Odaymat, welcomed the team warmly. Mr. Odaymat, who is also a founding member of the Assemblers Association and the current President of the Ghana Automobile Distributors Association, thanked the Committee for their visit and recognition.
He spoke about some of the challenges the car assembly industry in Ghana is facing, especially with government policies. One main issue is with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and how it handles vehicle inspections. A few years ago, the GSA introduced a process called vehicle homologation, which makes sure that all vehicles meet national safety standards.
While companies assembling and importing new cars have followed the rules, including paying fees and getting the right certificates, the same rules are not being properly applied to imported used cars.
This creates an unfair situation because new cars, which are usually safer and newer, face stricter checks, while second-hand cars are not properly inspected.
Mr. Odaymat also explained that while upgrading from Semi Knocked Down (SKD) to Enhanced Semi Knocked Down (ESKD), car assembly is possible, but moving to Completely Knocked Down (CKD) operations would need a lot more resources and development.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Alexander Roosevelt Hottordze, praised Rana Motors for their good work and encouraged them to promote more of their products to reach a wider market. He also reminded them to follow the laws and pay their taxes.
He promised that the Committee would report its findings in Parliament and work on solving the problems businesses are facing. “We know where the problems are and are ready to fix them,” he said.
Source: Edyspromotions.com
