The government has promised to give Kantanka Automobile Company the same or extra incentives as the two foreign companies, Volkswagen (VW) and Nissan Motors, which are to establish assembling plants in the country this year.
Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, who gave the hint, said the incentives which included tax waivers, were to cushion the local company to expand its operations and compete favourably with the two automotive giants.
Local companies that venture into the automotive business, he said, would likewise enjoy incentives as part of government’s efforts to develop a vibrant motor industry and support local companies.
He was speaking at the 38th Kristo Asafo Mission (KAM) Annual Technology Exhibition in Accra, last Sunday, where the Kantanka Group outdoored its latest technological and scientific innovations, including an advanced armored vehicle.
The exhibition held at the Apostle Safo School of Arts and Science (ASSAS) was on the theme, “Advancing the frontiers of science, technology, creativity and innovation through religion to transform society.”
Other innovation from ASSAS and the Kantanka Technological Centre of Excellence displayed included saloon cars, four and three wheel vehicles of which some could detect and prevent drunk drivers from moving them.
Varieties of foodstuffs cultivated through unique scientific methods were also arrayed at the exhibition, which was attended by traditional rulers, including Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, government officials, members of Parliament, representatives from security agencies and academia.
Mr Maafo said the government, recognising the importance of science and technology in development and the existing gap that the country needed to bridge, had introduced a number of programmes and policies, including a National Science, Technology and Innovation Fund.
The fund, established as part of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, he said, would be accessible to all researchers and innovators like Apostle Kwadwo Safo, the brain behind the Kantanka Group and KAM.
He said the government would work closely with the likes of Apostle Safo as well as patronise made-in-Ghana goods as encouragement to the local industry and urged Ghanaians to do likewise.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who ordered two of the new vehicles from the company, praised Apostle Safo for his innovation and called on government and academia to collaborate.
Urging Ghanaians to patronise made-in-Ghana products, he invited the Kantanka Group to set up a subsidiary of its technology school in the Ashanti Region, promising to give the needed support including land.
Apostle Safo, explaining his innovation to the gathering, said it was time local companies were given the chance to prove their mettle as they were capable of manufacturing the products that were imported into the country.
