The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, has purchased a brand new Kantanka SUV manufactured by local manufacturer Kantanka Automobile Company at a cost of GHC150,000.

At a short ceremony to hand over the vehicle to him at his Kyebi palace on Monday, April 24, the Okyenhene expressed confidence in the Ghanaian car manufacturing company and urged the government to patronise the vehicles for all its institutions in the country to encourage the company.

“Government can buy a whole lot of these cars for the Police, Fire Service, and Immigration instead of importing Land Cruisers and when it’s faulty they have a shop to service it,” he said.

On his part, the General Manager of Kantanka Automobile Company, Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Junior, appealed to the government to grant the company a tax waiver on the importation of its raw materials to enable it manufacture and sell the vehicles at affordable prices to Ghanaians.

“We have pickups that you can take to farm and normal construction works. We have pickups for executive uses. We have all kinds of models to fit any job description. We are into negotiations with the government, but the only thing is if we can adopt the strategy that Nigeria and South Africa use whereby automobile manufacturers or assemblers get tax waivers and tax holidays. So for example, if you buy a Kantanka vehicle, you are feeding the one who did the interior, the mechanic, the sprayer and about 10 to 15 people, all Ghanaians. The money is being saved in Ghana so it’s a win-win situation for Kantanka and Ghana as a whole,” he stated.