The Automobile Dealers Union of Ghana (ADUG) has denied reports that the government has reached for a dialogue to address their concerns on the Customs (Amendment) Act, 2020.

His comments follow reports that the Trade Ministry last week threw an invite to the association for an amicable solution.

The Customs (Amendment) Act bans the importation of second-hand cars of more than 10 years old, and salvage cars, locally referred to as ‘accident cars’.

Speaking to GhanaWeb, the General Secretary of the Automobile Dealers Union of Ghana, Clifford Ansu, said his outfit has received no invite.

“No communication concerning the government dialogue with us has been sent to us. Perhaps the ministry just spoke to some journalists because there is no invitation thrown to us.”

He also added that the group’s intended demonstration will happen if the government fails to amend aspects of the Customs (Amendment) Act, 2020.

“We are a week away from our demonstration. We gave government a 2-week ultimatum to commit to reviewing the Customs (Amendment) Act, 2020 If they don’t listen we will hit the streets and hold massive demonstrations even as Covid-19 rages on, because if we don’t come out and demonstrate our displeasure on this matter and it continues, a lot of people are going to be affected and our businesses are going to collapse.”

The Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is expected to take effect from October, this year.

Government launched the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, GAMDP, in August 2019 to promote the manufacture of automobiles for both the domestic market and the West African sub-region.

In August 2019, Toyota and Suzuki became the latest companies to formally commit to setting up car assembling plants in Ghana.

This was after Volkswagen, Nissan, and Sinotruk also major automobile companies expressed an interest in Ghana.

Volkswagen was supposed to start its operation in the first quarter of 2020, Toyota in August 2020, Suzuki before the end of 2020, Nissan in the second quarter of 2020, while discussions pertaining to the operations of Renault, Kia, and Hyundai are ongoing.