September 11, 2018.

I attended the inaugural meeting of the International Congress of Parliamentary Women's Caucuses 2018 in Dublin, Ireland from 9-10 September, 2018.

The conference brought together Female Parliamentarians and Cross-Party groups from across the globe to share their perspectives and experiences on issues facing women such as Sexual Harassment, Violence against Women Leaders, Affirmative Action, Gender mainstreaming and the state of Gender inequalities, and how, as Parliamentarians, we can create the right synergies to address them in our respective countries.

The Congress resolved to commit to the following;
• Working towards the establishment of a Women's caucus in every Parliament by 2020.
• Create a network of Women's Caucuses which can meet on. Regular basis to further the aims of the Congress.
• That all Parliaments encourage the continuity of their caucuses by investing in institutional memory which can support their work.
• That each Caucus would develop a clear plan of action aimed at influencing policies and actions which encourage greater participation by women in Politics.
• That each Caucus would strengthen links with Civil Society groups working in areas that affect Women.
• That each Caucus and Parliamentarian will continue to strive in their representative roles to improve the lives of Women.

#ICPWC18

Source:Hon Sarah Adwoa Safo

I represented the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as the Chairperson of the maiden Ghana Procurement and Supply Chain Awards on Friday September 7, 2018 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel where awards were presented to deserving Procurement and Supply Chain Institutions and Individuals.

H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo was presented with the Prestigious 'Outstanding Change Leadership Award' for his immense contribution to the Procurement Industry, which I received on his behalf.

In line with my role and position as the first ever Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurements, I was awarded the 'Sustainable Procurement Transformation Award'

In line with my role and position as the first ever Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurements, I was awarded the 'Sustainable Procurement Transformation Award'

Source: Hon Sarah Adwoa Safo

One major challenge with vehicles imported into Ghana is the cost involved in clearing them from the ports. Most vehicle importers become overwhelmed with the clearing cost which they may have not anticipated to be such high either due to misinformation or no information at all about the clearing cost  forcing disappointed importers to abandon vehicles at the ports due to their inability to raise funds to clear their vehicles.

Many however believed that Kantanka cars which is produced locally in Ghana would have been cheaper for an average Ghanaian to purchase.

Yet the question is about what determines the inflated price of a kantanka car and the answer is simply put Government of Ghana.

Kantanka Automobile Showroom doors are always opened for you, Kindly come and make an order for free delivery, free After Sales Services, Free Registration of the vehicle at the DVLA, Three Years Warranty, Flexible Payment Plan and other amazing packages for you. Not Just Any Car, It's Our Car. Contact us Now: 0248307330 / 0242037429

Kantanka.net has it that, the price of Kantanka Mensah, a brand new 2.4 AT sedan car for example is as low as GHC115,000, the cheapest for everyone to afford. But to get you informed government is charging GHC25,000 as duty tax on every kantanka car purchased making it difficult for competition on the local market.

According to Kwadwo Safo jnr, Kantanka Automobile Ltd has sent letters to past and current governments about a simple tax waiver but proves futile.

Source: kantankaautomobile

What would have passed out as a bragging right for the Akufo-Addo government was on Wednesday, boycotted by senior ministers’ in-charge of the country’s security, as well as the top hierarchy of the Police administration, including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Appeatu.

Government three days ago, presented a total of 105 vehicles as part of retooling the Ghana Police Service to combat crime in the country, but there are fears that government, as well as the Police administration, would rather leave the cars to gather dust and rust, while the state finds money to settle its US$9.1 million indebtedness to Amalgamated Security Service Limited owned by one Joseph Kwabena Boateng-Aidoo.

The presentation of the car to the Police Service, was done by a jittery looking-Deputy Minister of Information with the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery and his Deputy, Henry Quartey, the Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, Bryan Acheampong, minister of State at the National Security and Brigadier General Emmanuel Okyere, National Security Advisor, staying away from the event.

The Director-General /Public Affairs Directorate, ACP David Senanu Eklu, who received the vehicles from Nana Dokua Asiamah-Adjei on behalf of the Police Administration at the Police Headquarters Operations in Accra, stated that the vehicles would be used as expected of the Service.

The Deputy Minister of Information, announced that 95 more of the vehicles would be arriving this evening, making a total of 200 vehicles for the Ghana Police service.

The 105 vehicles supplied made up of Toyota Corolla and Camry, The Herald is informed were part of the vehicles gotten from the renegotiated 43 specialized security cars bought for President Akufo-Addo, Vice-President Dr. Bawumia, their spouses and security details.

But strangely, both the Presidency and the Police Service, refused to take delivery of the cars until Wednesday, when the police did after a long battle between it and the suppliers, although same institution, had been complaining about lack of tools to fight crime.

The police cars since March this year, were left at the Tema Habour, because the government does not want to go near it.

Strangely, the 34 vehicles, including bullet proof ones some of which have been allotted to the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo and the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, have also been left at the car park of the National Security Secretariat popularly called Castle Annex or Blue Gate rusting away.

The cars, including Mercedes Benz saloon cars, arrived on a Global African Airlines cargo plane many months ago, but The Herald is informed that, the President was also yet to use any of them for his official duties.

In February this year, then-Minister of Information, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, explained to journalists at a press conference that the Akufo-Addo government renegotiated the terms of purchase of so

The Mahama administration upon agreement with the incoming Akufo-Addo government, ordered the bullet-proof cars at a cost of $9.1 million on January 3, 2017, days before handing over power after the 2016 polls. This was because conventionally a new President, hardly use the official vehicle used by his predecessor.

There was, however, a storm after the Akufo-Addo government refused to use the cars, following a public outcry because it had promised austerity measures. The deal was renegotiated with the police administration cars getting 200 cars to fight crime but strangely, they have refused to take the cars and use them.

It is not clear, whether the 105 police Toyata cars attracted demurrage at the Tema Habour and who pays for them.

At that press conference last year, Dr Abdul-Hamid said: “I hereby report to the Ghanaian people, through you, that government has accepted the VIP fleet, having come to the conclusion that: 1. Government is bound by the terms of the contract signed with Amalgamated Securities Limited.

“2. Abrogating the contract may incur significant liabilities for government. In doing so, government has, however, made sure to obtain maximum gain for the public purse and also for ensuring the security of the state”.

He said: “We have renegotiated the terms of the contract in the following manner: 1. We have reduced the number of vehicles ordered from 43 to 34, which is nine short of the original number. 2. In place of the nine, we have acquired 100 Toyota Corolla cars for use by the Police Service in line with our commitment to retool the Police Service to enable them play effectively, their role of protecting the Ghanaian people. 3. We have done all this with a total amount of 8.8 million United States Dollars”.

Dr. Hamid, explained that, with the risk of a judgement debt hanging over its head, government renegotiated with Amalgamated Securities Limited, purchasing only 34 of the initially agreed 43 cars, saving about three hundred thousand dollars in the process.

With the vehicle not in use, it is clear government might not pay Amalgamated Security Service Limned, thus landing itself in a lawsuit and huge judgment debt awarded the company.

Source: theheraldghana.com

Chief Executive Officer of Kantanka Automobile, Kwadwo Safo has revealed that the bad nature of road network in the country contributed to why the company was only in the production of four wheel drives.

He said his outfit is capable of producing smaller cars which can be used for commercial purposes such as Taxis and Uber.

“You can’t produce smaller cars whereas your roads are not of international standards, when we began we identified that our roads are bad” he told Kweku Owusu Adjei on Kasapa Fm.

Several others have advised that the company gets into production of relatively smaller cars such as the ones used for Uber and taxis in order to catch the market and also gain prominence in the Ghanaian market.

But according to Kwadwo Safo, although the company now produces smaller cars, they come with challenges and become vulnerable to bad roads.

“First of all, if we want to bring smaller vehicles onto the market it will break down early, secondly producing smaller cars are more difficult as compared to producing bigger ones and that is the truth.

“So we began from somewhere and what we were looking for we didn’t get. The company we were partnering with at that time to meet the international standard they didn’t have smaller cars and we had to work with them for a long time which necessitated the involvement of our Research and Development department before we were able to achieve that, so we now have smaller cars” he said.

The automobile firm has expressed concerns over what they believe is the hasty approach government has resorted to in signing the agreement for the establishment of an assembling plant of German car giant VW in Ghana.

In a statement Kantanka said although they are not against the coming of VW into the Ghanaian market, they hoped the government had attached speed and relevance to the numerous proposals that they have submitted to it like it did in the case of VW.

Source: kasapafmonline.com

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kantanka Automobile Company, Kwadwo Safo Jnr, has questioned the lack of loyalty and support from Africans for Africans businesses and African-made products.

“Why is it so difficult for Africans to support their own?” he tweeted.

He asked the question on Friday in reaction to a move by the government to allow German Automobile Company Volkswagen to set up a car assembly plant in Ghana.

At a joint press briefing held as part of the visit of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel to Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that there was an agreement between Volkswagen, the Government and a local company on the assembly plant.

“There are so many areas that our bilateral relationship has offered us, but the key part of it for me is the emphasis on investment and trade cooperation,” President Akufo-Addo said.

But Safo Jnr. who said his company is not scared of any competition the German automobile company may pose to them, only advised the Nana Akufo-Addo government to make policies that will grow Ghanaian industries and protect them.

“Mr. President. The only thing we need is good policies to protect the automobile industry and help grow our local industries. To anyone that thinks @KantankaAuto is scared of competition. We are not. I simply want better policies for our auto industry,” he added.

Source: citinewsroom.com

Local car producer Kantanka has said it has the capacity to produce 200 vehicles in a month if the demand is available.

The claim comes on the back of the news that German car manufacturer VW is to establish an assembling plant in Ghana. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel disclosed the move when she visited the Ghanaian president last week. The company is expected to begin operations in Ghana next year.

Kantanka has however raised concerns over what they say is the hasty approach of government towards the VW agreement.

“We want to state emphatically that we welcome the news of VW setting up a plant here in Ghana. We are not against it. We are aware there will be competition, as there has always been and this is going to give us the marginal propensity to work hard and achieve our long term goals for mother Ghana and Africa.

“However, we are of the view that government has hastily signed the agreement without broad stakeholder consultations.

“We are shocked to learn that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is part of this deal and want to question the Minister’s position in the promotion of trade and industry in Ghana vis-à-vis the local automotive industry,” the company said in a statement.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, the CEO of the Kantanka group Kwadwo Safo also dismissed claims that they do not have the capacity to produce in large quantities.

“We will keep pushing the Kantanka brand till we see our Presidents and Government officials riding in them. We can make about 200 vehicles a month. When demand is high, we increase production”.

He added that they have an order from some African countries for the supply of some 1000 vehicles.

“On my table now, I’m to supply about 1000 vehicles to some African Countries”.

Source:starrfmonline.com

The CEO of the Kantanka Group Kwadwo Safo has revealed that sales is picking up for the local firm contrary to views among Ghanaians.

He said despite the challenges confronting the firm, they sold more than 120 vehicles last year.

“Business is good. Last year was a great year for us. Within just two months last year, we sold 120 vehicles,” Safo told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday.

The automobile firm which has expressed concerns over government’s new deal with German Car Giant VW says they hope government will give them the same prominence they appear to be giving the Germans.

“We’ve been asking for a certain custom procedure code, tax policies to operate in this country, tax waiver and holidays and we’ve heard nothing and that made me a bit angry looking at some clauses in the VW MOU. We don’t import cars into this country, instead, we import certain components we need to put together to help in the assembling.

“I was a bit shocked when I heard the Trade Ministry was involved. We have been engaging the Trade Ministry for long but feedback has not been too good. Government has plans of engaging us again this week and we hope something good comes out of the meeting,” he said.

VW is set to begin operations in Ghana by next year. The deal was announced by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she visited President Akufo-Addo last week.

Source: starrfmonline.com