Kantanka’s Genius, For And From A Community
First published by Amara Jali
Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo and his son Safo Junior have come up with the greatest modern invention in the 21st century. They have created an engineless car that is strictly electric and solar powered.
Safo Junior said about the car: “The non-engine vehicle does not rely on a combustion engine to move, but an electric motor powered by rechargeable batteries. The batteries can be recharged with solar energy or electricity. As you drive the car on the road, it converts the energy from the sun into mechanical energy which powers the car.”
Cars have become so fundamental to our everyday lives, how horse travel transformed physical mobility in everyday societies. The only concern with previous cars is their immense damage to the environment. Car pollution through the burning of fossil fuels has adverse effects on the earth’s atmosphere, including perpetuating the problem of global warming. Kantanka’s electric and solar powered cars achieve the goal of being a useful form of transportation without devastating the environment.
The cars have other benefits to Ghanaians and the local community. Safo Junior said. “We do everything here. For the engineless car it is only the lights and the tire that were bought. Everything else from molding, among others, was done by our local people.”
Indeed the Kantanka is the first car to be completely designed and manufactured in Ghana. Some cars currently available on the commercial market include 4×4 pickup Kantanka Onatafuo, Otumfo SUV, and the Nkunimdie V8 SUV. Reminiscent of the Black stars, the Kantanka models have front grilles headlined with a star symbol. The people of Ghana nickname Apostle Dr Safo, the “Star of Africa.”
Multinational companies anxiously watch Kantanka’s progress. Safo Junior said: “We have had several offers from Asia and Europe, but we turn them down because we just want to stay in Africa and make sure that whatever we are doing here we’ll be able to achieve our dreams.”
The desire is similar to that of other nations that desire to wean their citizenry off of western consumption. Brazil makes and assembles Macropolo buses. India makes Mahindra vehicles. Now Kantanka brings a local brand to African car manufacturing.
The father-son team is certain of the safety, reliability, durability, and overall appeals of the vehicles. Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo made and tested the cars for years before going commercial. Safo also drives his own vehicles, which cannot be said of all car manufacturers.
The Kantanka company is devoted to keeping African families employed. At his massive complex at Gomoa Mpota in Ghana’s central region, more than 300 workers make more than one hundred cars per month. Young men between between the ages of 16 and 25 years assemble more than 1,500 parts for the car and spray the exterior. Employment will only increase as more cars are made and as Safo opens plants in other regions of Ghana, as well as in other African countries. Still other African industries can develop around making specialized parts, such as headlights, for Kantanka cars.
The company is also keen on having cars that are specially catered to serve the African market. This means at low, affordable prices that undercut the prices of imported vehicles, which are overpriced to begin with and also have a hefty duty attached at the port.
Moreover, Kantanka cars are acclimatized to the conditions of an African environment. The range of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are especially made for the warm temperatures and rugged terrain, so there is no question of whether the cars can navigate the local roads–they are built for them.
The state and the Ghanaian public are eager to buy products made from Ghana. Police are already driving Kantanka cars. The carmakers expect more Kantanka’s to join the roads with the release of commercial vehicles.
Safo and son, and other men, young and old, who work for the company prove that your brains can be well exercised without ever stepping foot in a colonial classroom. They have never been to school and still manage to build a dream car.
Using ones brains, talent, and hard work can lead to ingenuity. For Kantanka, this creativity cannot be imported, but only kindled from the mores of African lifestyle and culture.
Source: www.grandmotherafrica.comm