Ghana's Vice President Visits Zonda Tec Ghana Limited: Boosting Local Content Targets

• Ghana's Government is pushing for local content targets in the automotive industry.
• The Vice President challenged Zonda Tec Ghana Limited to identify components that could be manufactured locally.
• True industrialisation requires stronger local participation, including skills development and a strong local supply chain.
• The Government must ensure that training programmes and curricula are aligned with industry needs.

However, assembly alone is not enough; true industrialisation requires stronger local participation. This means developing skills, technology, suppliers, and supporting industries needed to produce more components locally.

Ghana's automotive industry is on the cusp of transformation, driven by the Government's push for local content targets. The visit to Zonda Tec Ghana Limited in Tema by Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang marked a significant milestone in this journey. The assembly yard was operating around the clock, demonstrating the potential of the 24-hour economy agenda to create jobs and business opportunities. However, assembly alone is not enough; true industrialisation requires stronger local participation. This means developing skills, technology, suppliers, and supporting industries needed to produce more components locally.

The Vice President's challenge to Zonda Tec Ghana Limited to identify at least one or two vehicle components that could be manufactured locally is a crucial step towards achieving this goal. The question remains: how much of the value created by Ghana's automotive industry will remain in Ghana? For too long, the country has relied on importing finished goods and assembling some products locally, celebrating the resulting activity as industrialisation. However, true industrialisation requires more than just assembly; it demands stronger local participation, including the development of a strong local supply chain.

The issue of skills is equally important in achieving Ghana's automotive industry goals. The Vice President's request for Zonda Tec to provide information on the skills it requires is a sensible starting point. However, this must be followed by deliberate action from the Government to ensure that such information feeds directly into training programmes and curricula. Young Ghanaians should be trained for the jobs being created in the automotive industry, rather than simply being equipped with certificates that have little connection with industry needs.

Lawyers and compliance officers should watch for the potential implications of the Government's push for local content targets in Ghana's automotive industry, including new regulatory requirements or incentives that may affect their clients' businesses.

Source: Original reporting via Ghanaian Times