The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has assured trade groups that he will scrap the proposed mandatory Pre-shipment Verification and Inspection policy for imported used vehicles if he wins the 2028 presidential election.
The proposed policy, which has been suspended, sought to introduce an importation certificate fee of about $300 for used vehicles brought into Ghana.
The measure was intended to form part of the requirements governing the importation of such vehicles, but it has attracted opposition from sections of the business community over concerns about its potential financial implications for importers and consumers.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee, Michael Okyere Baafi, disclosed Bawumia’s assurance after an engagement between the NPP flagbearer and members of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA).
Okyere Baafi said the NPP considers the proposed inspection regime unnecessary and has committed to abandoning it entirely should the party return to power after the 2028 general elections.
He suggested that the policy could be reintroduced at a later date, making it necessary for the NPP to state its position on the matter ahead of the next general elections.
“After the Minority’s pressure on them, they suspended the policy. The suspension means that they will likely reintroduce the policy, but the good news is that Dr. Bawumia met the GUTA people over the last three days and told them that he will scrap the policy outright when he wins the elections in 2028. The policy will not come back when the NPP assumes office.
“Where are they going to get money to even pay import duties when they come? The final consumer is now going to suffer because all this cost will be transferred to the consumer when you buy the car, and that is the problem we are raising.”
Source:Fiilafmonline/CitiNews
