The Executive Secretary of the Vehicle and Assets Dealers Union of Ghana, Frank Atanley Kofigah, has entreated the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to prioritise checks on imported vehicles rather than focusing solely on revenue generation.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, August 26, Mr Kofigah said the recent discovery of about 100 stolen cars from the United States in the country highlights serious lapses at the ports.
“The Customs should be up to their task; Preventive should be up to their task. They shouldn’t only think about revenue; they shouldn’t only think about the fact that the duties will come in and they will increase revenue and will be able to meet their targets,” he said.
He believes such measures will be critical towards dealing with the car theft crimes.
“Now the consumers are suffering and the car dealers are being blamed, but the syndicates or the cartels that are doing this, you will not find them.”
He stressed that Customs, as the first point of verification, must ensure vehicles are thoroughly screened before clearance.
“What we are saying is that the Customs Divisions of the Ghana Revenue Authority are the gatekeepers to ensure that these (stolen) vehicles do not even get into this country in the first place because the theft did not happen on our grounds; it happened in a different jurisdiction.”
According to him, car dealers are not to blame for stolen vehicles entering the market since they rely on the legitimacy of Customs documentation.
“We as a Union cannot do that check; the only agency mandated with that oversight responsibility is the Customs; they have the system to check that these vehicles do not come into the country.”