TEMA, Ghana, 15th September: President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government will introduce a local content threshold for vehicle manufacturers seeking to benefit from VAT exemptions under Ghana’s automotive assembly incentives.
He said the move is intended to prevent companies from importing fully built vehicles, carrying out minimal work locally and presenting them as locally assembled products.
President Mahama disclosed this on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, when he commissioned Phase Three of the Zonda Tec Ghana Limited Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tema.
According to the President, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry are finalising discussions on incentives for semi-knockdown (SKD) automotive assembly.
He said a percentage threshold would be established to determine the level of local assembly and production manufacturers must achieve before qualifying for the VAT exemption.
“When Madam Zonda spoke, she referred to semi knockdown assembly and the incentives for assembling locally,” President Mahama said.
“I wish to inform you that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry are finalising discussions on incentives for semi knockdown automotive assembly.”
The President stressed that the incentive regime must reward genuine local manufacturing rather than companies that merely undertake superficial assembly activities.
“We do not want companies bringing in fully built vehicles, removing only the steering wheel and tyres, and claiming they assembled them in Ghana,” he said.
President Mahama said the Minister for Finance would announce the details of the new incentive in the forthcoming national budget.
He explained that the policy is part of government’s broader objective of deepening local value addition within Ghana’s automotive industry.
The President said Ghana must move beyond simply assembling imported components and progressively develop the capacity to manufacture key automotive parts locally.
According to President Mahama, increasing local production of such components would strengthen domestic supply chains, create jobs and retain more value within Ghana’s economy.
He therefore urged Zonda Tec and other automotive manufacturers to invest in local component production and develop partnerships with Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises.
The President said the government’s objective is to establish Ghana as the automotive manufacturing hub of West Africa, with the country’s position as host of the African Continental Free Trade Area headquarters providing an additional strategic advantage.
President Mahama said the government expected industry to reciprocate the support provided through incentives by increasing localisation, transferring technology, developing Ghanaian suppliers and using Ghana as a manufacturing base for exports.
He said the automotive industry would form an important part of Ghana’s broader industrialisation agenda and the 24-Hour Economy Programme.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭