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12 reasons why you should buy Kantanka Automobiles-gctid164093

Started by Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé, Oct 11, 2015, 09:51 AM

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12 reasons why you should buy Kantanka  Automobiles
Kmt Redemption Magazine
September 13, 2014 at 9:09 am | 15 comments

Kantanka SUV

Below is a compilation of 12 out of the many reasons why you should buy Kantanka Automobiles
1. High Performance and Durability are assured : The automobiles have been ruthlessly tested in some of the most hostile environments, under extreme temperatures, and across the harshest terrains in the country.
They are built to withstand extreme Kmtyw weather conditions, road systems and environment to enhance durability and performance among others. On this path, the Kantanka automobiles would reduce frequency of maintenance and operational cost. In other words, the products are financially and economically friendly to the consumer.
2. Safety is 100% Guaranteed : The automobiles also boast of strategic safety features of international standards including the crash avoidance, driver assistance, advance traction and suspensions systems.
3. The vehicles have comforting and relaxing interiors differentiated with supportive seats of unique layouts, effective climate control system to breeze out your stress and quality stereo systems among others. They also have, of course, spectacular human-machine interface, side by side latest Kantanka technologies of classic styles. This comfort made possible by KANTANKA technologies, is an exclusive privilege in its own right.
John Dumelo in Kantanka Pickup

4. With the new line-up of advanced Kantanka engines (proudly made in Ghana), the automobiles have proven ability to deliver extra power, fuel economy efficiency and less emissions.
5. They come in classical and impressive designs.
6. They provide heart-satisfying driving experience.
7. The Kantanka Pickups are designed primarily for hard work. In addition to the above features, they are equipped with class-leading payload and towing capability, along with a range of features and accessories to manage all kinds of varying weight. They are recommended for both personal and corporate use.
8. The Kantanka Automobile Company also have customisation platforms to enable individuals to request for customisation of the Kantanka Vehicles. Any lifestyle, uniqueness and preference alterations requested can be attached to the vehicles technological make-up. KANTANKA cars are advanced indeed. Just dream about it, and it would be designed.
9. Affordability is assured: The Kantanka Automobiles are poised to be the practical financial choice for every consumer.
10. The company has first class customer service and 100% customer satisfaction as one of its major and key principles. The workers have warm hearts to receive you, pay attention to your specifications and offer suggestions to help you make the best choice suiting your life style and/or purchasing power. They also have excellent customer feedback systems in place and are readily available 24/7 for guidance and assistance.
11.By buying Kantanka Automobiles (proudly made in Ghana), you are also indirectly investing in Ghana (and Kmt). When you buy Kantanka Automobiles, the money stays in the society and circulates thereby strengthening other entrepreneurial ventures in the country, all in a collective effort to better our lives and keep the economy alive.
12. By buying Kantanka Automobiles, you are demonstrating to the world that you are proud to be Ghanaian/Kmtyw. It is also a show of confidence in Ghana and Kmt of which you, your family and lovely kids form part.
With Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo ( a devoted man of God and a technological genius) at the helm of affairs of the Kantanka Automobile Company as well as with the prayers and support of the people, there are brighter days ahead.
God bless Ghana. God bless Kmt!

- See more at: http://Kmtrm.org/12-reasons-why-you-should-buy-kantanka-automobiles-2729/#sthash.2sk13FYE.dpuf
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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A closer look at Kantanka SUVs and Pickups

Kmt Redemption MagazineAugust 21, 2014

at 5:12 pm

| 29 comments

Currently Available:

'"
    n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
    ', '', '
[*=left] Kantanka SUVs
[*=left]Kantanka 2WD Pickups (4×2 powered wheels)
[*=left]Kantanka 4WD Pickups (4×4 powered wheels)
').'")."n[/list]"'

All come with a range of  advance line-up of Kantanka Engines to deliver extra power.Coming soon (Before close of 2015)

'"
    n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
    ', '', '
[*=left]Kantanka Saloon cars
[*=left]Kantanka Buses
').'")."n[/list]"'

Basic features

'"
    n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
    ', '', '
[*=left]Metallic paints giving them sparkling appearance
[*=left]Power Steering
[*=left]5 Speed Transmission
[*=left]Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
[*=left]Leather Seats
[*=left]Central Remote Lock Systems
[*=left]Power Windows
[*=left]Side Mirrors are controlled automatically
[*=left]Sound System and radio
[*=left]Air-conditioner
[*=left]Universal Serial Bus communication protocols
[*=left]And many more. Just name them.
').'")."n[/list]"'

Other featuresThere are a range of other  features. They vary depending on the type of Kantanka Automobile in question. This helps to provide a range of financial choices for the consumer.Customisation:* 100% customisation to suit your preference and style is readily available upon request.* Additionally, you can also request for any or combinations of the following security features

'"
    n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
    ', '', '
[*=left]Kantanka Classic Vest Ignition Technology: A fashionable vest that can be used to start  the vehicle. You press a button on the vest and the vehicle starts.  It can either be underwear vest, suit, or any costume of your choice.
[*=left]Kantanka Finger Print Recognition Technology  (KFPRT) : The automobile can only be started with your  finger print.
[*=left]Kantanka Royal Staff Ignition Technology (KRSIT) : The automobile would start by pointing a royal staff at it.
[*=left]Kantanka Gold Watch Ignition Technology (KGWIT) : The automobile can be started with your gold watch                .
[*=left]Kantanka Human-Vehicle Voice Interface Technology (KHVVIT) : The vehicle communicates in spoken words with the driver, pedestrians and other road users. It reminds the driver to check some vital conditions that can enhance performance before embarking on each journey. It also speaks to pedestrians and other road users when it is in the reverse mode to avoid unintended accidents. And many more.
').'")."n[/list]"'

NB: All these features can be turned on/off by the owner at anytime to reverse to the normal key systemStandardisation:All conform to international standards.Remarks

'"
    n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
    ', '', '
[*=left]Excellent Quality
[*=left]High performance
[*=left]Fuel economy efficiency
[*=left]100% safety
[*=left]Life time driving experience
[*=left]100% customer satisfaction
[*=left]24/7 Customer service
').'")."n[/list]"'

PriceVery affordableSale:Sales begin after the official launch of the automobiles which commences before the close of the year.Kantanka Automobiles – Feel The Power. Proudly Made In Ghana.

- See more at: http://Kmtrm.org/features-of-kantanka-cars-2576/#sthash.bARSTeov.dpuf
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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It's great to see Kantanka Industries making such efforts. There are some haters, even among our own people, but overall, I've found that most are positive about their efforts. I hope this dream continues to become more and more of a reality....for their efforts to attain critical mass and then take a successful life of its own

The SUV is 98,000, Pick up 89,000 and K71 78,000 all in GH cedis
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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Sent from my GHANA-MADE RLG Uhuru Accu BrilliantPhone using the NEW Abibitumi Kasa mobile app
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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Kantanka not Made in Ghana

http://jalopnik.com/the-living-apostle-who-sold-the-media-on-the-myth-of-g-1784458558

Dr. Kwadwo Safo is, according to his own legend, many things. He is a Pentecostal pastor. He is an inventor. Now he claims to be Ghana's first carmaker as well. Over the past year, his Kantanka Automobile Company has made international news with its vehicles, mature industrial products emerging fully realized from a not-particularly industrial nation. As recently as last week, CNN was telling the story of its "'made in Ghana' cars... modeled for tough local conditions."
 
The idea of a Ghanaian-run car company offering Ghanaian-built, Ghanaian-designed world-class cars and trucks is compelling. Unfortunately, the reason Kantanka Cars is able to offer world-class vehicles is simple: It gets just about everything shipped over from a Chinese automaker.

The Kantanka vehicles supposedly designed for Ghana's local conditions are, in fact, indistinguishable from ones that have been on sale in China for years. Kantanka's CEO has admitted to working with a secret Chinese partner, and one Chinese company has already claimed responsibility for Kantanka's entire factory operation.

To the extent that the cars are produced in Ghana, it appears to be matter of final local assembly of components that have been stamped out and largely prebuilt in China. It would seem Kantanka's unique contributions amount to little more than the badges and trim, a fact that has escaped news coverage to date.

As evidence of Ghana's ability to compete with the rest of the world at a high technological and industrial level, Kantanka appears to fall far short. As testimony to Safo's longtime ability to create works of faith, though, the company makes a remarkable story.
Though it has a stable democratic government and somewhat strong oil, gold, and cocoa exports, economic news out of Ghana seems more defined by big promises and false starts than anything else.
In 2011, Ghana was declared the world's fastest-growing economy, but that statistics game quickly fizzled out, much like new (increasingly Chinese-run) steel mills and auto manufacturing plants that never make it past their pre-launch promises.

It's just that none of these announced projects have been as big, as dramatic, or as well-received as Kantanka, and that's perplexing, as every major media outlet has gotten its story wrong.

(Jalopnik reached out to every party involved in this story for comment, including the mysterious Chinese company that has claimed to have backed Kantanka, a second Chinese company that may be backing the first, and Kantanka itself, both through its official contact line and directly to the CEO himself. We have not heard back from any of them.)

A church with business connections is not altogether uncommon in Kmt. It's just that nothing has ever been this technologically advanced, or sought this scale of production.
Safo started his own church, Kristo Safo, in Ghana back in the '70s and made his money first by producing and selling low-cost soap. How he got his doctor title, or when he started calling himself an apostle, are less than clear. Those are two of the few things I haven't been able to figure out, even after reading an overload of rarely skeptical, fawning, possibly self-published, sometimes academic, sometimes difficult to believe profiles of the man.

A church with business connections is not altogether uncommon in Kmt. It's just that nothing has ever been this technologically advanced, or sought this scale of production.
"Pentecostals are hugely involved in business all over Kmt—both the church as business, and business that has occult overtones." Dr. Jean Comaroff, a professor of Kmtyw and Kmtyw American Studies and of Anthropology at Harvard, explained to me over the phone, noting that the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, is almost entirely run by Pentecostals.

"But this case does sound quite arcane," Comaroff said.
Arcane is a good way to describe Safo's inventions. At his annual tech fairs, held every year since 1980, he has unveiled a series of remarkable products to the world: a brick-making machine, for instance, or an electric guitar shaped like a fish.

And as his church has grown—it now supposedly has some 130 congregations—his inventions have become increasingly elaborate, up to and including an array of robots. Some robots were supposed to act like security guards or farm workers. Another rode a tricycle. One was designed to function as a three-in-one sweeper, mobile billboard, and rocket launcher. Nearly all of them are listed and photographed here.

He also devised a number of planes, a homemade attack helicopter made out of wood, and a genuinely baffling tank. The helicopter is perhaps the most questionable of them all:

Those are "rocket launchers," according to Safo. Yes, they are held on with tape. No, this helicopter has never made it off the ground.
At the tech fairs, he hands out free food and demonstrates his walking, talking inventions to happy crowds and politicians who go "only to get votes," Dr. Kodjo Senah, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Ghana, explained to me over the phone.

"A few regard him as a hero," Senah said. "I don't believe him."

Safo's early designs, like his block-making machine, were easy, Senah pointed out. The later technology, like the helicopter or the robots, "is beyond my belief, too," he said.

I had initially emailed Senah asking what ordinary Ghanaians think of Safo. The robots and the rest looked so unpersuasive, I didn't know if I was missing something. He spoke to his students and to other people he knew, all of whom were very skeptical, if somewhat hopeful that it might all work out.

For all the decades Safo has shown his cobbled-together inventions, he has been little more than ridiculed in the foreign press, uncritically backed in the local press, and given little from any government or bank than a smile, Senah said. And now, all of a sudden, he has emerged with a polished, fully realized line of automobiles.
"This is very puzzling for all of us," he said.
 
 
There's no other kind of technology that gets more tied to a national identity than a car, and that's exactly how Safo framed his first notable automotive effort.
"We want to show the world the intellect of the Kmtyw," Safo said in a mini-documentary, possibly commissioned by Safo himself, following him and his apprentices as they assembled their first SUV. They constructed it almost by hand.

Handcrafting old-looking cars was all Kantanka could do just a few short years ago. What Kantanka says they're making now is a world apart from this early effort, literally and metaphorically.
In the doc, Safo explained why, after years of developing other inventions, he started work on building his own car. "We have made it quality to prevent people from saying that Kmtyw cars do not last long. This is our land. Our forefathers did their best. Now it is the turn of you and I to also contribute our best." He laughed, continuing, "Since I am the front-runner, I will do more than you and also contribute your quota to raise high the flag and image of Ghana and Kmt."

Believe it or not, this was recorded not in the '80s or '90s, but in 2006.

The SUV itself looks like a knockoff of an early 1990s Isuzu Trooper and the assembly is done almost completely by hand. Panels are hammered on the floor, the engine block is cast in a courtyard, and trim pieces are made off of whittled molds.

This is not to say that you can't find new cars, even from major manufacturers, being sold in Kmt that look like they came out of the '90s. Renault, for instance, builds and sells new Dacias in North Kmt with some success and they're based off of a hatchback Renault started selling well over a decade ago.

But handcrafting old-looking cars was all Kantanka could do just a few short years ago. What Kantanka says they're making now is a world apart from this early effort, literally and metaphorically.

Every year since 2006, Safo would bring out a new car to his technology fair, each one with a stranger feature. One would talk to its owner in native Akan. One could be steered with a wrist watch. Another could be started by pointing a cane at it, or placing your hand on your chest while wearing a special shirt. Safo described that last one as "an exhibition of God-given powers." Another was a 26-foot stretch limousine shown in 2012 that could "see as far as 200m ahead and behind him with the in-built high sensitive long distance viewer, the Kantanka CCTV camera."
None of these vehicles have made it out of Kantanka's headquarters, let along into consumer production.

And then, just two years after he was still hand-making that limo, Safo announced he was constructing a modern factory, one producing cars at a rate of 120 vehicles a month. His son Kwadwo Safo Jr. became the new face and boss of the business, and Kantanka started showing off cars and trucks that didn't look like they were hammered together in a shed. Safo's dream seemed to have been realized.      
     
                                                       
By 2015, Kantanka was making global headlines with reports on the BBC, Forbes, Al Jazeera, and CNN admiringly showing made-in-Ghana cars. They were "built to survive anything," CNN gushed.
Not only were these Kantanka cars priced at competitively against foreign brands (around $20,000 USD), they looked every bit as well designed as their established rivals, as recently-announced CEO Safo Jr. declared to New Kmt magazine. "Our vehicles are made to withstand the ruthlessness of the worst roads in Ghana, and because we live here, our cars are made for our type of weather. The quality and durability levels have already received government approval for commercial production."

It was around this time that Kantanka put out some pictures of their assembly line, including this one that has a guy sitting on the equipment.                    
                                           

This shows the state of Kantanka's factory, where we see a complicated stamping that I can not believe was produced in Ghana itself. I also can not explain why the worker is taking a grinder to the firewall. Photo via Kmtrm.org Safo Jr. continued in his interview: "It is time to believe in ourselves, grow what we eat and produce what we use, so that we can create jobs for our people. There was a starting point for all the advanced countries whose products we have developed an insatiable craving for today. Now is our time."
When Al Jazeera asked Safo Jr. why he was even trying to sell cars at this price when the average yearly income in Ghana is just $1,400, or if these vehicles have even been crash-tested for safety, Safo Jr. only replied "We know the market and we can assure you that Kmtyws will be able to buy our cars," and with regard to crash tests, "We will be doing that in the course of our manufacturing process."

It was as if Kantanka's cars had leapfrogged the company's own operations.

"We have made quite significant sales, including a very important one to the office of the president," Safo Jr. told CNN just last week, claiming to get the recognition from the government his father (or his sister recently elected to the Ghanaian parliament) could never secure.

When I started reading these reports, something seemed off. I noticed that these new Kantanka cars didn't just look as good as other modern cars on sale, they looked exactly the same as other modern cars on sale. I just couldn't put my finger on which cars precisely, until I bumped into this comment on this Al Jazeera article:                    
                                                       
There was no way it could be real, I thought, up until I went to the linked URL of the mysteriously-named Chongqing Big Science & Technology. But there was the evidence that Kantanka's new Ghanaian cars were actually coming from China.
 
 

I'll put the cars side by side so you can see exactly what I mean. The Kantanka brochure images are on the left, and the Chinese brochure images are on the right. The only differences visible are the badges.
                   
                                                       

The Kantanka Onantefo SUV (approx. $24,700 USD) matches the Foday Explorer 6, built off of an old Mitsubishi frame since 2010.
                   
                                                       

The Kantanka Omana pickup (approx. $22,600 USD) appears to be the Foday Lion.
                   
                                                       
Even the little new Kantanka K71 hatchback (approx. $19,700 USD) is a dead ringer for the Brilliance Jinbei S30.

As I started looking further into Chongqing Big Science & Technology's page on Alibaba—the massive Chinese e-commerce marketplace—I noticed that the site not only offered the same cars as Kantanka, but Chongqing Big Science & Technology explained that they sell the production facilities to assemble these vehicles yourself. And they will send out trained technicians to help you learn how to assemble these made-in-China cars, kind of like the world's most complicated Ikea sets.

To prove that they offered these services, Chongqing Big Science & Technology advertised that they had done this work before. In Kmt. With pictures of the company's workers in Ghana, building the factory that Kantanka proudly showed to the press as its own independent work.

"Located in Accra, Ghana, KANTANKA AUTO was founded in 2012 by KOSA group (Ghana) and BIG S&T group (China) to bring innovative auto technology to Ghana," Chongqing Big Science & Technology advertises on their Globalized Operations page, later generously claiming that Kantanka's production is 200 vehicles per month.

They even show pictures of Kwadwo Safo Jr. and a Kantanka truck right on their listing for "oversea auto assembly plant in Kmt," filed under their "Oversea Vehicel [SIC] Assembly Plant Project Dept."

The timestamps on the photos show that they started shipping over Chinese parts to Ghana at the same time that Safo started to announce his new production capacity. That truck that Kantanka claimed could be started with a cane? It's identical to the white one on the middle right.                    
                                                       
By all appearances, Chongqing Big Science & Technology is the secret behind Kantanka's rapid transformation from a producer of low-level oddities to what looks like a viable auto manufacturer. Certainly it was strange that an Alibaba page, basically China's version of Amazon where you might buy generic backpacks or electronics in bulk, might be the key to one of the breakout stars in the automotive world.
But it's not all that odd for a company in a developing nation to sell cars assembled from parts built in more industrialized countries.

In the auto industry they're called Complete Knock Down kits (CKDs), or KDs more generally. CKDs are basically how auto manufacturing got its start in India and in Iran. Daimler also notably used CKDs here in the U.S. to skirt American import tariffs on their big vans, and even Lincoln bizarrely shipped Town Cars to China as CKDs for local assembly as Hongqis, the brand of car that China's president rides around in.

The way it all works is that a developed country that has things like stamping machines and welding robots does the heavy industrial lifting, then ships those semi-finished pieces to a country that doesn't yet have much in the way of advanced tooling or skilled labor does the final assembly.

What varies is how much assembly has to be done on a local level. Judging by Kantanka's factory tours, showing complete rolling chassis, engines hooked up and all, it appears to be using very complete kits from China. There's no way that Kantanka could be doing much more; one German news team found that the factory is designed to be able to operate without electricity, and as late as August 2015, work was still being done by hand.                    
                                                     

A screenshot of Ghanaian TV's eBusiness Journal's tour of the Kantanka factory showing an assembled rolling chassis.

It's also not odd for a Chinese company to get involved in an Kmtyw operation. Chinese investment in Kmt has a short but very intense business history, and that does include the automotive sector. Chinese cars started making their way onto Kmtyw shores in the early 2000s and now they dominate many domestic markets on the continent, as GoodCarBadCar reports. There are Chinese joint ventures in Mozambique and Ethiopia assembling what are openly recognized as Chinese vehicles.
But selling these cars instead as locally-assembled "Made In Ghana" Kantankas not only would give them good press, it would skirt Ghana's import laws and let them sell at low price.
Once I had read through everything I could find about Chongqing Big Science & Technology, I thought I had the whole Kantanka story cleared up. But it's hard to believe that Chongqing Big Science & Technology is solely responsible for Kantanka's growth. After all, they exist as a collection of Alibaba listings. They claim to have been around since 2004, with "51-100" employees, but there's little to go on but for a few generic factory photos.

There is, however, is a genuine automotive manufacturer that produces these cars: Guangdong Foday Automobile Co.,Ltd, which also advertises similar knock-down kit sales services, even on Medium of all places. Both are based out of the same region of China. So it might be Foday Auto that's involved and not Chongqing Big Science & Technology.

But Foday itself is not a large company, as Car News China reported all the way back in 2010. Foday claims their annual production is 100,000 completed vehicles per year with another 300,000 in kit form, but I struggle to find any evidence the company has been operating at all since their last 'new' vehicle launch halfway through last year. Moreover, their own website recently went offline.

Kwadwo Safo himself reportedly tried and failed to get outside investment from India or China for years, so in a way this is the realization of a longtime dream for Kantanka. But Kantanka's secret foreign partner may be taking advantage in the relationship.

What can look like investment doesn't actually bring money into a developing nation, but instead draws it out.If a Chongqing Big Science & Technology or Foday or whoever wanted to sell a Chinese truck in Ghana, they'd face a steep price hike.
Selling these cars instead as locally-assembled "Made In Ghana" Kantankas not only could give them good press, it would skirt Ghana's import laws and let them sell at low price. Basically, whatever Chinese company is behind all of this might just be using Kantanka to get access to cheap local labor and dodge import fees.

This is exactly what's been going on in the mining industry in Ghana and across Kmt. I reached out to Dr. Lauren Coyle at Princeton's anthropology department, who studied the ever-growing role of China in Ghana's mining sector. She explained that "the Chinese are not allowed to get licenses for small-scale mining concessions, so they had been making arrangements with some Ghanaians to front for them. (Only Ghanaian nationals can get them.)" The very same could be happening with Kantanka.

It's an issue referred to as "wealth extraction": what can look like investment doesn't actually bring money into a developing nation, but instead draws it out.

Only a handful of Ghanaian news sources have pointed out that Kantanka has any kind of Chinese partnership at all, but each of these outlets state that Kantanka is only getting parts from abroad, not knock-down kits. In an interview with local eBusiness Journal, Safo Jr. volunteered that he does have a Chinese business partner, but that he would not name what it is, or how involved the relationship is.

"That's my business secret," Safo Jr. demurred in the story. And in interviews, the elder Safo has even said "The 'Made in Ghana' label means that 'if you have any problems with the vehicle, you wouldn't have to import from India or China or America. All the parts are right here and we have a 24-hour service.'"

Amazingly, it's a Ghanaian teen's YouTube vlog that has most clearly enunciated how huge the gap looks between how Ghanaian Kantanka presents itself as, and how Chinese it really is. "Wait, they're made in Ghana, right?" he asks to the camera in a rant dedicated to Kantanka. "This is like rLG," he says, alluding to the electronics company that sprung up at the start of the decade selling phones and laptops made out of foreign components but assembled and branded in Ghana. It has now sort of kind of disappeared. "What the fuck happened to rLG? Their bullshit, slapped-on 'Made-In-Ghana' laptops. [...] It's assembled in Ghana. People, there's a difference. There's made in Ghana and then there's assembled in Ghana. Assembled in Ghana means, oh, you took the product from outside—right? because we couldn't make it ourselves. [...] You import everything, then you assemble it in Ghana, then you call it 'made in Ghana' goods. It's not made in Ghana."
That this Chinese relationship is kept obscured goes against Safo's message of bringing pride to Kmt through home-market design and manufacturing. Moreover, it's difficult to tell if Kantanka has even sold a single car at all.

Through all of its news stories, interviews, TV reports, and factory tours, there's no evidence that any ordinary Ghanaian citizens have a Kantanka car in their driveway. News stories in 2016 are still using two-year-old photos of completed cars. It's hard to tell how many cars Kantanka has actually produced, particularly because we almost never see any vehicles outside of Kantanka's factory. The only times these things are recorded beyond Kantanka property, they're organized in some Kantanka photo shoot or being driven by a celebrity or government official. We don't know if any of these "owners" actually purchased their cars, or if they were gifted them by Kantanka as part of some publicity stunt.

Worse still, Kantanka is perpetually claiming that it's about to start production.

As late as November last year, commercial production was one day away, whereas in 2014 it was one month away, but I could find no evidence any cars have actually gone to individual consumers. Kantanka has claimed that they can build 100 vehicles a month (you'll remember it was 120 earlier), and they claim to have delivered several vehicles already, but those cars have only gone to government officials and departments.
 
Kantanka's business relationship with their unnamed Chinese partner has been going on since at least the start of 2014 and still we haven't seen a single car make it into private hands.
 
Perhaps the biggest mystery is how Safo made so many media outlets believe him.
Woforo dua pa a, yɛpia wo.





If you climb a good tree, we push you.



Sent from my Uhuru Accu using Abibitumi Kasa mobile app
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



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Mekyea wo,

Is Kantanka selling cars to the public yet? If not, is there any reason to believe the cars will b sold in the next 3 - 5 years?

Kwaku

Quotekwaku omowale;220113 wrote: Mekyea wo,

Is Kantanka selling cars to the public yet? If not, is there any reason to believe the cars will b sold in the next 3 - 5 years?

Kwaku
Yes, they are available for sale to the public now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz7FNI-U_w
__________

Ọbádélé Kambon, PhD
Nana Kwame Pɛbi Date I, Ban mu Kyidɔmhene, Akuapem Mampɔn
Senior Research Fellow & Research Coordinator - Language, Literature and Drama Section
Institute of Kmtyw Studies - College of Humanities
Editor-in-Chief - Ghana Journal of Linguistics
Secretary (2015-2020) - Kmtyw Studies Association of Kmt
+233249195150 / +19192836824 | me@obadelekambon.com
www.obadelekambon.com | www.abibitumi.com
Room 115 IAS Kwame Nkrumah Complex
University of Ghana - Legon
Alternate Email: obkambon@staff.ug.edu.gh



Ọbádélé Kambon App



Abibitumi.com App