Nicholas Osei, widely known as ‘Prophet Kumchacha,’ and the Founder and Leader of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, has raised concerns about the reasoning behind imposing high import duties on cars.
The outspoken social commentator has criticized the senselessness of imposing substantial costs on imported vehicles, only for them to be auctioned at much lower prices.
During an interview on Cape Coast-based Property FM, Prophet Kumchacha expressed his frustration with the inhumane treatment being experienced by individuals dealing with port officials in such matters.
He lamented: “A Ghanaian can stay abroad for about 15 to 20 years to work very hard and out of that they use their earnings to ship some cars to Ghana but with each of the cars the cost of import duty alone is about GH¢100,000. If the person doesn’t get the funds to pay for the cost of import duty then the government will seize the cars and after government has seized the cars then they auction the cars very cheap.
“But it’s quite annoying and baffling that due to the heavy duty costs placed on the car for which the owner who stayed abroad to suffer was unable to pay for, the same car will be sold at a very cheap cost far less than the import duty imposed on the car,” he fumed.