Ghana begins to locally manufacture its own bullion vans to combat robbery

The first four vehicles that DIHOC- KE­NAKI Manufacturing Company Limited (DIKMAC) equipped at its armored vehicle assembling facility at Burma Camp in Accra are now prepared for usage.

The Defence Industries Holding Company Limited (DIHOC), a private business arm of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and Kenaki Manufacturing Company Limited have formed a joint venture company (JVC) called DIKMAC.

This was discovered on Wednesday when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Ado examined the cars as part of the handing-over ceremonies for the GAF’s 2022 end-of-year gathering.

The armored vehicles would soon be on the roads, according to DIKMAC Managing Director Kenneth Akibate, who told the Ghanaian Times that already, a bank had made arrangements to purchase one.

“The exigency of finding a solution to attacks on bullion vans by armed robbers led to the necessary interven­tion to assemble here in this plant locally Armoured Bullion Vans to help protect lives of the police escorts, bank workers and also safeguard cash and other valuables in transit,” the managing director commented.

A police officer who was on duty was killed in one of the bullion van assaults that have occurred over the past three years, and several other people have been hurt.

Through its networks, the Kenaki team, according to Mr. Akibate, was able to get technical support for the plant’s establishment from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the country’s largest state-owned defense industrial complex.

According to him, DIKMAC, with the cooperation of the GAF, provided a solution to address the CIT difficulty facing the Banking industry in Ghana when the issue of armed attacks on bullion vehicles turned into a national catastrophe in 2021.

In addition, he noted that DIKMAC was prepared to retrofit “soft-skin” CIT vehicles for current CIT Companies in accordance with the Armoring requirements of the Bank of Ghana. He said that the CIT trucks would be accompanied by a control center that monitors and tracks them across the nation.

According to Mr. Akibate, multiple stakeholder interactions, including those with the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Police Service, and Ghana Association of Bankers, resulted in the Armed Forces Council endorsing the DIKMAC’s CIT.

According to Brigadier General William Agyapong, Director General of Defence Industries Limited, the plan is a part of attempts to make the Forces self-sufficient since it has the goodwill, people resources, and technological know-how to make that happen.