GM and Africa

General Motors, in a tailspin of financial misdeeds and morality officially told the Kenyan government that anyone importing second-hand cars are ripping them off by under-valuing imports.
The senior General Motors official said further that besides denying the Government revenue, under-valuation also created unfair market competition.
"From the perspective of a vehicle manufacturer, the implementation of tariffs on used motor vehicles — mitumba — has many inconsistencies that can defeat their purpose," said Maureen Kempstone, head of GM operations in Africa and Latin America.
"Under-valuation, in particular, works against the objectives of the policies that have been put in place."
Things have been working out in Kenya where a scarcity of motor vehicles has led to shortages of food and medicine throughout the country.
As Kenya continues to grow and General Motors continues to shrink GM has tended to do what most bullies do – try to push the little guys around.
Kempstone’s remarks are typical of GM. In order to squeeze a few coins from the third world Kempstone brought the boot down on free trade in East Africa.
She said GM won’t advise the banning of used-car imports but wants the Government to level the playing field.
"We are concerned with the unconstrained importation of substandard, undervalued used products that hurt the environment, undermine local industries-and more often than not, fail to meet the needs and expectations of the consumer," she said.
Too bad they didn’t feel that way when they were advocating NAFTA and preparing to undermine the American economy.