A Socio-Economic History of Ghana’s Bonsa Tyre Company, 1963 to Contemporary Times

Abstract

The invention of the motor vehicle is one of the most amazing developments in human and mobility. By its design, tyres are critical to the mobility of a car. Motor vehicles were introduced to the Gold Coast during the early 1900s. They ushered in significant changes in the mobility of people and goods and in the provision of services in ways which had been previously unimagined. But while it became indispensable to social and economic development in the country, it came with several challenges, among which tyre shortage was crucial, particularly from the 1960s. This led to the manufacture of locally made tyres in Ghana as part of Ghana’s industrialization efforts. This work examines the development of Ghana’s first company, established to produce vehicle tyres locally. The establishment of the Bonsa Tyre Company, although started in the 1960s, is a part of the complex developments in the history and developments of motor transport, rubber cultivation, and industrialisation in Ghana. Using information from archival sources, newspapers and oral interviews, this work argues that regardless of its wavering performance, the Bonsa Tyre Company was not irrelevant; it was essential to Ghana’s socio-economic development. It played a pivotal role in Ghana’s transport history as a lifeline in sustaining Ghana’s motor transport system at the depths of its challenges from 1969 until it collapsed in the 2000s. The company's manufacture and distribution of locally manufactured tires was a crucial remedy to Ghana’s transportation challenges with tyre shortages until a substantial remedy was secured. Thus, Ghana’s transport could not have succeeded without the Bonsa Tyre Company. Again, it contributed to the economic and social progress of the Bonsa community, but the collapse of the Bonsa Tyre Company led to a severe socio-economic decline.