Manufacturers of cement products could be liable to up to three years in jail if they flout certain provisions of the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) being proposed by the Minister for Trade and Industry, K.T Hammond.
This stiff penalty is contained in the proposed draft document the Trades Minister intends to present to the House.
This comes as the Trade Minster, K.T Hammond justifies his move to present the instrument in Parliament emphasising that stakeholders were consulted.
Speaking on News Night on Joy FM, Evans Mensah indicated the document is dubbed ‘The Ghana Standard Authority Pricing of Cement Regulations 2024‘.
“It sets what they call a maximum allowable retail price for cement, so call it a price ceiling beyond which no manufacturer can sell a bag of cement,” he told Emefa Apawu.
This is after the Executive Secretary of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) Rev. Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah insisted that this approach by the Minister to reduce prices is akin to putting the cart before the horse.
According to him, the manufacturers were not even consulted before this proposal and therefore have no idea about what the draft document entails.
“We don’t know anything about it. And with my common knowledge in legislative instruments, don’t you involve stakeholders before it gets to Parliament? Don’t you involve stakeholders in the process?” he quizzed on Tuesday.
But speaking to journalists today, K.T. Hammond noted that cement prices have been consistently escalating, and something must be done about it.
Fresh details tonight show that the Minister is putting his money where his mouth is.
Evans Mensah explained that the proposed legislation “is actually proposing stiff penalties for all manufacturers who violate the terms of the L.I. including up to three years in imprisonment.”
K.T. Hammond has already insisted that the L.I. is necessary to prevent a cartel of cement manufacturers from exploiting the public.
“At a point in time, we are not producing so much cement in the country. Now we have an installed capacity of over 11 million tons in the country. Our demand is nothing like 11 million, so it must be a very profitable enterprise.
“But I think it behooves those in responsible positions in authority to ensure that the good people of Ghana are not fleeced. I am not comfortable, I don’t believe that we’re getting good prizes for all that it’s worth,” he said.
The Trade Minister claimed that there is something fundamentally wrong with cement pricing in the country, emphasising that every sector of the economy requires cement.
Source: Joy News
