Trade Minister KT Hammond has said that prior to the introduction of the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to regulate cement prices, he had engaged cement producers to reduce the prices. However, he said, the producers failed to heed his encouragement hence the introduction of the L.I. which will compel them to do so. Speaking to journalists
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Trade Minister KT Hammond has said that prior to the introduction of the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to regulate cement prices, he had engaged cement producers to reduce the prices.
However, he said, the producers failed to heed his encouragement hence the introduction of the L.I. which will compel them to do so.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Wednesday, June 26, he said “I asked them to ensure that something was done about it. In my absence, I was told that the minister wasn’t going to be able to do anything. They would not listen, they wouldn’t do it, and they would go the way they want. Well, I have only one other avenue, encouraging them to do it is moral persuasion, if moral persuasion fails there is a system in the country, there is a constitution, and we all operate by the rule of law so if the constitution mandates me to bring LI, I will ring the LI to ensure that somebody abides by some economic principle.
“If we don’t accept the moral principle, at least some sort of economic principle, the good people of Ghana must benefit. I don’t think it is fair for the way they are pricing and the way, haphazardly each one of them decides and dictates how much a bag of cement should be sold for.
“This is quite apart from the quality that they are producing. Some of the companies are producing substandard products. We have had to deal with this matter,” he said.
His comments come after the Executive Secretary of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) Rev. Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah said that Mr K T Hammond did not engage them the Legislative Instrument.
“Why is the Minister avoiding or just running away from this discussion? Previously, our position has been that these prices of cement, the increase of prices of cement, it is not done in a vacuum. It is not done just because we wake up in the morning and do it,” he said.
For him, the increasing prices of cement can be attributed to the fall of the Cedi against the dollar.
There must be some sanity in the system – KT Hammond justifies L.I. to regulate cement prices
“It is as a result of a negative trend in the economy, which is warranting such increases, and that is the issue. And like I said, what is happening now with cement prices is just because of the rapid and consistent depreciation of the cedi against the foreign currencies.
“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.
An attempt to lay the document in Parliament on Tuesday, June 26, was blocked by the Minority.
The opposition lawmakers insisted the L.I. must first be discussed.
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