The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) have called on Parliament to reject a proposed bill from the Minister of Trade to be clothed with power to regulate the prices of cement on the Ghanaian market.
The said LI is to ensure uniformity and stability in cement prices nationwide.
In a statement signed by Mr. Samson Asaki Awingobit, the Executive Secretary of IEAG, it was indicated that the association, as advocates for a holistic trading environment both in the import and export sectors, finds the proposed Legislative Instrument by Mr. K.T. Hammond, the Minister of Trade threatening to the survival of cement manufacturing businesses in the country and also a cheap approach to short-changing the business sector.
“The IEAG believes that the proposed LI, if accepted and passed, will undermine fairness, transparency, and inclusive decision-making in the sector. Whereas it would also fail to address the complex issues driving cement price escalation, primarily the rapid depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the US dollar,” it stated.
The association added that Parliament must also note that the Trade Minister’s approach lacked collective engagement from stakeholders such as cement manufacturers and even the IEAG, whose inputs matter in such cases.
“It is quite worrying for the government to make such a unilateral decision, which will not only hurt the cement sector but also affect the cost of production that will be passed on to the consuming public.”
It therefore urged Parliament to judiciously reject such an LI and direct the sector minister to engage stakeholders to solicit collective input on how to address the price escalation of cement and the cedi depreciation, which has been partly blamed on the cement manufacturing sector.
