{"id":6675,"date":"2024-07-01T09:51:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T09:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=6675"},"modified":"2024-07-01T09:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T09:51:44","slug":"cement-kpebu-says-he-is-not-in-favour-of-the-l-i-although-he-wants-prices-to-drop-suggests-other-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=6675","title":{"rendered":"Cement: Kpebu says he is not in favour of the L.I. although he wants prices to drop; suggests other ways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has asked Trade Minister KT Hammond to meet and dialogue with producers of cement on the need to reduce their prices.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To him, dialogue is the best approach to achieve the objective of getting the prices reduced, not a law that will prosecute the producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kpebu told the Minister of Trade and Industry, KT Hammond to engage stakeholders in the cement manufacturing business on the Legislative Instrument (L.I) that is seeking to regulate the prices of cement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing lessons from Covid-19 era when prosecution for offenses of the Covid law came to an end after a few incarcerations, this L.I, if approved, will not yield any result in terms of prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have some sympathy for KT Hammond except that he is alone wolf, these are powerful businesses and they have several ways to fight you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey can go and sponsor your party and get you removed, these are big businesses. I am for a policy that will bring down the prices of goods and services. If it is possible to dialogue for prices to come down I am for it but if KT Hammond can step back, reorganize and engage them to do things in a manner that will bring it down we are for it,\u201d he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also commenting on the same issue, a professor at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo has observed that some people are arbitrarily increasing prices and are hiding under the cloak of economic difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described such persons as unpatriotic people milking Ghanaians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t allow unpatriotic people to continue that bogus claim of \u2018are you not in Ghana\u2019 to be inflicting hardships on Ghanaians let us not blame the politicians alone, sometimes we must blame ourselves,\u201d he also said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed \u201cPeople hide under the difficulty of the current situation to unnecessarily look for profit and that should be worrying to Ghanaians, that is unfair and unpatriotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the Cedi is depreciating and it must have an impact on the prices so be it but they should not hide behind the Cedi fall and hike prices<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should have a certain price control mechanism to control unpatriotic people but in doing so we shouldn\u2019t have KT Hammond to lead the charge such a major policy you don\u2019t engage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI admit that some are taking undue advantage of the situation. I favour some price control to ensure unpatriotic Ghanaians milk Ghanaians dry using the hardship for the Cedi to arbitrarily increase prices but it should come about as a result of some dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, the Executive Secretary of the  Cement<\/a> Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) Rev. Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah said that unfavorable economic conditions in Ghana are causing them to increase prices of  cement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stated that no  cement<\/a> producer is happy with increasing prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo cement manufacturer is happy with increasing prices. we do that because of an unfavorable economic situation,\u201d he said on the Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 29 that the rapid depreciation of the local currency has been impacting their operations, forcing them to raise the prices of cement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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