Cement manufacturers boycott meeting over media presence
A scheduled meeting between the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers and the Minister of Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, could not take place on Monday because the manufacturers decided to boycott the meeting over the presence of the media.
The meeting, intended to discuss the proposed Legislative Instrument aimed at regulating cement pricing, was supposed to be held behind closed doors according to the Chamber.
The manufacturers, therefore, objected to the presence of journalists, citing concerns about the sensitive nature of the discussions. The minister, however, insisted on having the media present, citing the need for transparency and accountability.
“I am not interested in doing things in the dark, they have failed to comply with all decisions taken in past meetings,” Mr Hammond said. The manufacturers, however, felt that the presence of the media would compromise the confidentiality of the meeting and, therefore, abandoned it.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Prof. Alex Dodoo, who is also the Chairman of the Cement Manufacturing Development Committee, yesterday met with representatives of the cement manufacturers, including CEOs of some top brands to address their concerns.
He assured them that although the LI was yesterday laid in Parliament, the committee would interrogate it.
Tussle
This latest development comes after months of disagreements between the Chamber and the sector ministry over the proposed Legislative Instrument. The manufacturers have expressed concerns that the instrument would undermine their businesses as it might fail to address the root causes of cement price escalation.
“The proposed L.I undermines fairness, transparency and inclusive decision-making, and fails to address the complex issues driving cement price escalation,” a statement issued by the Chamber last week stated.
Background
The minister has since his assumption of office, he had held series of engagement with some of the critical sectors and stakeholders, including cement manufacturers to ensure a predictable, transparent and a competitive sector.
“The ministry engaged the cement manufacturers on how to sanitise the sector leading to the Administrative Directive issued on September 13, 2023, to regulatory agencies, suspend until further notice, the granting or issuance of permits for the setting up of cement production plants and the bagging of cement,” a statement from the ministry stated.
Ultimately, the engagements with the manufacturers was to consider a unified pricing mechanism to keep cement prices at the same level across the country, like the Uniform Petroleum Pricing Formula (UPPF) is being done in the petroleum sector.