Reduce taxes on cement to bring down prices, not an L.I – Dormaa West MP tells Trade Minister

by

KT
Hammond
is
the
Trade
Minister

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If
the
government
really
intends
to
ensure
a
reduction
in
prices
of
cement,
the
actual
step
to
take
is
to
reduce
the
taxes
on
cement,
not
an
introduction
of
a
Legislative
Instrument
(L.I),
Dormaa
West
Member
of
Parliament
Vincent
Oppong
Asamoah,
has
said.

He
says
that
there
are
other
factors
affecting
the
prices
of
cement,
such
as
the
exchange
rate, 
which
the
government
can’t
control
but
with
taxes,
the
government
has
absolute
control
over
them
and
can
decide
to
reduce
them.

To
him,
the
strength
of
the
Cedi
is
the
main
cause
of
the
increase
in
cement
prices.

To
that
end,
he
said
even
before
the
Legislative
Instrument
(LI)
to
regulate
cement
prices
came
to
parliament
all
stakeholders
should
have
been
done
to
identify
the
real
cause
of
the
problem.

The
Ranking
member
on
the
Committee
for
Works
and
Housing
has
said
as
important
stakeholders
in
this,
the
committee
was
not
involved.

“The
committee
that
regulates
trade,
the
committee
for
works
and
housing,
and
even
finance,
committees
should
have
been
tagged
before
this
L.I
came
to
parliament
but
we
didn’t
know
anything
about
it.
If
they
did
any
consultation
then
it
wasn’t
enough,”
he
told
Kemmini
Amanor
on
the
Ho
Issues
on
T3
Sunday,
July
7.

He
added
“If
the
government
will
be
able
to
reduce
its
own
taxes
on
cement
that
will
be
the
way
to
go
because
there
are
certain
things
you
can
control
but
others
you
cannot.
the
exchange
rate
at
the
moment
you
can’t
control
but
at
least
the
taxes
on
the
cement
you
can
control
it
and
the
moment
you
bring
it
to
parliament
we
will
pass
it
because
we
want
people
to
have
a
bit
of
relief

“We
still
have
over
1.5m
housing
units
that
Ghanaians
need
so
if
things
are
not
done
right
we
will
not
be
able
to
deliver
to
the
level
that
Ghanaians
are
looking
for.”

Apart
from
him,
the
cement
producers
also
said
they
were
not
consulted
on
the
L.I.

But
Trade
Minister
KT
Hammond
vehemently
dismissed
the
claims
by
the
cement
producers
that
they
were
not
consulted
on
the
legislative
Instrument
(LI)
to
regulate
cement
prices.

He
described
the
claim
as
a
palpable
falsehood.

Speaking
in
an
interview
with
TV3’s
Beatrice
Adu,
KT
Hammond
said
that
the
Executive
Secretary
of
the

 Cement
Manufacturers
Association
of
Ghana
(CMAG)
Rev.
Dr.
George
Dawson-Ahmoah 
“actually
gave
me
the
draft,
it
is
his
handiwork.”

He
added
“It
is
palpable
falsehood
that
I
hadn’t
consulted,
he
consistently
has
been
at
the
forefront
of
all
the
attempts.”

Rev.
Dr.
George
Dawson-Ahmoah,
while
indicating
that
they
were
not
consulted
also
said
that
unfavorable
economic
conditions
in
Ghana
are
causing
them
to
increase
prices
of
cement.


L.I.
to
regulate
cement
prices
laid

“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.

“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.

“No
cement
manufacturer
is
happy
with
increasing
prices.
We
do
that
because
of
an
unfavorable
economic
situation,”
he
said
on
the
Key
Points
on
TV3
on
Saturday,
June
29.

Rev.
Dr.
George
Dawson-Ahmoah
further
said
that
the
rapid
depreciation
of
the
local
currency
has
been
impacting
their
operations,
forcing
them
to
raise
the
prices
of
cement.

Clinker
which
is
a
major
component
of
cement
production,
is
imported
hence
the
depreciation
of
the
Cedi’s
impact
on
their
business,
he
said.

“It
has
a
huge
impact
on
the
pricing
of
cement.
There
are
other
factors
but
currently
this
is
a
major
concern
now
and
that
is
what
has
motivated
the
Minister
to
rush
to
parliament
to
regulate
prices.
Why
didn’t
he
do
it
last
year?”
He
asked.

Rev.
Dr.
George
Dawson-Ahmoah
had
told
Trade
Minister
K
T
Hammond
that
the
increasing
prices
of
cement
can
be
attributed
to
the
fall
of
the
Cedi
against
the
Dollar.

Rev
Dawson-Ahmoah
said
they
do
not
need
a
Legislative
Instrument
to
regulate
cement
prices.


There
must
be
some
sanity
in
the
system –
KT
Hammond
justifies
L.I.
to
regulate
cement
prices

But
KT
Hammond
told
journalists
in
Parliament
on
Wednesday,
June
26
that
he
had
engaged
them.

“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.
“Encouraging
them
to
do
it
is
a
moral
persuasion.
If
moral
persuasion
fails,
there
is
a
system
in
the
country,
there’s
a
constitution,
and
we
are
preyed
by
a
rule
of
law.
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.


Cement
prices:
It
behooves
on
us
in
authority
to
ensure
Ghanaians
aren’t
fleeced
–
Trade
Minister

“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.