The Ghana Cement Manufacturers Association (GCMA) has called on the government to regulate the importation of cement to protect the local cement industry from collapse.
According to the GCMA, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) has granted a permit to a Chinese firm to import 500,000 tonnes of cement without the approval of the Cement Monitoring Committee established by the government.
According to the association which comprises GHACEM Limited, Diamond Cement Ghana Limited, Aflao; Savanna Diamond Company Limited, Buipe and Western Diamond Cement Limited, Takoradi, such practices by the Ministry had resulted in unfair trade practices in the country.
Addressing the press in Tema, the Chairman of the GCMA, Dr George Dawson-Ahmoah, said: “From 2014 to date, Ghana has been witnessing the importation of cement mainly from China to compete with local manufacturers.”
He indicated that local manufacturers together offered direct employment to 3,000 people and indirect jobs to 10,000.
Dr Dawson-Ahmoah, therefore, observed that “the continuous swelling of cement imports will compel local manufacturers to scale down operations, and the negative economic consequences are obvious to all.”
The total average financial contributions in terms of direct and indirect taxes and duties paid to the government by local cement manufacturers stood at about GH¢700 million, he said.
“It is, therefore, mind-boggling to see the ascendancy of cement imports from China by SOL and Fujian, and from Korea and Nigeria by Dangote cement, despite persistent assurances that manufacturers have installed capacities to meet local demand,” Dr Dawson-Ahmoah stated.
He disclosed that “there is another cement factory coming up by the end of 2016 in the Free Zones enclave in Tema with a total capacity of one million tonnes per annum.”
The chairman further stated that “cement manufacturers condemn this illegal, disrespectful act which is injurious to the local cement industry. Apart from the minister’s disregard for the inherent procedural arrangement of regulations clearly spelt out in the L. I. 2240, we, the local cement manufacturers, maintain that this menace poses a setback and challenge to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Association of Ghana Industries promotion of made-in-Ghana products and the sustenance of thousands of jobs.
“We, the cement manufacturers, therefore, demand that the minister revokes this permit not because we are preventing competition but the manner in which it was issued violates the procedures as enshrined in the L.I”, Mr Ahmoah added.
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