The Ministry of Trades and Industry’s controversial new Legislative Instrument (LI) seeking to regulate cement prices in Ghana continues to meet stiff opposition from stakeholders as the legality of the law has been questioned.
The Cement Industry players following the passage of the LI have been up in arms against the move by the Minister for Trade. Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe has downplayed the essence of the law in regulating prices claiming it is an affront to the Constitution of Ghana that calls for the determination of prices by market forces.
The latest to oppose this LI is the West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International, Lawyer Appiah Kusi Adomako. The Legal Practitioner is raising concerns over the legality of the LI considering the basis upon which the Ministry of Trade and Industry went to parliament.
Adomako Appiah explains that the Ghana Standard Authority Act upon which the LI was laid before parliament is flawed. The GSA Act, he says mandates the Ghana Standards Authority to oversee quality, technical specifications, and standards but to regulate prices.
“The legality of the LI is also an issue. When you look at the provisions in the GSA Act which mandates the Minister to go to parliament with an LI, the issue of pricing is not included within that subsection, I think section 80 of the GSA Act… Standard Authority is there for quality and technical specifications and standards, not pricing,” the legal practitioner explained.
The Director of the Consumer Protection Group is therefore urging the industry players to challenge the validity of the LI at the Supreme Court. He is optimistic that given the flawed basis of the LI, the Supreme Court will easily nullify the law.
He noted that “if people go to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court can easily nullify the whole LI that it is not rooted in law because the work of the Ghana Standard Authority does not include price regulation. The law itself is even wrong and I urge members of the industry to go to the Supreme Court to challenge its validity.”
Appiah Adomako is of the view that if the Minister is bent on protecting consumers and businesses in Ghana, the best approach should be through the consumer protection and fair trade practices laws which have been stalled for close to two decades.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, following the passage of the LI clarified that the regulation is to promote transparency within the cement industry.
With the average cost of cement reaching GH¢105 per bag, Hammond stressed that manufacturers must publish detailed ex-factory itemized bills of materials, ensuring fair pricing and adherence to quality standards. He acknowledged currency fluctuations affecting production costs but criticized the lack of transparency from manufacturers.
“Our goal is not to cap prices but to ensure fairness in how they are determined,” K. T. Hammond has clarified but stakeholders insist the LI is flawed.
