Displaying items by tag: Cement Monitoring Committee

Ghana: The Ministry of Trade and Industry has responded to calls by the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) that it stop imports of cement by saying that the CMA has misrepresented the role of the Cement Monitoring Committee (CMC) and the process of the licensing regime. The CMA took exception to the issuance of permits by the ministry to three foreign cement producers given that they say the country has a surplus of cement, according to the Ghanaian Chronicle newspaper.

In a statement the Ministry of Trade said no authority or mandate has been given to the CMC to instruct or direct the Minister on which firms should be awarded a license and what that company's specific annual imports should be. It added that the CMC's role is intended to give the ministry and all stakeholders access to relevant information and data for the effective implementation of the relevant legislation. It said that the law does not place a ban on imported cement but rather provides a mechanism, rules and procedures for controlling imports.

It went on to explain that the major reason for granting China’s Fujian Cement a licence to import cement into Ghana was because it was building a cement plant in the country and that the company was attempting to establish itself in the market ahead of local production. Fujian Cement originally asked the ministry to import 1.5Mt/yr of cement into the country but this was restricted to 0.5Mt/yr. The ministry also reinforced that it had not granted any import licenses to Dangote Cement and Sol Cement, the companies accused by the CMA of importing cement.