Member of Parliament for Bia East and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Richard Acheampong, has urged President Akufo-Addo to reconsider the appointment of the Minister for Trade and Industry.
KT Hammond, he said, has lost the trust and confidence of the sector, especially cement manufacturers the major stakeholder in the industry.
That fact, he said, is glaring in the refusal of cement manufacturers to meet the Minister over his attempt to introduce a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to control the price of cement.
Speaking to the media in Parliament on Tuesday, Richard Acheampong argued that the Minister does not have the acceptability of the industry and called on the president to reassess his appointments.
Acheampong stated, “The President must sit back and take a second look at it. This minister doesn’t fit in this office.”
He stressed the necessity of effective consultation and engagement with stakeholders, especially in addressing the escalating cement prices.
“The level at which the price of cement keeps going up is alarming. Engage the people, talk to them. You can even have an official meeting with a parliamentary select committee to get their input,” he said.
The Ranking member warned against hasty policy decisions and urged the Trade Minister to take his time and consult widely.
According to him, announcing policies without proper stakeholder engagement will only create confusion.
“For instance, if you plan to lay an L.I. but the community and members are not aware, you won’t get acceptability and it will create a lot of confusion.”
“We don’t have a controlled market; we are dealing with an open market system. The sources of importation of raw materials like clinker are different, and everything is quoted in dollars,” he stated.
He emphasized the instability of the cedi as a major issue and stressed the responsibility of the government to manage the forex adding, “But the government, the Bank of Ghana, and the Minister of Finance have all gone to sleep.”
He dismissed the notion of controlling prices through government intervention, arguing that such measures are outdated.
He said. “We can’t control cement prices because that era has gone. It was under the military regime that prices were controlled. Today, everything is charged at the port in dollars. If the cedi is not stable, who pays for differentials? You can’t control prices without addressing the underlying economic issues.”
Acheampong urged the government to prioritize fixing the cedi and stabilizing the economy saying, ” “Concentrate on fixing the cedi instead of trying to control prices.”
“Provide a stable rate at the port and give us a fixed rate for the whole year. Only then can we manage prices better,” he added.