Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, has directed cement manufacturing companies to normalise prices and address the shortage of the commodity on the local market by Monday. Mr Mulenga has expressed concern with the high prices of cement in the country. He says it is worrying that the commodity is highly available for the export market at the expense of local consumers.
The media reports that speaking when he met officials from cement manufacturing companies in Lusaka today, Mr Mulenga said the government is pleased with high demand of cement both locally and internationally. He, however, said that while it is encouraging to see a demand in the commodity both internationally and locally, this should not lead to exorbitant pricing and shortage of cement on the local market. Mr Mulenga disclosed that President Hakainde Hichilema directed his Ministry to hold a meeting with cement manufacturers to find a common solution that will benefit the Zambian consumer.
Meanwhile, cement firms have pledged to work hard to quickly address cement shortages and pricing of the commodity. Speaking on behalf of the companies, Dangote Cement, General Manager for Sales and Marketing, Cassandra Mhone, said for both the short and long term, the firms will improve their production capacities. Ms Mhone assured that the companies will try to navigate around the challenges they are facing in terms of power supply for the plants based in Ndola.
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ZESCO Chief Operations Officer, Peter Chamfya, assured the firms that power shortages will be addressed for Dangote Cement and Zambezi Portland Cement plants in Ndola immediately, as premium customers will not be affected by load management. Chilanga Cement, Zambezi Portland, Sinoma Cement and Dangote Cement were all represented in the meeting.
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