Trade and Industry Minister K.T. Hammond has asserted that attempts to block the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) aimed at regulating cement pricing in the country will not succeed.

The L.I. was laid in Parliament on Tuesday, July 9, by the Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, but it has since faced strong opposition from cement manufacturers.

At a stakeholder meeting with the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, K.T. Hammond revealed that some persons were attempting to have the L. I blocked from maturing into law, warning that such plans would not materialise.

He insisted that the L. I was seeking to curb excessive profiteering by some cement manufacturers and also enhance transparency in the pricing of cement in the country.

“Those who are not happy with it, they themselves and their agents are going all over the place asking some leading Members of Parliament to ensure that it is blocked. It is an exercise in futility. You can’t do that. When it is laid, it is laid.

“What is important that I want you to take away from here is that the L.I does not seek to control prices. It doesn’t control. We can only continue to use the word regulation.

“I think we have taken some trouble to explain what we mean by regulation… to get the perfect balance between the two – the production end and the purchase end,” K.T Hammond said.