By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Edward Hinga Sandi, and the team have made an on-the-spot check on businesses around Freetown and have closed some stores selling iron rods after he claimed the owners did not attend a meeting summoned. Sandi had gone out checking on stores selling iron rods and cement after concerns were raised about pricing.
According to the Minister, the Government made an initial charge of 10 percent tax to all dealers, noting that they made a further 5 percent deduction with the hope that dealers will see reason and reduce prices of their commodities. He said they made an initial visit to the dealers to ensure they discuss the details on how the deduction of taxes would have an impact on price, adding that they waited for them for quite some time and none of them showed up. “So we are here to ensure that all their facilities are shut down so that they will meet us in our offices to determine the prices of these commodities,’’ he said.
Sandi praised the cement dealers noting that the imported cement brought in by Macky that cost between ninety-six and ninety-seven thousand Leones has dropped to between eighty-six and eighty-eight thousand Leones. He said they had signed an MOU with Macky and he has assured of selling the wholesale cement for eighty-six thousand Leones.
On the retail pricing of the product, the minister stated: ‘’Cement in Freetown should be between ninety-five to one hundred thousand Leones, including transport and labour, and we are expecting the prices for the provinces to be one hundred and five thousand Leones at most’’.
He said LEOCEM cement price has gone down and that with a new management; they are now selling cement to those that had made orders during the old management, for between seventy and seventy-five thousand Leones. He said the retail price for LEOCEM cement should be between eighty-five thousand and ninety thousand Leones.
‘’I believe this achievement we have made as a ministry and government, should reflect and the people that have been purchasing these commodities at the time freights are up against should be able to get some respite. Iron rod dealers are proving to be difficult to handle, but the government has a law to deal with them, that is why we are closing down every dealer’s warehouse that fails to attend the meeting summoned by the ministry until they come to the ministry and determine the prices of their commodities,’’ Sandi affirmed.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (11/02/22)
