Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) executive secretary, Muyunda Ililonga, has challenged Chilanga Cement to satisfy the demand for cement on the local market. And Chilanga Cement chief marketing manager Faisal Nanavat yesterday assured that the supply of cement on the retail market would remain stable. Ililonga said yesterday that the Copperbelt region has been experiencing a critical shortage of cement in the past one week. He said the price of the commodity was now in the region of K50,000 per 50-kilogramme pocket from the recommended retail price of K32,000. He also noted that the high price of cement resulting from the shortage was causing a lot of hardships for people as the cost of building houses had gone up.
"Cement is very vital for the economic development of the country. This vital commodity should therefore not be priced beyond the reach of the majority," he said. "Consumers are now fed up with the excuses by Chilanga Cement as they have been subjected to buying the product at exorbitant prices just because the company is failing to flood the market with cement."
On the measures undertaken by the Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) in collaboration with Chilanga Cement to mitigate the effects of current rehabilitation works at the company’s Chilanga plant, Ililonga said the interventions had not benefited all the consumers.
