Following the announcement of Cimenterie de Lukala (Cilu) earlier this week that it plans to close due to “unfair competition”, the governor of Kongo-Central, Jacques Mbadu Nsitu, is considering a new tax on grey cement imports.

He ordered his government to draw up the required legislation which is expected to protect locally-produced cement. At present, the price of a bag of cement in Matadi is between US$7-7.50 for Cilu product while in the border town of Lufu, imported cement trades between US$4.50-5.