Players in Ghana’s real estate sector argue that the recently enacted legislative instrument on cement price regulation has failed to address the surging cost of building materials, including cement. Passed into law on 5 September, 2024, the legislation aimed to stabilise prices and provide relief to developers. Stakeholders are claiming prices have continued to escalate, doubting the effectiveness of the law.
Initially, the instrument proposed requiring manufacturers to seek government approval before setting prices, but this provision was removed following intense opposition from manufacturers and sections of the public. It was enacted despite such resistance after 21 parliamentary sittings. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has assured Ghanaians that the legislation will reduce cement prices nationwide. However, the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has expressed dissatisfaction with the law’s implementation.
Executive Secretary of GREDA, Samuel Amegayibor, voiced concerns on 21 November: “Since the LI on cement was passed, so far as we the users of cement are concerned, we haven’t seen anything different. Prices have gone up even from the day it was launched, it has gone up further. So far as we’re concerned and with our earlier interactions with the manufacturers, nothing is happening, it’s as if no LI has been passed at all. We’re just doing business as usual, maybe it will take effect from a specific date the minister intends to announce, but we are not sure. We thought that so far as his last statement was made, the assumption is that it will take effect immediately. So far we’re concerned with the manufactures, wholesalers and dealers, they have some responsibility per the LI.”
