A presidential staffer, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has urged cement producers and retailers to lower their prices in response to the announcement of a drop in transportation costs.
According to him, cement prices increased when the dollar was selling at about GH¢16, therefore, it should also reduce now that the dollar has reduced to about GH¢11.
In a tweet on May 16, 2023, Aboagye wrote “Dear @Ghacem_ltd, GPRTU has started doing the needful. Please follow suit and reduce your prices. The last time you increased cement prices astronomically, Dollar was 16cedis now it’s 11cedis.
“Fuel price was 24 cedis now it’s 11cedis. Fuel prices have come down consistently for 6 months. Dollar has come down and stabilised for 6 months. Transport prices have been reduced by 10%. Baby steps but positive sign. Clearly, there’s every reason to reduce the prices of cement,” he added.
Some retailers of GHACEM, Diamond, and Dangote cement vary the price of a bag of the product from GH¢77.00 to GH¢85.00 but the price of Dzata cement is a little cheaper.
On the other hand, transport operators have announced that transport fares will see a 10% reduction due to the decrease in fuel prices.
In a statement on Monday, May 15, they said “In line with the administrative arrangement on public transport fares, the road transport operators have reduced public transport fares by 10 percent to accommodate for the reduction in the price of petroleum products observed over the period.”
“We further request all operators, commuters, and the general public to kindly cooperate for the successful implementation of the new fares,” the statement concluded.