MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Mr. Manniram Prashad has appealed for the prices of cement to “come down” and be affordable for the benefit of the consuming public.

He made this call yesterday during a press briefing at his South Road, Georgetown office, reminding that the Attorney General dealt with the case concerning Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and the Government of Guyana at length.

Attorney General Charles Ramson last Friday said that Guyana is prepared to re-instate the Common External Tariff (CET) within 28 days and to pay two-thirds of the Trinidad Cement Limited Guyana Incorporated (TGI) court costs.

On April 3, TCL had filed an action in the Caribbean Court Justice (CCJ) against the Guyana Government seeking millions of dollars in damages for its failure to impose CET on cement imported from outside the region.

The CCJ application, filed by attorneys for TCL, claimed that Guyana violated the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) when it waived the CET on the extra-regional imports, giving an unfair advantage to extra-regional suppliers and local importers, to the detriment of the company.

After noting that Guyana is willing to abide by the Court order, Ramson said he has since consulted with Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett who will take the necessary steps after consultation with Cabinet.

President Bharrat Jagdeo had mentioned that TGI was taking advantage of the Guyanese market and his government had waived the CET to allow the importation of cement from outside the region in order to meet the shortfall in TCL’s supply.

Jagdeo said the shortages had led to skyrocketing cement prices, forcing Guyanese to pay more for the commodity.

Prashad yesterday noted, “At the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, through the Consumers Affairs Division, we have to monitor complaints on a daily basis and a significant amount of complaints were received about the price of cement; despite all that was said in the press, TCL price remains the most expensive in Guyana.”

Prashad said a sack of cement at some places cost $1,350 and $1,400 while TCL cement in Georgetown goes for over $1,600 per sack and in some outlying areas up to $1,900.

“The government of Guyana has got a duty to make sure that building materials reach the poor and the small man at an affordable price,” he insisted.

Observing that Guyana is currently on a “construction boom” the minister noted that more and more house lots are being distributed and persons can access loans at affordable rates.

Turning to what is happening with TCL and the prices, he said that the company has a bagging factory in Guyana and , “…one would have thought that the price of TCL would be even cheaper than the other cement coming into the country.”

He said the government expects that there should be competition and prices should be further reduced.

“We have had no complaint about inferior cement in Guyana so one company that sells at a higher price cannot say that they have a higher standard of cement,” he explained.

He said that TCL by themselves do not retail their cement per sack and to obtain TCL cement, consumers have to go to the hardware stores and retail outlets.

“If it is that the high price for TCL cement is brought about through the middle men, then I am also appealing to the retailers to re-look at the margin of profit,” he said.

“The Government of Guyana, through the Consumer Affairs Division, stands ready to intervene to make sure that the consuming public gets building materials, especially cement, at an affordable price,” he assured.

Insisting that the prices must be fair and reasonable, he stressed, “but surely we cannot have one company exploiting the poor people of Guyana”.

He went on, “There are two big companies in Guyana who are shareholders of TCL and they retail cement and they are selling cement above $1,600 a sack, whilst other hardware stores and retail outlets are selling for around $1,400; so we have to get to the bottom of this”.