Tche Irene Morikang
10 April 2008
The on-going saga in the cement sector in the country is producing a bitter-sweet effect.
Bitter for those who have construction work underway and can do just anything to get hold of the precious dust. Sweet for those eating fat from the confusion. Yes confusion, because it is difficult to say with precision today what is actually happening in the sector. Is cement available? Where and at what price?
These questions abound because of the hide and seek game underway. There is no cement for those wishing to buy the product at the homologated price. Meanwhile, people willing to pay more (add at least FCFA 500 per bag) can always have the quantity they want. Anytime!
And don't dare ask me what the price controllers are doing. The latest development is that they are now an integral part of the jig-saw puzzle. And guess what? Some of them are eating fat from the disorder. They trail trucks entering town with cement, not to ensure that the product is sold at the right price, but to negotiate their own share of the booty and allow the Machiavellian trader to sell his cement at any price.
Imagine if such an unscrupulous price controller succeeds to strike a deal for a hundred francs per bag in a consignment that contains 1000 bags. He would sure go home with FCFA 100,000; more than a month's salary of most State employees! These days, it is certain that such dodgy men rise and go back to bed with the slogan: "Long live cement scarcity"!
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