Nkende Forbinake
16 April 2008
This week, government has gone into a remarkable upbeat posture in its fight against the rising cost of living. If it is still having difficulties in holding down the prices of essential consumption items such as cooking oil, fish, meat or rice, it seems to have made a considerable effort with regard to cement.
Recently, cement has just been as rare as dog's tears. Escalating prices was not the only issue for, even when there was money, cement was hard to come by. It very often needed the astuteness of a skilful negotiator or scheming to identify the rare and hidden spots where cement was on sale. Even lorries leaving the manufacturing plant in Douala never reached their programmed destinations as moneybags and other speculators diverted them to other destinations where the rare commodity was sold at cut-throat prices. And in the process, the organised marketing chain was seriously disrupted. Cement has been rare, even in Douala where it is produced; let alone the other big centres and notably Yaounde, the nation's second city where huge public projects are on. With the recent inauguration of the giant Carrefour Prefecture project, the numerous highway projects, construction of public edifices and the building of homes by private individuals, the scarcity of cement was very violently felt.
And to add salt to injury, the sole producer of cement in the country CIMENCAM, last March decided to increase the purchasing price of cement. The measure, which came into effect last April 4, at the same moment the government was working out strategies to appease aggrieved citizens groaning under an increasing cost of living, could only have worsened matters. For the past ten days, the sector has experienced some of the most tumultuous moments with cement virtually impossible to come by.
This volteface by CIMENCAM led many to start believing in the government's helplessness. But in the past few days, government has clearly abandoned rhetoric and has taken a number of measures which clearly prove its resolve to solve the problem of rising cost of living in the construction sector by causing the reduction of the price of cement and by easing legislation and procedure in a way and manner as to see the market supplied with sufficient quantities of cement. CIMENCAM is stepping up production by another 600,000 tonnes by September. It is also suspending the export of ordinary building cement, except for Chad. To further put order in the supply chain, the company has resolved to regularly send in convoys of cement-loaded lorries to Yaounde for a period of ten days. To the worry as to what happens after the ten-day period, a Ministry of Trade official hinted that a shipload of cement is at sea headed for the Cameroonian coast where it should arrive in a matter of days. This shipment is a concrete manifestation of the government's recent decision to liberalise the importation of cement, as its own contribution at promoting competitivity which, eventually could lead to a drop in prices. Many potential importers have received import licences from the Ministry of Trade and are now in transaction with foreign partners. The government's open-arms policy on the issue has also attracted other foreign investors. There is talk about the Koreans setting up a factory outside Limbe. China has also shown interest. If all these initiatives were to be concretised, it will be for the good of the ordinary citizen who will now be able to have cement easily available and affordable. The 600,000 tonnes of extra cement and all that will be imported may never ever meet national demand and that of other countries of the sub-region.
With the economy gradually picking up and purchasing power slightly increased one may expect some new interest in the construction of homes. How will this come about with the absence of cement? And how do we continue or, even, sustain vital developmental projects without cement?
Government must therefore be encouraged to continue in this effort to ensure that cement is not only permanently available, but is also at the reach of ordinary citizens. This is why the recent measures came as very welcome relief.
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