Francis Tim Mbom
17 April 2008
Cement scarcity seems to be heightening in the country as little or no cement could be seen on display at most of the retail points The Post visited in Limbe on Friday, April 11.
At Ets Ngosso, a cement retail shop at Half Mile, there were seven bags available on display. But the retailer, Maurice Ngosso, revealed that the cement on display had been bought a day earlier. He said he had no cement in stock.
He said the scarcity hinges on CIMENCAM's inability to meet market demand. According to him, CIMENCAM's inability to meet the demand of its clients has given rise to a black market situation where middlemen, on whom they depend for supply, have the price hike and scarcity of cement.
He said it is difficult for them to sell at the official price because middlemen sell to them at very high prices.At another cement retail shop, the story was the same. They also blamed CIMENCAM for the scarcity.
CIMENCAM, Cameroon's lone cement producing company has an average output of some 900,000 tons per year, but the present demand apparently supersedes what the company produces.
Fako Commerce Delegate, Emmanuel Tchuakio, told The Post that in the past cement scarcity could be explained to the fact that CIMENCAM's machines had a breakdown, but he said he could not tell if they have been repaired.
He, however, refuted claims that the scarcity was due to CIMENCAM's inability to meet market demand, but that some dealers are making gain out of the situation. He said some dealers have arranged for cement to be supplied to them and at night they stock the cement in hidden places and later resell to retail shops.
The scarcity comes at the heels of the installation of the erstwhile Minister of Communication, Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, as Board Chair of CIMENCAM on April 8, by the Minister of Industry and Technical Development, Badel Ndanga Ndinga.Badel reportedly tasked Moukoko to ensure that CIMENCAM steps its production from the 900,000 tons to 1.5 million.
On the sidelines, The Post learnt that technical experts from the South Korean Consortium that recently signed a contract to carry on the construction of the Limbe Cement factory will be in Limbe in the days ahead.
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