IMANI Africa president Franklin Cudjoe has lamented the rising cost of materials specifically referencing a bag of cement.

In a post dated June 6, on his X handle, he referred to recent reports that a bag of cement had hit 108 Ghana cedis.

According to him, in the midst of the price increases, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government appeared clueless.

"A bag of cement is now GHS108! The economy is still stupid. Sad thing is the government has no clue about what to do," his post read.

In a related post, he also lamented about the price of tomatoes.

The hike in cement prices has become topical after manufacturers dismissed an advice by the trade minister against raising prices.

What GBC Ghana wrote about recent price hikes in a recent report:

Prices from the dealers, as checked by GBC Ghana Online, revealed a sharp jump in prices from last week to this week, a situation that kept many buyers wondering.

In May 2024, cement was going for about GH¢85 to GH¢90 depending on the brand and the ratio, but as of June 4, 2024, the price has moved to about GH¢110, according to dealers at Pokuase.

According to one dealer, Dzata cement of 42R is now GH¢108, Cimaf of 42R GH¢107 and the same brand of 32R is going for GH¢87, and Ghacem is said to be leading the market with Ghacem Ghacement GH¢110 when choosing 42R.

Further checks from other sources also say Diamond cement is sold at GH¢75 and GH¢85 whereas Dangote is between GH¢92 and GH¢94.

In less than a month, Kobina Tahir Hammond, the Minister of Trade and Industry, called for the immediate reversal of the recent increases in the prices of cement to ease pressure on Ghanaians, but it seems this has fallen on deaf ears, or perhaps the Minister has ignored the root causes of the price hikes.

A bag of cement is now GHS108!
The economy is still stupid. Sad thing is the government has no clue about what to do.

— Franklin CUDJOE (@lordcudjoe) June 6, 2024