Manufacturers of cement products could be liable to up to three years in jail if they flout certain provisions of the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) being proposed by Trade Minister, K.T Hammond.

This stiff penalty is contained in the proposed draft document the Trades Minister intends to present to the House sighted by JoyNews.

This comes as the Trade Minster, K.T Hammond justifies his move to present the instrument in Parliament emphasising that stakeholders were consulted.

Speaking on Newsnite, Evans Mensah indicated the document is dubbed 'The Ghana Standard Authority Pricing of Cement Regulations 2024'.

"It sets what they call a maximum allowable retail price for cement, so call it a price ceiling beyond which no manufacturer can sell a bag of cement," he told Emefa Apawu.

This is after the Executive Secretary of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) Rev. Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah insisted that this approach by the Minister to reduce prices is akin to putting the cart before the horse.

• Read also: We don’t need L.I. to regulate price; resolve depreciation – Cement manufacturers tell K.T. Hammond

According to him, the manufacturers were not even consulted before this proposal and therefore have no idea about what the draft document entails.

"We don't know anything about it. And with my common knowledge in legislative instruments, don't you involve stakeholders before it gets to Parliament? Don't you involve stakeholders in the process?" he quizzed on Tuesday.

But speaking to journalists today, K.T. Hammond noted that cement prices have been consistently escalating, and something must be done about it.

• Read also: Minority blocks laying of L.I. to regulating cement pricing, demands pre-laying

Fresh details tonight show that the Minister is putting his money where his mouth is.

Evans Mensah explained that the proposed legislation "is actually proposing stiff penalties for all manufacturers who violate the terms of the L.I. including up to three years in imprisonment."

The document spells out who specifically suffers the penalty if the regulations are flouted.

According to Evans Mensah said the proposed legislation spells it out very clearly.

"It talks about the fact that in the case of a body corporate, every director and Officer of that body corporate is deemed to have committed that offense. In other words, if you violate this and you sell above the price ceiling, the directors of the company, the officers of that body corporate will be thrown into jail if indeed you're found guilty up to three years in jail. And then he says in case of a firm, or partnership, every partner of the firm or partnership or any other person concerned with the management of the firm is deemed to have committed that offense."

K.T. Hammond has already insisted that the L.I. is necessary to prevent a cartel of cement manufacturers from exploiting the public.

“At a point in time, we are not producing so much cement in the country. Now we have an installed capacity of over 11 million tons in the country. Our demand is nothing like 11 million, so it must be a very profitable enterprise.

“But I think it behooves those in responsible positions in authority to ensure that the good people of Ghana are not fleeced. I am not comfortable, I don't believe that we're getting good prizes for all that it's worth,” he said.

The Trade Minister claimed that there is something fundamentally wrong with cement pricing in the country, emphasising that every sector of the economy requires cement.