Former Deputy Finance Minister, Kwaku Kwarteng
• A former deputy Finance Minister has called on the legislative arm of government to look into the hikes in prices of building materials
• Kwaku Kwarteng says if the situation is not checked could cause rent to even go up further
• A bag of cement is now selling at GH¢48
A former Deputy Finance Minister, Kwaku Kwarteng, has urged parliament to probe the continues increment of prices of building materials.
His call comes on the back of the high rate at which building materials such as sand, stones, cement, iron rods and the likes are selling on the market.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, Mr Kwarteng said the situation must be addressed to prevent any further increment in the prices of other building-related services.
“These price developments have triggered further hikes in building-related services, such as excavations, drilling, tiling etc. Indeed, I have heard complaints that even water supply to construction sites and construction labour have all become unusually more expensive. It is hard to figure out the source of these unusual price increases. We know that Parliament has not passed any law that could have added any tax or levy to the prices of these items,” he said.
He further stated that “It is a strange development that must be frontally addressed. We need to check this for the sake of the construction industry, and more importantly, we need to get to the bottom of this disturbing development to ensure that it does not spread to other commodities and other industries on the market. It is, therefore, my respective view that Parliament needs to take steps, under our standing orders and the law, to assist the country deal with this matter.”
However, building contractors in the last few months have been complaining about the continuous dwindling in the price of building materials and the impact on their businesses.
Currently, a bag of cement is selling at about GH¢48 and a full truck of sand and stone is ranging between GH¢1,300 to GH¢1,600.