{"id":648712,"date":"2019-07-02T11:43:26","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T11:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"<br><div>\n\t\t\n<p><strong>Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) says it has observed with \u2018grave concern\u2019 the increasing introduction of various taxes and levies, and wants the government to intervene to p"},"modified":"2019-07-02T11:43:26","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T11:43:26","slug":"cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/","title":{"rendered":"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) says it has observed with \u2018grave concern\u2019 the increasing introduction of various taxes and levies, and wants the government to intervene to protect the cement industry from collapse.<\/p>\n<p>At<br \/>\na COCMAG crunch board meeting last Thursday, the members discussed various<br \/>\nchallenges confronting the cement industry. <\/p>\n<p>Most<br \/>\nrecent among them, according to the Executive Secretary, Rev. Dr. George<br \/>\nDawson-Ahmoah, was the recent fumigation levy of $0.50 per ton on imported<br \/>\nclinker by the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow<br \/>\non earth can a raw material such as clinker be fumigated before clearance from<br \/>\nthe port? We are calling for the immediate abolishing of this levy,\u201d the executive<br \/>\nsecretary said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy<br \/>\nmembers are not happy at all because besides this levy there is still the VAT<br \/>\nrestructuring levy of 5% and the 2% special tax which has been in existence for<br \/>\nthe past three years. There are several others including a proposed increase in<br \/>\ncertification licence\/surveillance from Ghana Standards Authority etc. All<br \/>\nthese affect production cost in the production of cement culminating in uncompetitiveness,\u201d<br \/>\nhe explained.<\/p>\n<p>Rev.<br \/>\nDr. Dawson-Ahmoah further lamented a recent reduction of benchmark value by the<br \/>\nVice-President for all imports into the country, adding that \u201cstrangely the<br \/>\nCustoms Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) restricts such directive<br \/>\nto cover the importation of raw material from only China and Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere<br \/>\nhas been persistent appeals to the Custom Division of the Ghana Revenue<br \/>\nAuthority (GRA) that cement raw materials are imported from all over the world<br \/>\nbut these appeals have not been addressed. Meanwhile, the reduction in<br \/>\nbenchmark values are strictly adhered to on finished imported cement products<br \/>\n(bagged and bulk) which are competing with the local cement manufacturers which<br \/>\nis a clear case of unfair trade practices,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>Another<br \/>\nissue raised was the increasing cement factories in Ghana saying, \u201cAlready, the<br \/>\nexisting manufacturers have a combined utilization rate of about 45%, an<br \/>\nindication that there\u2019s a total adequate cement capacity in Ghana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On<br \/>\nthe Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) increase of electricity<br \/>\ntariff, Rev. Dr Dawson-Ahmoah said \u201cthis is a bombshell; the stated increase of<br \/>\n11% as announced is rather about 46% comparing with the previous tariff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He<br \/>\nsaid such development if not addressed might force companies to downsize.<\/p>\n<p>He<br \/>\nwas, however, full of gratitude to the Minister of Trade and Industry for his<br \/>\nsupport and said he was hopeful that \u201cthese issues will be addressed with his<br \/>\ninterventions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The<br \/>\ncurrent members of the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers include CIMAF Ghana<br \/>\nLimited, Diamond Cement Group, CBI Ghana Limited and Ghacem Limited. Wan Heng<br \/>\nGhana Limited and Xin Ann Safe Cement Limited \u2013 both Chinese companies are yet<br \/>\nto regularize their membership.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) says it has observed with \u2018grave concern\u2019 the increasing introduction of various taxes and levies, and wants the government to intervene to protect the cement industry from collapse. At a COCMAG crunch board meeting last Thursday, the members discussed various challenges confronting the cement industry. Most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":648713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-648712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) says it has observed with \u2018grave concern\u2019 the increasing introduction of various taxes and levies, and wants the government to intervene to protect the cement industry from collapse. At a COCMAG crunch board meeting last Thursday, the members discussed various challenges confronting the cement industry. Most [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-02T11:43:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":454,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-02T11:43:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/02\\\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) says it has observed with \u2018grave concern\u2019 the increasing introduction of various taxes and levies, and wants the government to intervene to protect the cement industry from collapse. At a COCMAG crunch board meeting last Thursday, the members discussed various challenges confronting the cement industry. Most [&hellip;]","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"headline":"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies","datePublished":"2019-07-02T11:43:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/"},"wordCount":454,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/","name":"Cement Manufacturers Complain About High Levies - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2019-07-02T11:43:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/02\/cement-manufacturers-complain-about-high-levies\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}