Majority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has rejected the speaker’s call for the Legislative Instrument to regulate cement production and pricing to be withdrawn.
The speaker Alban Bagbin advised the Trade Minister to withdraw the instrument following constitutional concerns raised by former minority leader Haruna Iddrisu.
But the majority leader said those constitutional concerns are not valid and therefore the call for withdrawal is unwarranted.
According to the Majority Leader, the concerns raised by the subsidiary legislation committee have been addressed in the revised instrument, making the call for withdrawal unnecessary.
Afenyo-Markin also clarified that the instrument does not seek to control cement prices, contrary to claims by some colleagues.
“Every concern raised by members of the subsidiary legislation and in respect of amendment to the L. I got incorporated into the new L.I. So nothing is outstanding as it is today, based on the deliberation report from the subsidiary legislation committee, we have come out with the new LI.
So nothing is outstanding and I don’t see how the minister would have to withdraw this again.”
“One of their colleagues misled the house by saying that we are by this instrument seeking to control prices of cement. This is not going to do so you’re interpreting the documents, you don’t just read a long title, you don’t read a heading and then assume that is what the document says.”