Ghanaians were served with confusing information about a purported cement price reduction a few days ago.
When a political party whose modus operandi is hinged upon propaganda takes over the controls of governance such developments are bound to happen.
What would drive a government to throw out such a concoction of a price reduction of cement when this is verifiable?
Bad politicians give politics a bad name and so when such a tarnished image is hanged in the court of public opinion it should not surprise anybody.
Former President John Mahama disclosed his party’s true nature when he said during the campaign season that politicians present a concoction of truth and lies to the public.
Should it therefore be surprising when a non-existent cement price reduction is thrown out onto the public space for effect?
The desired optic has eluded those behind the propaganda. The public is in a better position now to decipher the truth from the lies of the NDC.
At the height of the last political campaign season then Candidate John Mahama told Ghanaians that the price of cement would be scaled down to GHC30 per bag did he think that his compatriots will forget?
Just how the NDC would achieve this feat of reducing the price of cement in a free market economy when the party comes to power was a secret restricted to them.
They are in power today and the price of cement has shot up to an unprecedented GHC125 and we wonder what the President would say in reaction.
A few days ago the NDC said price reduction is not something that can be done through a presidential fiat following the appreciation of the Cedi. Of course that is the truth of a country which practices a free market system and a signatory to the WTO and its conventions.
The regime of price control which we tasted as a country has left a bitterness in our palates as a people.
The price of cement as is those of other items are determined by market forces. This is a fact known by all who have basic knowledge of economics. Those who were shouting at rooftops about so-called outrageous price hikes in the country were only spreading lies about what they would do to reverse the situation.
The cement price situation is only a tip of the iceberg of price hikes in the country. The propagandists would have rather such prices are scaled down to reflect the growing strength of the Cedi. Unfortunately they would not have it because such are beyond them.
It is a fact that importers stockpile raw materials such as in the case of cement production klinker. When there is an appreciation of the local currency as being experienced now expecting an automatic price reduction is only a pipedream.
Government should rather engage producers and find a better way of effecting price reduction if that is feasible anyway.
When President Mahama joined in the discussion about the minimum wage with the labour front he was able to convince them that they are NDC allies. It worked for the government. Shouldn’t engagement diplomacy be better than such cheap propaganda?
