The top three cement companies who were last month ordered to cut cement prices and revert to what was described as pre-cartel prices ranging between US$4.5 to US$5 per 50kg bag have all defied the order.
A check done by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT with all the three cement producers who had been ordered to cut prices has revealed that non of them has reduced prices. One of the cement companies ordered to cut prices – Lafarge Zambia has confirmed with ZBT that they have mounted a legal challenge against the decision.
Lafarge Zambia has confirmed that they have appealed against the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)’s decision alleging that the company contravened the Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
The company has denied participation in an alleged price-fixing and market allocation collusion in the cement market and looks forward to presenting its case.
Responding to ZBT, Lafarge Corporate Affairs and Communications Manager Sarah Banda said in its notice of appeal filed before the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, the company has emphasized that it has cooperated with the CCPC throughout its investigation into the cement industry.
Banda said Lafarge provided numerous detailed submissions, documents and testimonies to demonstrate the lawful nature of its operations in the market. The prices have therefore not been reduced pending the tribunal process.
A further check with the other cement firm that was also fined and ordered to cut cement prices, a source who asked for their details to be withheld from Mpande Limestone Limited ( popularly known as Sinoma cement) has confirmed that the company has not reduced its cement prices.
Speaking exclusively to ZBT, the source said according to the information circulating within the company, Sinoma does not intend to revert to pre-cartel prices.
“Before any price adjustment or increment they need to inform us internally, so we haven’t been informed, it means we are not reducing. We need adequate time to communicate to our clients to say okay, cement prices are going up or they are being reduced”, the source told ZBT.
The most shocking thing is that even the cement company that was not fine but ordered to cut price,Dangote Cement, has also refused to badge. Dangote Cement has also confirmed that the company has maintained its cement prices but did not confirm if they have also taken the legal route to hold prices.
Cement prices were today expected to come down after CCPC confirmed that they had given the cement companies one month probation to implement the order. It seems instead that the cement firms opted to use the one month to put together a legal defense that would effectively derail the order.
Court processes in Zambia take time to settle, some legal experts have estimated an average of three years needed to litigate and have a judgment issued in complex cases such as this one. We now await a counter action CCPC who are yet to comment by press time. More details to follow…
