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Plea to cut retail price of cement

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Association of Builders and Developers (Abad) has on Thursday demanded of the government to reduce cement retail price and fix it at Rs 150 per bag.

Abad Chairman M. M. I. Hussain said that the Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) and the Ministry of Industries and Production had failed to check the cartel of Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association and had left consumers at their (manufacturers) mercy.

He said it was no secret that the cement producers had a few years back increased prices of cement by Rs 100 per bag and "extorted" around Rs. 6 billion from consumers. The MCA and the Ministry of Industries and Production did not come to "our" rescue. However, Abad asked the cement producers to voluntarily deposit Rs 5 billion to Rs 6 billion in the government exchequer.

Hussain has appealed to Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf to refer the matter to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) so that those who had earned money by allowing increase in cement prices could be exposed.