Opposition Wants Gov’t to Address ‘Cement Crisis’

The opposition People’s National Party, PNP is calling on the government to address what it says is the cement crisis in the island.

Opposition spokesman on investment, Anthony Hylton, says the issue is threatening several jobs that rely on the housing, hardware and construction industry.

Hylton made reference to the period of 2006 when cement production was stopped because of the release of low quality cement into the trade.

He says there’s urgent need for a proper review of the industry to examine if the current production and market arrangement satisfies the needs of builders, investors, job seekers and the entire economy.

He says a PNP-led government is prepared to re-examine the current assumptions underlying the market arrangements.

Meanwhile, Carib Cement says they have completed the annual maintenance of their kiln and are aware that some customers have been experiencing delays in obtaining cement.

The company says before maintenance work began, they had sufficient inventory to meet market needs.

However, the passage of Hurricane Beryl and the company’s response to ongoing relief efforts has caused a faster consumption of that inventory.

They say despite the challenges, they continued to deliver products to the market.

Carib Cement says it knows the importance of its operations to the construction industry and is working towards returning to normal inventory levels in the coming days.