August 28, 2007	Tuesday	Sha’aban 14, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: The Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) has postponed submitting of a vital report to the government on the cement scam that involved an artificial increase in prices earlier this year in an apparent bid to save the government from another embarrassment, sources told Dawn on Monday.

The authority was expected to submit the report to the Cabinet Division this week after having conducted detailed inquiries into the scam.

There had been speculations that cement prices were manipulated by producers through doubling the size of cement export and squeezing supplies to the domestic market that saw an almost Rs100 increase per bag of cement when the construction season was at its peak in February.

The MCA had constituted a committee in March to probe the matter. The committee had sought views and comments from builders, developers and market stakeholders to find out the reason for the price hike. The MCA issued letters to builders inquiring about the formation of possible cartels.

The stakeholders were asked to reply whether cement producers operated under a cartel to raise the prices or was there a problem due to higher raw material costs.

The authority had investigated whether cement producers were deliberately creating artificial shortage in the market by controlling production. It also asked about the role of dealers or third party that could control the market.

The authority had recorded statements of some leading domestic cement producers, including Wali Bhai Patel, President Karachi Cement Dealers Action Committee (KCDAC), Javed Ali Khan Chief Executive Pioneer Cement Ltd, MA Jamil, Chief Executive Zeal Pak Cement Factory Ltd, Mohammad Ali Tabba Chief Executive Lucky Cement Ltd and Hafeez-ur-Rehman Butt President Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD).

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the MCA stated that the inquiry process was still on and it was yet to finalise the report.

“At present, the committee is recording statements on oath from relevant individuals, including chief executive officers of selected cement manufacturers,” the press note added.

The end result of the inquiry would be the submission of a report to the government. The report would be “an informative and well-reasoned document”.

In its official press note, the authority has admitted that the inquiry committee had already collected substantial data despite poor response from the public.