Hundreds of angry scrap metal dealers whose wares, until recently were being exported abroad for foreign exchange, last Tuesday, June 4, 2013 besieged the offices of Western Steel and Forges Limited, to demand monies owed them by the company for many months now.

Scrap metal dealers, made up of the members of the Concern Members of Scrap Dealers Association of Ghana stormed the office of the company to demand payment for monies owed them. They had come from Accra and Kumasi to angrily demand the debts owed them by the company.

Both Western Steel and Forges Limited are part of five steel companies, including Special Steel, Fero Fabrics, Tema Steel Works and Sentos Steel whose interest Trade and Industry Minister, Haruna Iddrisu recently rushed to Parliament to ban the export of scrap metals to protect the local steel companies.

The Herald’s information was that the local companies owned by Jordanians, Chinese and Indians are unable to pay for supplies given them by the scrap metal dealers who live in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.

This paper is also informed that long before Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, engineered the export ban, the local steel companies were not able to buy the different types of metals supplied them, and even those bought could not be paid for by the local steel companies, thus holding back expensive loans procured by the scrap dealers from banks.

The scrap metal dealers insist, Trade and Industry Ministry failed to do any due diligence on the industry before slapping the ban on the export, arguing that the ministry would have discovered the kinds of metal the steel companies use as raw material, this they said, would have prevented the wholesale ban pushed by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu.

The scrap metal dealers, led by its Chairman Alhaji Shamuna Ilisau, told journalists at the Tema office of Western Steel that they want payments for the scrap metals they had supplied to the company.

He explained that since the ban on the exportation of scrap metal by the government to protect the local steel industry, the various local companies have deliberately refused to pay for scraps they have been supplied, having in mind their inability to export the metals.

According to him, the management of the local steel companies were taking advantage of the ban to hoodwink dealers by underpaying for goods delivered to them by members of the association.

“Our members have supplied the company scrap metal all the way from Kumasi over the past three months, but the companies have refused to pay up for the services rendered them”, he revealed.

Chairman Alhaji Shamuna Ilisau, further disclosed that “I have supplied three trucks of scrap metals to the Western Steel and Forges Limited and any time the company issue cheques and I attempt cashing them, am told the company has no money in the account”.

Some intelligence picked-up by The Herald has it that a day before the scrap dealers besieged the premise of the company, some dealers threatened to lock up the management of the company over the delays in the payment of indebtedness to them (dealers), hence the promise by the Ghanaian owners of the company to pay up last Tuesday.

Western Steel and Forges Limited is managed by one Mr. Tamakloe said to be a brother of Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe. The company is said to be a family heritance.

It is said to have run into some management difficulties with its banker Guarantee Trust Bank (GT Bank), with the bank going about seizing and selling assets of the company and its owners to defray debts owed them.

Western Steel had promised to pay the dealers last Tuesday, but failed, hence the decision by the dealers to storm the premise demanding their pound of flesh.

The angry scrap metal dealers claim the five steel companies namely; Western Steel, Fero Fabric Company Limited, Tema Steel Works and Sentos Steel in Tema were unable to buy the raw materials from the scrap dealers. When they do, they are selective in particular metals, abandoning the rest for the dealers, which cannot be exported due to the ban.

Parliament in March this year slapped a ban on the export of scrap metals. The new regulation, Legislative Instrument (LI) 2201, was aimed at ending an era where Ghanaians steel dealers continue to be starved of raw materials because of uncontrolled export of scraps.

Members of the association are of the view that besides the fact that the ban would have a major effect on the economy, they insisted “this industry has helped for decades to reduce the unemployment situation in Ghana. Over millions of people (mostly self employed with little capital) all over the country have earned a living through this industry.

The scrap dealers are appealing to President John Dramani Mahama not to accent to the LI 2201, to also safeguard the informal means of employment for the teeming youth of the country.