Accra: The Government will no longer grant blanket tax waiver exemptions on import duties, but it will be on a case-by-case basis, President John Dramani Mahama announced on Thursday in Accra. "So, if you order any medical equipment, you can apply for exemption on that equipment, and I can assure you that we'll look at it favorably," he stated during a ceremony at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre (SGMC).
According to Ghana News Agency, the announcement came as President Mahama responded to a request by Mr Justice Isaac Douse, a retired Court of Appeal Judge, representing the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT). The occasion was the commissioning of GNAT's state-of-the-art Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography (PET-CT) scan for cancer diagnosis and treatment. PET-CT is an advanced imaging test that combines metabolic and structural information to accurately diagnose and monitor diseases like cancer. SGMC, a leading oncology center in West Africa, was acquired by GNAT in 2020.
The commissioning ceremony of the PET-CT scan was chaired by Mr Justice Isaac Douse. During the event, President Mahama also discussed a new housing project for teachers. The Government, in partnership with GNAT and stakeholders such as the Republic Bank, State Housing Company Limited (SHC), and TDC, plans to establish a GHS3 billion housing project for teachers. He mentioned the launch of two housing initiatives-the Teacher Dabre Housing Project, aimed at providing on-campus housing for teachers, and the Mortgage Housing Project.
President Mahama emphasized the importance of providing accommodation for teachers to prevent daily commutes from town to school. He explained that the second housing project would offer mortgages to professionals, including teachers, through collaboration with Republic Bank, SHC, TDC, and other real estate developers. The scheme will be funded by a GHS3 billion fund contributed by the Government, GNAT, and Republic Bank.
The housing units will be priced in cedis to make them accessible to GNAT members and other professionals. Mortgages will be structured to allow for down payments, with the balance deducted from salaries over the years. "By the time you reach retirement age, you will not go to your family house and quarrel over which was your grandmother's room or your grandfather's room; you already have a place to go and lay your head," President Mahama noted.