The Dagbon Students Association chief of the Tamale Technical University and Executive Director of Dagbon Advocacy Network, Naa Nurudeen Ibrahim, has joined calls for the government to remove nuisance taxes on sanitary pad products.
According to him, the high cost of the product in the market follows the exuberant taxes placed on producers and wholesalers.
Naa Nurudeen’s breakdown of the taxes on the products, such as processing fee, Import Vat, Special import levy, Inspection fee, Covid-19 health recovery levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM levy, Newwork Getfund, Import duty on sanitary pads, Network charges Vat, African Union import levy and several others.
He bemoaned that sanitary pad has become a scarce product in deprived communities and among girls from poor homes.
Addressing Journalists at the DASA Palace as part of the Mensural Hygiene Day Celebration, he revealed that some girls use rags and towels whilst others quit classes during the mensuration period.
“Feeding and other basic needs are already a problem to these girls and access to sanitary pads of late has added more headache to these young women; some of them beg or borrow pads from friends during mensuration; this practice is common in boarding schools. When these taxes are removed by government, a pack of the product is likely to be Gh¢5; I am taking this opportunity on behalf of students in Ghana to appeal to government to adhere to the numerous calls”.
He called on the State Executive, organizations and the fourth Estate of the realm to collectively pressure government to revoke a number of the taxes.
Naa Nurudeen used the opportunity to appeal for sanitary pads for onward distribution to school girls at the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI) and other underprivileged women in some communities.
Source: Ghana Web
