A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country on Thursday, June 22, 2023, stormed Ghana’s Parliament to demand the removal of taxes on sanitary pads.
This comes after the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) said any policy measure by the government that seeks to remove taxes on imported sanitary pads at the expense of local manufacturers of the same will be very detrimental to the economy.
It said much as the waiver of duties or taxes on imported sanitary pads for young women to make the pads more affordable may sound good, it would only end up completely wiping out the few local sanitary pad factories left in the country.
Those comments from the AGI have incurred the wrath of a section of the populace culminating in the group of CSOs marching through some principal streets of Accra to demand the removal of the taxes.
According to the group led by Maame Ama Pratt, the 12.5 per cent VAT and the 20 per cent import tax imposed on sanitary pads have increased the prices of the item.
Speaking moments after presenting a petition to Parliament, a interview with top news parliamentary correspondent Yesmeen Abubakar Tetteh shows w
said the move has made it impossible for women to afford them.
Ama Pratt also added that they will not relent in their efforts to have the taxes scrapped by the government.