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Opinions of Saturday, 18 November 2023

Columnist: Umar Yakubu, Contributor

Removal of VAT and levies on locally manufactured sanitary pads as granted in the 2024 budget

Amel Nancy Dery - Reg Women's Organiser of the NPP Amel Nancy Dery - Reg Women's Organiser of the NPP

The removal of VAT and levies on locally manufactured sanitary pads, as stated in the 2024 budget, is welcoming news for women.

It is important to note that, when it comes to implementing policies that are generally targeted to benefit all the Ghanaian people, the NPP has no match. We can vividly recall policies such as Free Senior High School Education, Planting for Food and Jobs, NHIS, School Feeding Program, and YEA, which are a few of the policies of both the past and present NPP governments that are enormously improving the lives of the Ghanaian people today.

It is estimated that about seven million Ghanaian women use sanitary pads, and the majority of these women, especially young girls in various Senior High Schools, struggle to have access to sanitary pads due to the cost of these products.

The NPP government, being a government that cares for the vulnerable and a listening one for that matter, and knowing the importance of personal hygiene, has removed all levies that cause the prices of sanitary pads to go high. Thus making production costs less expensive and selling prices more affordable.

With the removal of these levies, more of our women will have access to sanitary pads at lower prices, which will invariably improve their living standards.
I want to use this opportunity on behalf of all women in the Upper West Region and the country at large to thank the president of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, for reducing the burden on women across the country in this regard.

I will again use this opportunity to call on all women in the Upper West Region to continue to support the NPP government, especially in the 2024 general elections, so that it can continue with its good policies for the good people of Ghana.

It is a fact that within the past seven years of the NPP administration, one can confidently say it is a government that considers the plight of its people first, especially the vulnerable ones. I conclude by calling on all Ghanaians to support the 2024 budget, for what it contains will benefit all.