Government urged to waive tax on goods for charity

Accra, April 1, GNA - Dr Ralph Obeng Owusu, Medical Director of New Generation Medical Centre in Accra, has appealed to the government to consider waiving taxes on consumer goods meant for charity organizations. He made the appeal when a delegation from Remar Association, Ghana, an international charity and rehabilitation organization led by its Country Director, the Reverend Ouedraogou Baovedewagre presented a Certificate of Appreciation to him.

Dr Owusu noted that previously, Remar, for instance, cleared its containers of humanitarian goods free of charge, which helped them to access drugs and other medical equipment among other things easily and on time.

He said non-governmental organizations and other charity institutions contributed in no small measure to the overall efforts of the government to provide total humanitarian services. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr Owusu said he started treating patients from Remar 15 years ago free of charge and explained that it formed part of the medical centre's social responsibility.

Dr Owusu said due to the peculiar nature of the inmates, who were mostly drug addicts, chronic alcoholics, hardened criminals, prostitutes and other social misfits, most of the cases reported included tuberculosis (TB) and other drug withdrawal syndromes. He said some of them also received malaria treatment while others also suffered from nutritional deficiency.

"I do a lot of counselling with them. I also have to refer some of those suffering from TB for further treatment. I offer curative as well as preventive treatments depending on their level of needs." Rev. Baovedewagre expressed appreciation to Dr Owusu and his staff for the immeasurable help given to them over the past 15 years. He said efforts were being made to register the inmates under the National Health Insurance Scheme.