Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, has said that the imposition of tariffs on sanitary pads has drawn harsh criticism.

He thereby termed it as a “cardinal sin” to impose such taxes on sanitary pads. Through a petition requesting the repeal of tariffs on sanitary pads, a number of civil society organizations (CSO) brought the problem to the attention of Parliament.

The Speaker stressed the necessity for prompt government action to address this issue, as he expressed his profound disappointment with the taxing of sanitary pads.

“The issue they raise is a very serious issue, why have we passed a law imposing taxes on sanitary pads? This is unconscionable, it is a cardinal sin. The House shouldn’t have allowed it at all. You know the impact of that law on human resource development is immeasurable.
“I have a copy of the petition and I am going to take immediate action to prevent whoever is the minister proposing that thing to take it off. The next budget it must not appear, it cannot be a tax.”
Alban Bagbin

The Speaker made his remarks following a demonstration by a number of civil society organizations (CSOs) calling for the government to stop taxing sanitary pads.

The group claims that the price of sanitary pads has significantly increased due to the 12.5 percent value-added tax (VAT) and the 20 percent import tax, making them expensive for many women, who make up 51 percent of Ghana’s population. Ama Pratt, a spokesperson for the organisation, said that they would continue to lobby for the government to eliminate the levies.

AGI Cautions Gov’t Not To Scrap Tax On Sanitary Pads

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) warned against doing away with the levies, despite growing demand from various parties to do so, claiming that doing so would have disastrous effects on the country’s economy.

The AGI strongly cautioned the Akufo-Addo administration against eliminating import levies on sanitary pads. The association claims that any action taken by the government to reduce tariffs on imported sanitary pads at the expense of domestic producers will be bad for the economy.

AGI’s warning follows requests from stakeholders for the government to lower or eliminate tariffs on sanitary pads, as the majority of adolescent girls cannot afford pads during their periods.

“The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) wishes to caution Government that any policy measure that seeks to remove taxes on imported sanitary pads, at the expense of local manufacturers of same will be very detrimental to our economy,” according to a statement signed by Seth Twum-Akwaboah, the Chief Executive Officer of AGI.

“Much as the waiver of duties/taxes on imported sanitary pads for our young women to make the pads more affordable may sound good, this will only end up completely wiping out the few local sanitary pad factories left in our country. Therefore, the Association is of the view that the call for the removal of duties on imported sanitary pads is misplaced.”
AGI

The AGI stated that social commentary and public dialogue urging the government to reduce import taxes on imported sanitary pads need to be cautiously assessed in light of local production, job creation, and government revenue generation.

“The few local manufacturers of sanitary pads face imminent collapse and AGI calls on Government to intervene as soon as possible. We caution Government not to play to the gallery, but rather stay focused on its industrial transformation agenda by incentivizing local manufacturers rather than imports.”
AGI