President of the Pharmaceutical Importers and Wholesalers Association (PIWA), William Adum Addo, has expressed the need for government to introduce special tax regime for medicines in the country.
According to him, the tax regime will invariably trickle down to the consumers to offset some financial burden. He revealed that this move will equally stymie off the escalation of medicine cost to patients.
“We have to have the assurance that the currency is stable and also if possible, we should have special tax regime for medicines because medicines affect the health and productivity of a country. Also, we expect that NHIS funds or levies collected should be reined firm to ensure that monies collected under the NHIS fund are used essentially and used strictly for those health situation [and] for the purpose for which it was created for.”
William Adum Addo
Speaking ahead of the 2023 budget presentation, Mr Addo noted that government’s investment in key areas such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), through proper regulation of levies collected will equally help reduce indebtedness to suppliers and government institutions. This, he explained, will help pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers to have requisite funds to ensure that essential medicines are always available on the market for the health of the nation.
Commenting on the issue of galamsey, Mr Addo explained that the situation is worrying due to the fact that operators use chemicals which affects aquatic life and potentially seeps into the food chain. He noted that once it enters the food chain and it’s consumed over a period of time, it’s going to have an effect on one’s health and once it has effect on one’s health, it’ll create a serious problem for the country’s health budget.
“So, we have to look at all these things to ensure that we don’t create unnecessary health issues…”
William Adum Addo
Peasant Farmers Association budget expectations
On his part, Executive Director of Peasant Farmers Association Ghana (PFAG), Dr Charles Nyaaba, revealed that the finance minister performed well in 2019 and 2020, but within the last two years, his performance has not been laudable.
Owing to this, he noted that he expects government to remove taxes on petroleum products and ensure the finance ministry invests in areas such as irrigation and infrastructure.
“These days, apart from the external factors, the climate change has caused rainfall to be unreliable and most farmers are losing their produce due to lack of rain. We are also expecting proper investment in mechanization services because today, no youth wants to use hoes and cutlasses. The cost of tractors and other machinery has gone so high that without subsidies, farmers are going to find it very difficult in actually procuring them.”
Dr Charles Nyaaba
Additionally, the Executive Director of PFAG emphasized that investing in irrigation remains relevant to the agric sector. Citing the Pwalugu multipurpose dam, he stated that it is serving a lot of purpose, however, since 2019 after it appeared on minister of finance budget, “no monies were allocated and that project is at a standstill”.
“Lastly, inputs and cost of fertilizer and agrochemicals, if nothing is done to it, it’s going to be very difficult for farmers to produce and sell at a price that will stabilize inflation.”
Dr Charles Nyaaba
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