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‘Removal of tax on locally manufactured pads insignificant
Ms Osam
The removal of tax on locally manufactured pads by the government is insignificant, the Managing Director of Reflo Company Limited, producers of Reflos sanitary pad and baby diapers, Ms Rebecca Osam,has said.
This, she said was due to the fact that only a small percentage of pads used were produced locally. She said majority of the productswere imported.
Consequently, she proposed that government should consider removing taxes on imported sanitary pads to make them affordable.
Ms Osam said this in an interview with the Spectator in Accra last week.
The Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori Atta in his budget statement to Parliamentlast week announced that locally manufactured sanitary pads will no longer attract Value Added Tax (VAT).
He added that government would be scrapping import tax on raw materials for thelocal manufacture of sanitary pads.
But Ms Osam said the removal of VAT on locally produced sanitary pads would positively benefit only local producers.
However, she said since a small fraction of sanitary pads used were produced locally, the tax relief would not be felt by the users.
“Majority of sanitary pads are being manufactured internationally and importerswould still bear the VAT cost, thereby affecting their final prices.”
“I will continue to advocate the removal of taxes on all sanitary pads. These are essential products for women, not luxuries,” Ms Osam said.
Meanwhile in an interview with a cross section of women in Accra, they lauded government’s idea of zero tax on locally made sanitary pads, saying “we hope the market women will reduce the prices of locally manufactured pads.”
Ms Naomi Agyeman, a National Service Person with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) said it was a good idea for government to remove taxes on locally manufactured pads.
She was of the view that it will help reduce the price and also be affordable for the less privileged and students.
She urged local manufacturers to either maintain or improve the standards of the pads to increase its presence on the market.
Ms Veronica Adwoa Mensah, a student said, “I think that is a good step taken by the government. As females, pads are very important for us and it becomes difficult for us to purchase when the prices are high.”
She was optimistic that with the zero tax, prices of locally manufactured pads will be reduced and also urged government to consider taking taxes off imported sanitary pads too.
Ms Pamela Davodzie, a student, said she will definitely purchase locally manufactured pad when the quality is good at the expense of the foreign ones
By Elizabeth Agyeibea Ackon
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
