Student’s Chief of the Tamale Technical University and Executive Director of Dagbon Advocacy Network, Naa Nurudeen Ibrahim says his outfit will lead a peaceful demonstration if government fail to remove the 20% levy on sanitary pad and other mensural products.
According to him the high cost of the product is as a result of the exuberant taxes placed on importers and producers.
“The only message African leaders understand or listen is demonstration, NGO’s and individuals have made several calls for government to revoke the levy, all has yielded no result, for my palace, if by the close of this year nothing is done about the levy I’ll peacefully stage a demonstration in Tamale and at the Jubilee house”.
He bemoaned that sanitary pad is a scarce product at deprived communities and among girls from poor homes.
Addressing Journalists at the DASA Palace as part of the Mensural Hygiene Day Celebration, he revealed that some girls use rag, towel whilst others absent themselves from class during mensuration.
“Feeding and other basic needs is already a problem to this girls, access to sanitary pad of late has added more headache to this young women, some of them beg or borrow pads from friends during mensuration, this practice is common in boarding schools. When this taxes are remove by government a pack of the product is likely to be Gh¢5, am taking this opportunity on behalf of students in Ghana to appeal to Gov’t to adhere to the numerous calls”.
He called on the State Executive, organizations and the media to collectively pressure government to revoke number of the taxes.
Naa Nurudeen used the opportunity to appeal for sanitary pads for onward distribution at the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI) and other schools in the Northern region.
