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Remove tax onsanitary pads – STMA Director of Edu.
● Mrs Sally Coleman addressing the participants
“I am advocating the total abolition of any tax imposed on the importation of sanitary pad so that it becomes affordable for parents to buy for their children,” the Metropolitan Director of Education, Sekondi -Takoradi, Mrs Sally Nelly Coleman, has proposed.
She explained that, the new policy would free girls from “hungry” men who exploited them for sex due to poverty.
“My plea is that the government should make it free for them. Because at times you meet the girl and you ask what made you pregnant, she will sadly say I was in need of sanitary pads.” Mrs Coleman added.
She made the suggestion at a meeting with journalists as part of stakeholders engagement on youth -oriented and gender-sensitive topics in line with the Twin Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP), held at Sekondi in the Western Region.
“One worrying aspect nowadays is that, the children who are in their menstrual ages find it very difficult and that some parents don’t even buy their sanitary pads for them. And it will shock you that some unscrupulous men are in the habit of providing just a sanitary pad and take advantage of these innocent children,” she said.
Mrs Coleman indicated that, she was not asking for more if the government could provide sanitary pads free of charge for girls whose parents could not provide any.
She told the journalists that her suggestion was not meant to encourage teenage pregnancy, noting that, “some students have taken it as a yardstick or as a field day and they are doing their own thing.”
The Education Director urged parents and other stakeholders including social workers team -up with the Ghana Education Service, and the Ghana Health Service to help these school children who now carried pregnancy without any bad feeling.
“The Bible tells us that there’s time for everything. Time to study, time to work, time to marry and the time to have your children. But, they shouldn’t use their time to study to get pregnant”.
Mrs Coleman noted that some parents were shirking their responsibilities, resulting in the kind of situation society found itself and pleaded with caregivers “to sit up if the child needs food, please do it.”
“This is what is happening, and, as leaders in society, we must think outside the box to help our school children,” she said.
The GES, she said, had intensified counseling units to help curb teenage pregnancies.
Mrs Coleman stressed “That is why we are here. All of us should put our minds together and see how best we can solve it. We are not here to talk about provision of infrastructure. We’ve spoken about these things for far too long. There is attitude that is eating up academic performance.
“We need to help the children and change such attitude. For, today they are children but tomorrow, they are going to lead this country and what kind of leadership skills are we giving them to run the system?”
The Western Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVSSU), Superintendent Setina Aboagye, also indicated that some parents were failing to supply the necessities of life like maintenance and also re-fuse to take care of their children.
From Clement Adzei Boye, Sekondi
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
