Editorial by Ghanaian Times: VAT exemption on healthcare items boost to quality medical care

The government taxes citizens and businesses to raise revenue to meet their budgetary demands, such as financing public projects.

In Ghana, where the government usually experiences budget deficits and all budgeted inflows fail to come in as expected, it is not easy to grant tax exemptions on a source that is already being complied with.

This is why it becomes a bit curious to learn that the Ministry of Finance will now grant a value-added tax (VAT) exemption on raw materials for local manufacturing of drugs, finished pharmaceutical products, and medical supplies.

But this should not be so surprising because the tax system is not only used to raise revenue but also to make the country’s business environment conducive to the growth of businesses.

In this particular case, everyone hopes that the tax exemption will take immediate effect and boost the healthcare sector in terms of job creation and a reduction in the cost of accessing healthcare.

When health concerns grow, the tax exemption can take care of itself by bringing in returns of multiple values.

However, this is not the foremost reason for the move taken by the Ministry of Finance.

The Ghanaian Times takes particular note of the foremost reason that the move has become urgent due to the dwindling donor inflow to the health sector.

This means that if the donor inflows had continued as expected, the government would have left the players in the pharmaceutical and medical supply sectors of the healthcare industry to grapple with their problems.

As things have turned out now, the Ghanaian Times believes members of the public would like to know what caused the donor inflow to dwindle.

It is an issue that lack of accountability from the Ministry, for instance, can make it difficult for donors to be accountable through compliance with their own governments’ regulatory requirements and donor reporting.

And this can kill the fire of their philanthropy. Was it the case that some of the donors were suffering risks that affected their reputation and operations?

Could it be a case of implicit bias in which the donors, due to some attitudes relating to a lack of understanding of certain actions and decisions, thought it wise not to bring in their inflows contrary to the country’s expectations?

Maybe the donors lack the financial muscle to continue with their giving to the country.

What exactly was the matter?

While the answer(s) tarry, the Ghanaian Times thinks the annual health summit organised by the Ministry of Health is an important event because it helps to take stock of the performance of the country’s healthcare sector.

This year’s theme, "Quality Healthcare Delivery: A Catalyst for Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Ghana," is significant as it is timeless.

Quality healthcare delivery is sine qua non (essential) at all times, and this idea must prompt the country’s healthcare professionals to continuously update their knowledge in order to avoid mistakes like giving wrong prescriptions or making patients undergo wrong procedures.

Such errors could be fatal or have long-term, devastating effects. There is also a need for the government to provide the necessary facilities and incentives for healthcare workers to properly safeguard the health of the people, who constitute the greatest asset of the country.

It is also important for the public to take healthcare instructions seriously.