Parliament approves Duty Exemption on TVET Centres of Excellence

Parliament has approved Government’s request to waive Import Duties, Import and Domestic VAT, GET Fund Levy, NHIL, EXIM Levy and Special Import Levy totalling Ten Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight Euros and Ten Cents (€10,879,228.10) on materials, equipment and services to be procured for the construction of five Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centres of Excellence.

The scope of the Project which includes the construction of prefabricated structures, provision of services including water and electricity at designated sites at Anyinam, Pakyi No. 2, Akomadan, Assin Jakai and Manso-Abore is designed to support Government’s effort within the context of the human capital development priorities.

The project seeks to resolve key development challenges of the low quality of skills produced by the Technical, Vocational Education and Training sub-sector of the country and improve the employability of Ghanaian youth by providing them with relevant skills and competencies required for self and formal employment.

This is with the view of not only to help reduce unemployment among the youth, but to also encourage indigenous entrepreneurship and further provide Ghanaian industries with the relevant manpower to make them globally competitive.

The request for the waiver was presented by the Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah on behalf of the Minister responsible Finance Hon. Ken Ofori Atta.

The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, presenting the Committee’s report on the floor of Parliament on Monday indicated that Government has signed partnership agreement with Messrs. De Lorenzo S.p.A of Italy to partner it to set up five modern and fully functional state of the art TVET Centres of Excellence.

He said The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COVET) of the Ministry of Education subsequently sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to use Single Source Tendering Method to engage Messrs De Lorenzo S.p.A which specialised in the manufacture and supply of Technical and Vocational and Training (TVET) solutions to execute the project.

Dr Assibey-Yeboah said the Committee thoroughly considered the request and found the approval to be necessary for the timely and smooth implementation of the project and said the Committee in view of the anticipated benefits that the educational sector stands to gain from the implementation of the project therefore recommended to the House to adopt the report and approve by resolution.

A member of the Committee Hon. Benjamin Komla Kpodo lauded the project and stated that it would go a long way to help boost education in the country but expressed concern about price differentials of materials at the five various locations.

He said governments over the years have not paid much attention to technical and vocational education and thus urged the House to support every effort to upgrade, rehabilitate and refurbish these institutions for the students and expressed the hope that the support being provided would help the students in these institutions.