Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The government’s request for waiver of taxes amounting to €10, 872228.10 on materials, equipment and services to be procured for the construction of five technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centres of excellence has been approved.
Parliament gave the green light yesterday after a debate on the tax waiver request which included import duties, import and domestic VAT, GET Fund levy, NHIL, EXIM levy and special import levy of the Ghana cedi equivalent of €10, 872228.10.
It was presented to the House on Thursday, October 8, 2020 by the Deputy Minister of Sanitation & Water Resources, Patrick Yaw Bo amah, on behalf of the Minister of Finance which was referred to the Committee on Finance for consideration and report.
Background
In 2018, the government represented by the Ministry of Education (MOE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Messrs. De Lorenzo S.p.A of Italy, a specialised manufacturer and supplier of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) solutions, to partner it to set up five modern and fully functional state-of-the-art TVET centres in various locations in Ghana on turnkey basis.
The project is designed to support government’s effort within the context of the human capital development priorities and to resolve key development challenges of low quality of skills produced by the technical, vocational education and training sub-sector in the country.
Subsequently, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) of the Ministry of Education sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority to use single source tendering method to engage Messrs. De Lorenzo S.p.A to execute the project.
Objective
The objective of the project is to improve the employability of Ghanaian youth by providing them with the relevant skills and competencies required for self and formal employment.
The Education Ministry said this is not only to help reduce unemployment among the youth but to also help encourage indigenous entrepreneurship and further provide Ghanaian industries with the relevant manpower to make them globally competitive.
Observations
The Finance Committee noted that under Clause 45 of Section IV (Contract Data) of the Contract Agreement, the government of Ghana commits to exempt/waive the contractor from the payment of taxes and duties on materials, equipment and services to be procured under the project.
“It is thus necessary for the taxes and duties to be waived in accordance with Article 174(2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to enable the project to proceed without delay,” it stated in a report to the plenary.
According to the report, the scope of the project includes the construction and installation of pre-fabricated structures, provision of all services, including water and electricity at designated sites at Anyinam, Pakyi No. 2, Akomadan, AssinJakai and Manso-Abore.
There will also be supply and installation of products and equipment at laboratories and workshops provision of technical assistance, and provision of comprehensive teacher training on use of equipment, the report indicated.
Implementation progress
As to how far the implementation of the project had progressed, the Committee was informed that the Anyinam centre is currently about 45 per cent complete. The remaining four centres are, however, at the preparatory stages and are about to start.
By Ernest Kofi Adu