The Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools, Obenfo Nana Kwesi Gyetuah has disclosed that the rising cost of textbooks is being driven in part by the removal of tax waivers previously enjoyed on imported books
He explained that publishers who previously travelled to countries such as China to print books benefited from tax components that were waived when the books were brought into Ghana.
Speaking to Isaac Addae on Morning Starr, Obenfo Nana Kwesi Gyetuah said the removal of those waivers means publishers now have to bear the additional tax costs, which ultimately contribute to the price of books.
“The publisher is saying that he went… he has gone to China to print his books previously when he is bringing the books. There is that kind of a tax component that is being waived. Now, those tax components have been scrapped out, and so they have to pay.”
According to him, these additional costs come together to make the price of textbooks higher.
He said the issue must therefore be understood beyond the final price paid by parents, as several factors along the supply chain contribute to the cost.
Obenfo Nana Kwesi Gyetuah also explained that differences in book prices between sellers could be linked to the conditions attached to their relationships with publishers.
He described some of these arrangements as a credit-debtor relationship, where books are supplied on credit and may attract interest and other associated costs.
“The bottom line is that quality education is very expensive in Ghana. We need to understand that.”
He said the various costs involved in providing quality education must be considered when discussing the price parents pay.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Pamela Quayeson
