FRITZ WELCOMES TAX-FREE PADS

THE Minister of Social Development in the Western Cape, Albert Fritz, welcomes the announcement by the newly-appointed Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni that sanitary pads, among others, will be made a zero tax item as of April 1, 2019.

The national government has long provided free contraceptives, including female and male condoms, and birth control.

However, it has previously failed to make sanitary items more affordable for women and girls.

This has a damaging effect, particularly on a girl’s sense of dignity and access to education, as she can ill afford the R30 it costs to buy a pack of sanitary pads, without compromising on food or travel.

This year, Stellenbosch University’s Law Clinic found that approximately 30% of girls in South Africa do not attend school when they are menstruating because they cannot afford sanitary products.

“It is pleasing that South Africa will finally join the ranks of Canada, Nigeria, Tanzania, Australia, Lebanon, India and Kenya who do not tax sanitary items,” said MEC Fritz.

MEC Fritz further said: “It is time that as men and women, we talk honestly about the impact of menstruation on girls.

“I will be writing to Minister Mboweni to ask whether his Ministry is also considering making tampons a zero tax item.”

The Ministry of Social Development in the Western Cape remains committed to the upliftment and empowerment of women and girls.