Free SHS: School uniform suppliers decry rising costs; ask Govt to pay more

The Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Institutional Suppliers, Emmanuel Ayivor, is calling on the government to pay off their over-two-year bills owed his members.

The association is made up of enterprises that supply senior high schools in the country with school uniforms as part of the government’s “Free SHS” initiative.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the happenings, the PRO said that the government owes them two years of arrears and recently contracted them to again supply some uniforms to be given to the schools at a further reduced price.

Mr. Ayivor observed that an agreement with the government to supply the uniforms would mean little or no profit for them.

According to him, the government requested GHC 60 each for the uniform supply, but they pleaded for an increase due to printing costs, adding that even if GHC 65 is agreed upon, they will still face losses due to government taxation.

“The price that the government is giving us as payment is bad. The government says it will pay us GHC 60 for sewing up and down for senior high school students. For printing a uniform from Printex, a yard of the said uniform is charged at GHC 50, but upon several resistances and persistances, the government has agreed to pay us GHC 65, which is also not good because the money is scarce,” the spokesperson of the association said.

“Before he [the government] gives you that money, he will deduct his 4 percent tax from the source, so when the money reaches your end, it has lost its value and is no longer GHC 65. Yet from this same amount, we will pay our workers and cover other expenses such as utility bills, GRA for your tax clearance certificate, and all that,” he lamented further.

Mr. Ayivor disclosed further that it is not that they don’t want to work with the government, as may be perceived, but that they want the government to understand them and increase the payment structure due to the rising cost of living.

He stated that they have been reliably informed that the government has taken an entrenched position on the matter and is planning to give the contract to other suppliers.

In addition, he dispelled the notion that they are against Free SHS policy, indicating that he himself and his members believe that is a solid idea.

However, he called on the government to listen to the views of the citizenry and review the policy for the betterment of all.

He also reported that most of their members are facing financial constraints due to locked-up capital, leading to banks selling off their collateral to settle their indebtedness to them.

Mr. Ayivor disclosed this to the media in Accra on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, during a press conference held with the theme “We are saving our businesses.”