GRA donates PPE to 30 schools in Upper West, Volta regions

Ten selected basic schools in the Upper West Region and 20 schools in the Volta Region have received personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitary items from the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Wa and Ho in the two regions.

In the Upper West Region, the schools selected from almost all the districts, included the Wa School for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, the Dasima, Kojokperi, Walembele, Dagbasu, Guli, Yaala, Dorimon, Hamile and Kaleo primary schools.

The PPE worth thousands of Ghana cedis included 10 gallons of sanitiser, 40 Veronica buckets, 20 bundles of tissue paper, 10 gallons of liquid soap and 10 basins.

At the presentation in Wa last Thursday, the Area Director of DTRD, Mr Festus Onomah Quansah, said the items formed part of their corporate social responsibility to assist in minimising the spread of COVID-19 among teachers and pupils.

"Kindly encourage the pupils and teachers to regularly observe the safety protocol as it is the only way to minimise the spread of the virus.

We should not be tired of maintaining and abiding by the protocols," he said.

Receiving the items on behalf of the schools, the Senior House Mistress of the Wa School for the Blind, Ms Christiana Assah, expressed her profound gratitude to the donors for the gesture and said the items would be put to good use on campus.

Volta Region

Twenty deprived schools across the Volta Region also received some sanitary supplies from the Ho and Aflao Sector commands of the Customs Division of the GRA.

The items donated to schools across the Ho and Aflao sectors of the region, include 60 (200 litre) gallons of liquid soap, 40 packs of cleaning tissues and 80 Veronica buckets with stands and rubber bowls.

The schools with their population ranging between 200 and 450 pupils are currently rationing the usage of four Veronica buckets in their attempt to ensure that schoolchildren adhered to the COVID-19 protocol.

The situation, however, does not augur well in ensuring proper adherence to the safety protocol, thus the head teachers have hailed the donation as welcome news.

CSR

Presenting the items last Monday, The Ho Sector Commander, Assistant Commissioner Mr Samuel K. Foli, said the donation was in fulfilment of the authority’s corporate social responsibility and the need to build on its positive image in communities they served.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact all aspects of society, hence the need to supplement efforts by the government in the provision of handwashing facilities to promote adherence to the COVID-19 protocol.

Mr Foli said being aware of the significant effects of the pandemic, on especially deprived schools, the GRA as a corporate institution deemed it fit to donate the items to the schools to augment those provided by the Ghana Education Service.

Tax education

He also called on schools in the region to collaborate with GRA in ensuring that school children were educated on the importance of fulfilling their tax obligations as adult citizens of the country.

This, he indicated, would set a sound foundation and nurture them into becoming responsible tax paying adults which they would not depart from.

In a symbolic handing over, the heads of four basic schools, including Asikuma D/A JHS, Aflukagbe D/A JHS, Nyive M/A Primary and Batume Juntion R/C Basic School, took delivery of the items on behalf of their schools.

The Headmistress of Nyive LA Primary, Ms Benedicta Esinam Tawiah, who accepted the items on behalf of the recipient schools said the donation would augment the few ones they are currently using.