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{
    "id": 858699,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/858699/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 241,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Seneta",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 611,
        "legal_name": "Mary Yiane Senata",
        "slug": "mary-yiane-senata"
    },
    "content": "Many of these girls miss schools every month for three days. Many of them do not concentrate or feel well for three days in a month. As you are aware, that the menstruation cycle has different impacts on different girls? There are those who feel sick. Some experience a lot of problems and do not feel well. The thought of not having a sanitary towel puts the girls in an awkward situation and has an impact on their performance. Madam Temporary Speaker, we should not only think of affordable, but also quality and safe sanitary towels. A situation where our girls may not afford sanitary towels that are clean from the supermarket or shops will mean using any locally available material that can help them save the situation. Therefore, we should think about the safety and quality of these sanitary towels. It is, therefore, important to zero-rate and exempt sanitary towels from Value Added Tax (VAT), especially the locally manufactured ones. I am happy that my sister here brought out all the things that are needed when manufacturing this important item. It needs a lot of different materials, which are highly taxed and also charged VAT, making them very expensive. Therefore, if we zero-rate them, our manufacturers will be able to manufacture cheaper, quality and affordable products for many of our girls. Madam Temporary Speaker, I support that the Government should not only zero- rate the items that are used for manufacturing this very important item but also subsidize them for our local manufacturers. We should encourage our manufacturers to manufacture sanitary towels locally so that they are available everywhere. Madam Temporary Speaker, in some parts of the country sanitary towels are not available in the shops. People cannot afford nor access them even if they have the money. Therefore, it is important for us to think of manufacturing sanitary towels locally so that we make them affordable and accessible to everyone. For example, just like Blue Band, sugar or maize flour is sold everywhere in small quantities, sanitary towels should also be available affordable in all quantities. For example, if a person needs a packet that contains two or three pieces of sanitary towels, they should get it. They should not only be sold in supermarkets where they are packed in four, eight or ten pieces and their prices are the same. Therefore, sanitary towels should be packed according to their affordability. If a person can afford, two, three or four pieces, they should be available everywhere. Madam Temporary Speaker, the issue of making sanitary towels free for our girls is a very important thought from my sister Sen. Halake. Our girls in both primary and secondary schools should access free, quality and clean sanitary towels. We should also look at the quality of sanitary towels because some manufacturers make sanitary towels which are not of good quality yet they are still expensive."
}