The Gyaasehene of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Adarkwa Bediako III, has appealed to the Government to wave off taxes on the reconstruction of the “Tarkwa na Aboso” stadium in the Western Region.
The work being funded by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) was solely a community project to help promote sports in the country, he explained.
According to him, traditional authorities from Apinto Divisional Council and Wassa Fiase Traditional Area were therefore surprised when they were told that Gold Fields would have to pay a withholding tax of about $2 million on the project.
Nana Bediako III, who revealed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), stressed that: “The Minister of Finance please we the traditional authorities from Gold Fields operational areas are saying that paying the exorbitant taxes would deprive us of other important projects.
“As we speak now this year there have not been any major project and the reason is because Gold Fields think they would be bound to pay this money. We are therefore pleading with the government to reconsider the decision so they can use that money to develop our communities.
“Gold Fields has done very well, they have managed to upgrade the Tarkwa na Aboso Park to a stadium for us and we are grateful to them. Indeed, Tarkwa and its environs need a lot of development, and we believe canceling these taxes would help” added Nana Bediako III.
The GFGF is constructing the stadium at a cost of $16.2 million and work being executed by Micheletti & Company Limited, would comprise a VVIP stand, general stands for spectators and officials, parking lots, an ambulance bay, Local Organizing Committee (LOC) office, dressing rooms, offices for coaches and referees, a media center and a commentary box.
Other facilities under construction include, the flood lights, a physiotherapy and first aid office, office for match commissioners, referees and kits store.
The Tarkwa na Aboso Park, which originally had a seating capacity of 400 was not up to FIFA standards, but Gold Fields is now reconstructing it to meet international standards with a 10,400-sitting capacity.
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