The Kassena-Nankana West District Chief Executive [DCE], Hon. Stephen Aeke Akurugo has presented cheques and bursaries to 321 Persons Living with Disabilities [PWDs] who had undergone assessment by the District’s Disability Fund Management Committee.
The funds for the disbursement which came from the Disability Fund; a 3% component of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund amounted to a total of Gh¢301,900.00.
In his brief remarks at the ceremony held at the Assembly’s Conference Hall, Hon. Akurugo said that government recognizes the challenges faced by PWDs and described the disbursement as not just any financial support but “a reaffirmation of our collective commitment to inclusivity, empowerment and dignity for all members of the disability community in our country”.
According to him, the PWDs in their daily lives are confronted with tremendous challenges ranging from access to education, employment, health care and the opportunity to participate in community development and stressed that for these reasons, government will continue to ensure that adequate resource flow into the Disability Fund.
The DCE noted that the day’s disbursement of Fund showed a clear demonstration that no citizen shall be left behind in the country’s development journey. He charged the beneficiaries to use the funds as a spring board to better their lives and equally warned against any wasteful application of the monies, as persons found culpable will be flagged against future support.
Hon. Akurugo however, expressed optimism that the disbursement will go a long way to improve the living conditions of the beneficiaries as the funds were meant to help them become more self-reliant and also venture into some economic activities that can earn them some living incomes.
He explained that aside purposes of economic activities where 60 beneficiaries each received Gh¢3,000.00, some other areas covered by the disbursement included the acquisition of assistive devices and mobility equipment for beneficiaries with Gh¢48,400.00 disbursed to 147 PWDs, Gh¢22,500.00 presented to 15 caregivers of children with disabilities and bursaries to 98 PWD-students amounting to Gh¢41,000.00.
“As a District Assembly, we will continue to strengthen our collaboration with disability groups, social welfare officers and civil society partners to ensure transparency, accountability and sustainability in this support-programme”, the DCE assured.
He called on all and sundry to help create an enabling environment where PWDs are not seen as helpless dependents but rather, as active partners in development.
On his part, the Secretary to the District Disability Fund Management Committee, Mr. Ali Zakari who spoke for the Director of the Social Welfare and Community Development, admonished the beneficiaries against falling prey to any unscrupulous persons or officers from the Assembly who may later approach them demanding tips with the false claims of having assisted in getting their names onto the disbursement list. He implored them to report such persons to Management for appropriate punitive action to be taken against them.
The Upper East Regional President of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Mr. Akubire Mark Atia Ishmael commended Management of the Assembly for its prompt and well-organised disbursement of the Disability Fund to deserving members of his association.
He noted that many other Assemblies in the Upper East Region have not live up to expectation. He recounted the snail-pace transitions that the Disability Fund had passed through since 2005 when its quota allocation was at the mercy of the Assemblies until much later, strong advocacy got a prescribed percentage of the Common Fund set aside for it.
Mr. Ishmael thus charged his members who were fortunate to qualify for the support, not to indulge in acts that will cause government to regret the establishment of the Fund while urging other PWDs to be patient and await their turn as the resource basket was unable to meet all demands at once.

Source: Peter Atogewe Wendam, Kassena – Nankana West District Information Officer