Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) has condemned the misappropriation of their two percent share of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
President of the Federation, Yaw Ofori Debrah expressed their frustrations at a press conference organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).
The Constitution of Ghana mandates the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to allocate two percent of their share of the DACF to persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
[contextly_sidebar id=”ignTQqQZKMwhiVBjCgbMWrow4FOpYUFX”]Recent revelations by the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) showed officials at the Bole District Assembly spent about GHC11, 000 meant for the disabled, to organize assembly meetings.
Others were also reportedly spent on funerals.
Yaw Ofori Debrah bemoaned the reckless abuse of the funds by various MMDAs “whilst disabled people are left to suffer.”
“One district told Ghana federation of the disabled that they were sorry they had to actually fund the school feeding and they have not gotten the money for that so they are borrowing our money, as soon as they get the money they will put it back and other innocuous reasons are given for the borrowing of the money meanwhile the poor persons with disability are living in hunger,” he lamented.
He added that the disabled in the country “are actually facing the hardship of life and sometimes when they are under pressure and they are compelled to go into the streets to beg.”
Meanwhile the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Ibraimah urged the MMDAs to desist from misusing the disability fund adding that “this two percent allocation is supposed to go into activities that will support our brothers or sisters who need some level of special support.”
He also called on the media to champion the cause of the disabled in the society
In a related development, the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) are calling for a review in the two percent allocated to them claiming it is too small to meet their needs.
–
By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana