The Ghana Society for Persons Living with Disability in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region has urged government to provide alternative livelihood support programmes for the growing numbers of PWDs in the country.
According to them, the 3 percent component of the District Assemblies Common Fund members are entitled to is woefully inadequate to meet their needs.
As required by the PWD Act, 3% of the Assembly Common Fund is allocated to meet the interest and needs of PWDs after a needs assessment, verifying of documents, vetting and approval by the department of social welfare.
The East Gonja Municipal Chairman of the PWDs Ibrahim Yussif noted most of their members are yet to benefit from the 3% share of the common fund.
“The 3% DACF we are entitled to is woefully inadequate for our growing membership, so we also have a challenge allocating the funds to members and their demands.
“Many have conditions and situations that need more support than we doing now and so an alternative source of livelihood empowerment fund can be created to support us to deal with the growing demands of members,” he added.
Presenting some items to 55 beneficiaries, Municipal Chief Executive for East Gonja Richard Broni urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items.
“The assembly will continue to release the 3% component of the Common fund to the association of PWDs in the Municipality to cushion their membership needs. I admit is not enough but half a loaf is better than none,” he said.
“Government interventions such as Rearing for Food and Jobs and other projects from the Ghana Enterprises Agency are all programmes the PWDs can tap into.”
He admonished the beneficiaries to put the intervention into productive use.
