Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has directed all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to immediately update and validate their Persons with Disability albums to prevent the misuse of disability funds and eliminate ghost beneficiaries from the system.
He said many Assemblies were still relying on outdated albums created in 2018, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in the disbursement of funds meant for persons with disability.
The Minister issued the directive after the Ministry term as the “District Accountability Tour” in some selected MMDAs in the Greater Accra Region.
The tour aimed at engaging the Assemblies and assessing ongoing developmental initiatives, after the disbursement of over 80 per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to the local authorities.
The Assemblies visited were the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, the Tema West Municipal Assembly, the Krowor Municipal Assembly and the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly.
Speaking after the tour, Mr. Ibrahim praised the Assemblies for their presentations and infrastructure projects but described Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly as outstanding for clearly demonstrating how funds had been spent through detailed financial records.
The Minister disclosed that Assemblies in Greater Accra received about GH¢795 million in 2025, but only GH¢153 million had been utilised, leaving over GH¢642 million in accounts.
Despite the progress made, he expressed dissatisfaction with the poor management of Persons with Disability records in several assemblies.
“The 2018 albums they are working with must be updated and validated,” he stressed, warning that any Assembly unable to produce updated records could be suspected of corruption or ill motive.
Mr. Ibrahim announced that within two weeks, the Ministry would issue a circular directing all assemblies to compile new albums containing photographs, Ghana Card details, registration numbers and GPS locations of beneficiaries.
He urged social welfare officers to stop treating the records as private property by storing them solely on personal laptops without institutional access.
The Minister said the government had increased the allocation for persons with disability from three per cent to five, raising the total national allocation from GH¢263 million to GH¢438 million.
He stressed the need for accurate and updated data to ensure the funds reached genuine beneficiaries.
The Minister called on Assembly Members, social welfare officers and local authorities to undertake fresh registration and validation exercises to remove deceased beneficiaries and capture eligible persons with disability.
Touching on infrastructure development, Mr. Ibrahim urged the four Assemblies within the Spintex Corridor to collaborate on a joint project to redevelop the Tespo Market into a modern commercial hub.
He said the Ministry was prepared to support the initiative if the Assemblies pooled their resources and worked together with traditional authorities and landowners.
“Transforming the market into a modern facility would improve business conditions for traders and contribute significantly to local economic development,” he stressed.
GNA
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