Nana Kugbeadzor Bakateyi II, Chief Executive Officer of Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA), a non-governmental organization, has observed that the disability fund established to support Persons with Disabilities remained a mirage across the country.
She said a study revealed that over 80 per cent of Persons with Disability (PWDs) had little knowledge about the disbursement and management of the three per cent fund paid directly by the Common Fund Administrator into a designated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly accounts.
The findings were contained in an overview of the STAR-Ghana funded anti-corruption project on the disbursement and management of the fund for PWDs, meant to alleviate plights of PWDs.
Nana Bakateyi said the report showed that deprived, remote and hard-to-reach communities found it difficult accessing the fund whereas some assemblies borrowed from the fund without paying back.
She said PWDs were the most vulnerable in society because their disabilities deprived them of access to public services including dignified employment for sustainable livelihood and charged the assemblies to release the monies to PWDs.
Nana Bakateyi called for concerted efforts to demand accountability from duty bearers and fight against any form of corruption at the assemblies.
She said it was unfortunate that no PWD was signatory to the disability fund account and described it as an abnormality.
The eleven months projects in Akatsi South, Krachi East and Kadjebi sought to provide PWDs access to adequate information on how the disability fund was disbursed, ensure the effective management of the fund by the Disability Fund Management Committee and provide a strong district level presence.
Mr Leo-Nelson Adzidogah, District Chief Executive, Akatsi South, chastised persons and assemblies who embezzled the fund, saying the three per cent of the Common Fund was meant to empower and encourage PWDs.
He assured beneficiaries in the Assembly of government's new policy of using the fund to directly empower PWDs in any field of their choice instead of handing over cheques to them.