By Edward Dankwah
Accra, June 12, GNA – Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has cautioned Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) against the misuse of funds allocated to Persons with Disability (PWDs).
He stressed that the resources must reach intended beneficiaries and not be diverted for other purposes.
He said the Ministry would intensify monitoring of the utilisation of the PWD Fund to ensure assemblies complied with established guidelines and upheld the welfare of persons living with disabilities.
The Minister made the call during a monitoring and evaluation exercise to assess the performance of MMDAs following the disbursement of significant financial resources under the government’s decentralisation agenda.
The exercise sought to verify whether assemblies were effectively utilising funds allocated to them and complying with government guidelines.
Selected Assemblies visited included the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly and the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly.
Mr Ibrahim noted that while the disbursement of PWD funds had generally been on the average, more attention was needed to ensure effective utilisation.
“The disbursement has been on average, but clearly, I need to intensify how that money is utilised because it is an easy-going area if an assembly wants to take persons with disability for granted,” he added.
The Minister recalled that in the past, some Assemblies borrowed from the Fund for other activities, prompting reforms under the late President John Evans Atta Mills to establish separate accounts for the direct transfer of funds meant for persons with disabilities.
He emphasised that ensuring the proper use of the fund remained a priority because persons with disability represent a significant portion of the country’s population.
“When persons with disabilities are happy, it means about 10 per cent of the population is happy, and that is why I am placing more emphasis on that,” he added.
Mr Ibrahim said utilisation rates of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) varied across the country, with some assemblies recording expenditure levels above 50 per cent, while others performed significantly below expectations.
He attributed some of the delays in fund utilisation to procurement processes and the late issuance of generic authorisation by the Ministry of Finance, which affected the commencement of projects funded through the DACF.
The Minister called for greater transparency and accountability within assemblies, urging Coordinating Directors and Municipal Finance Officers to provide assembly members with timely access to information regarding funds received and expenditures made.
He warned that officials who deliberately withheld information from assembly members or Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives would be sanctioned, stressing that transparency remained essential to effective local governance and the fight against corruption.
Mr Ibrahim said the monitoring exercise would continue in the coming days and expanded to other regions to ensure that Assemblies made prudent use of public resources and delivered meaningful development projects to their communities.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah