By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, April 9, GNA – Africa Disability Institute (ADI), a disability research and policy entity headquartered in Ho, in conjunction with its partners, has started implementing a development project in three Municipalities and a District in the Volta and Oti regions.
The four project areas are the Keta and Ketu South Municipalities of the Volta Region, the Nkwanta South Municipal and Nkwanta North District in the Oti Region.
The project dubbed, ‘Performance Accountability Activity (PAA), is a five-year Activity, funded by USAID with Democracy International as the grantee and ADI as the Implementing Partner in the four target districts.
PAA will help strengthen the confidence, give voice to the voiceless, and networks of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups seeking to hold the government accountable for equitable service delivery.
Mr Francis Asong, Executive Director of Africa Disability Institute, at a stakeholder engagement at Keta to officially announce the project, and seek collaboration of stakeholders, said the project was focused on addressing the existing impediments in accessing essential services in education, healthcare, employment, water, hygiene, sanitation (WASH), agriculture and fisheries sectors.
He said the project would leverage on related support being provided by USAID and other donors in the implementing districts, to reinforce ongoing efforts to promote transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance in the aforementioned sectors.
The Executive Director explained that five communities in each of the four targeted districts, which were captured in the 2024 Annual Action Plans of the target Assemblies with PAA service sector focus, would be selection by stakeholders for the project.
The beneficiary Assemblies and their respective WASH, Agriculture, Health, Fisheries, and Education Service sectors will be the key stakeholders and facilitators for the project.
Mr Innocent Komla Gavua, the Keta Municipal Coordinating Director, who is elated about the project, believed the initiative would not only improve service delivery but the local economy as well, and indicated the readiness of the Municipality for the implementation.
He indicated, for instance, that the decreasing level of education at Keta Central was expected to be enhanced under the programme.
He also expressed the Assembly’s optimism that the fishing industry at Vodza would see improvement and uplift the livelihoods of the people with the Zonal Fisheries Commission playing a key role.
He further said the “Agricultural sector, especially at Atiavi and Lawoshime areas would be greatly enhanced.”
Mr Gavua said the Assembly was poised to facilitate, coordinate and monitor the project religiously as it would elect focal persons to champion service delivery of sectors selected under the project and to make it succeed.
Agbotadua Togbi Kumassah, Spokesperson of Togbui Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo State, told the Ghana News Agency that the sectors under consideration were crucial towards enhancing the livelihoods of the people, while pledging full support by the traditional authorities for the implementation.
He said as custodians of the land and tradition, their inclusion would engender real accountability of funds targeted for the project, stating that resources for instance for people with disability, the youth and women to address unemployment in the enclave would be upheld with all seriousness.
Overall, the Performance Accountability Activity targets 70 districts in 10 regions across the country, made up of 47 out of 55 districts across the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Northeast and Savannah regions: and the remaining 23 out of 78 districts across the Oti, Volta, Western, Western North and Central Regions.
The districts were selected based on ongoing USAID activities and did not overlap with other donor funded public accountability strengthening interventions.
ADI was established with a core aim of becoming a disability research and policy reference point mainly for African governments, Academia and Parliaments as well as public and private sectors.
The Institute also operates a competent youth department, which focuses on specific issues concerning youth with disabilities.
Until December 2022, the group was known as Voice of People with Disability Ghana (VOICE Ghana) and has been promoting disability inclusion and mainstreaming agenda in Ghana, mainly at the grassroots level.
GNA