‘Promote accountability in disbursement of fund to PWDs’

A project aimed at promoting accountability and transparency in the disbursement and utilisation of the three per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) allocated to Persons With Disabilities(PWDs) in seven municipal and district assemblies in the Upper East Region was on Wednesday inaugurated at Bolgatanga.

Dubbed: "Promoting transparency and accountability in the management, disbursement procedures and utilisation of the three percent DACF allocated to Persons With Disabilities", the project will be piloted in the Bolgatanga and Kassena Nankana municipalities, Bongo, Talensi, Nabdam, Builsa South and Garu Tempane districts.

The project is being implemented jointly by the TEERE, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Federation of Disability (GFD) organisations funding was secured from the French Embassy in Ghana through its Innovative Projects for Civil Society and Coalition Actors (PISCCA).

The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) are supporting its implementation over the next 12 months.

Accountability

The President of the GFD, Mr David Aniah, bemoaned the misuse and misapplication of the Disability Fund in the various districts.

He alleged that instead of doing the right thing by strictly following the guidelines for the disbursement of the fund, the various district assemblies rather gave such money to political party faithful.

Mr Aniah further noted that the District Fund Management Committees needed to be reconstituted to prevent further abuse of the Disability Fund.

He stressed the need for urgent steps to audit the use of the Disability Fund from 2010 to 2016 while ensuring that the various district assemblies introduced the cheque and money order payment systems to avoid giving out cash to beneficiaries to promote accountability.

"We will carry out a performance review on how best the beneficiaries are judiciously using the fund; we will also ensure that the District Fund Management Committees produce quarterly reports to help monitor the disbursement of the fund," Mr Aniah pointed out.

NGOs

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Rockson Bukari, who inaugurated the project, observed that there were over 60 NGOs in the region but their impact was not being felt among the rural poor.

He noted that some of the NGOs were not transparent and accountable to the people while others misappropriated funds meant to bring relief to the poor by putting up structures and facilities that were not pro-poor.

Mr Bukari, therefore, called for concerted efforts to effectively monitor the activities of NGOs to promote accountability and rapid development in the rural communities.

"Let us also ensure that the various district assemblies do not abuse the Disability Fund," he further stated.

The Cooperation Attachee at the French Embassy in Ghana, Dr Marion Chapon, said that the French Solidarity Programme “has made GH¢116,140 available this year to enhance living conditions for the rural people.”

She explained that in 2016, the French government equally made a budgetary allocation of GH¢1.3 million to finance various projects in Ghana for the next three years in such sectors as solar energy, improvement in technologies for mercury-free gold extraction, governance and building capacities of NGOs working with Parliament.