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PWDs sensitised to effective disbursement of Disability Fund

PA non-government organisation (NGO), TEERE, operating in the Upper East Region has been applauded for promoting and strengthening transparency and accountability in the management, disbursement and usage of the Disability Fund.

The Persons with Disability (PWDs) who lauded the NGO for constantly educating the vulnerable groups in society, including the PWDs, on government social interventions, said a lot of vulnerable groups were now better informed than before on the interventions.

This, they noted, had empowered majority of them to now access the government’s social interventions such as the three per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund allocated to them to transform their lives.

The PWDs made the commendation  in Bolgatanga at a learning event last Friday   on the theme, “Sustaining the gains of Transparency and Accountability in the Management of the Disability Fund” organised by TEERE in collaboration with the Upper East Regional Chapter of the Ghana Federation of Disability (GFD).

The project, which is being supported by STAR Ghana with funding support from the UKaid, DANIDA and European Union, aimed to engage and sensitise stakeholders to ensure that the disability fund was effectively disbursed to the right beneficiaries and being used purposefully.

The programme was to further afford the beneficiaries the opportunity to share knowledge on how they disburse the Disability Fund at the various municipals and districts, identify challenges to its effective disbursement, and how they could help find solutions to those challenges.

The programme brought together the District Fund Management Committees (DFMCs), finance officers, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs), representatives from the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, Department of Social Welfare and members of the GFD.

Dr David Azaare, Chairman of the Disability Fund Management Committee of the Bawku Municipal, explained that the project had enabled them to effectively disburse their funds without difficulty, unlike before, and that the programme had further enabled them to learn from each other to improve their performance.

Dr Azaare, who is also a beneficiary, charged his colleagues in other districts to build a rapport with the various district authorities, and added this would enable the PWDs benefit substantially from the fund allocated to them.

The Upper East Regional Coordinating Director, Alhaji MahammaduAzonko, praised the NGO and its partners for complementing government’s efforts to deepen the decentralisation.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of TEERE, Ms Patience Avea, explained that the NGO had been working in the region over the years in the areas of local governance, youth and women empowerment, local economic development, research and development as well as arts and culture.

Ms Avea explained that the overall goal of the project was to establish an effective monitoring system to ensure that deserving beneficiaries got the funds and use it appropriately to reduce poverty and improve upon their lives.

FROM SAMUEL AKAPULE, BOLGATANGA

Pix: Disability Fund 1/samba/03-03-19

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