The Chairperson of the Local Government and Rural Development Committee has warned chief executives and management of metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) to stop misusing funds meant for Persons with Disability (PWDs) under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

Queenstar Pokuah Sawyerr, the Chairperson, stated that the excuses given by chief executives, coordinating directors, and finance officers for borrowing PWD funds and not replacing them were unjustifiable, as most of those funds were never replaced.

“Whether the assemblies replace the funds or not, nobody knows, but honestly, I do not believe they put it back into PWDs’ accounts,” she said.

­­Addressing some chief executives of local assemblies in the middle, eastern, and northern parts of Ghana, who appeared before the Local Government Committee’s public hearing last Friday,

Mrs. Sawyerr said, “Why I am passionate about this is that any of us can be disabled any time, any minute.

Under the DACF Act, three percent of the total allocation to each district assembly is reserved for the PWD fund.

The fund aims to improve the lives of people with disabilities through livelihood empowerment, education, healthcare, and capacity development.

However, the 2023 and 2024 Auditor-General’s reports showed persistent irregularities in managing those funds, from diversions to outright misuse by some local assemblies.

Action to be taken

Mrs. Sawyerr indicated that from next year, if the committee sat and issues of misapplication of PWDs funds popped up again, “we are going to be very, very hard on the person.”

“We will make sure whether it is the finance officer or the coordinating director or the chief executive, we are going to make sure action is taken about that because this is just not right.

To avert such needless abuse of PWDs’ funds, Mrs. Sawyerr pledged the commitment of her committee to undertake frequent monitoring to stop such abuse.

Having identified more than 27 districts where such misuse of PWDs' funds was rampant, she assured that committee members would soon visit such areas to help nip the practice in the bud.

She said the committee would submit its reports to the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister of Local Government, and the Chief of Staff for the needed action to be taken against those found guilty. 

Utilise fund prudently

With much priority now given to the decentralisation process by the government, which was also expending significant resources, the chairperson warned chief executives of MMDAs against any conduct that could create a rift between themselves and their MPs.