About 95 per cent of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Obuasi municipal area have sources of livelihood due to the impact of the Disability Fund, Elijah Adansi-Bonah, the Municipal Chief Executive has stated.

Three per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) released quarterly to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) is set aside for the welfare of PWDs.

Speaking at a short ceremony to present items to some PWDs in Obuasi, the MCE said the Fund had supported most PWDs in the municipality, who hitherto did not have any means of livelihood, forcing them to beg on roadsides for survival.

In all, 21 people received various items such as knitting machines, fufu pounding machines and industrial sewing machines, while others were given educational and medical support.

To ensure that the items are used for the intended purposes, all the items have been embossed to prevent the beneficiaries from selling them.

The Fund, according to Mr Adansi-Bonah, had significantly impacted the lives of PWDs, who were engaged in various economic ventures, having received support to establish their own businesses.

He said the idea behind the Fund was to provide social protection for PWDs and urged the beneficiaries to prudently utilise the support to achieve self-reliance.

Karim Iddrisu, the President of the Obausi chapter of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD), thanked the government for the laudable intervention.

He appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) to put in place measures to make it convenient for persons living with disabilities to vote in the upcoming elections.

He said some of their members in the past had to join long queues to vote, saying that the inconvenience was disenfranchising many who were compelled to stay away.

“We as PWDs always believe in democracy since it is the only way we can be part of governance processes and be heard too.

"So we are appealing to the EC to make it easier for our members to participate in the process.”