The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, says the government will intensify monitoring of funds allocated to persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to ensure beneficiaries receive the intended support.

The assurance follows his tour of 10 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the minister, the PWD Fund remains one of the most vulnerable areas for abuse at the local government level, with some assemblies in the past allegedly diverting or borrowing from the allocation instead of disbursing it to beneficiaries.

Speaking during an assessment tour of selected MMDAs, the minister said assemblies will be held accountable for the management of the fund.

“The disbursement has been average, but clearly, I need to intensify how that money is utilised because it is an area where assemblies can easily take persons with disabilities for granted,” he said.

He recalled that concerns over the handling of the fund prompted the late President John Evans Atta Mills to introduce a system under which allocations were transferred directly into dedicated accounts for persons with disabilities.

The minister says he has consistently emphasised the need for assemblies to ensure that the money reaches beneficiaries directly.

“When persons with disabilities are happy, it means about 10 per cent of the population are happy, and that is why I am placing more emphasis on that,” he noted.

The minister also expressed concern about a lack of transparency in some assemblies, revealing that officials in certain districts withhold financial information from elected representatives.

He warned that Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, and Municipal Finance Officers who fail to provide information requested by assembly members will face sanctions.

According to him, assembly members must be equipped with the information needed to effectively perform their oversight responsibilities and hold local authorities accountable.

The minister further urged presiding members and assembly members to actively demand financial records and expenditure documents, insisting that transparency remains a key tool in the fight against corruption.

The minister described the ongoing assessment tour as useful and indicated that all 29 assemblies in the Greater Accra Region will be visited before similar exercises are extended to other regions.

He maintained that the government has demonstrated its commitment to local development through the release of substantial funds to assemblies, some of which have received between GH¢1.5 million and GH¢3 million for development projects.