A non-governmental organisation for persons with disabilities headquartered in Ho, VOICE Ghana, has launched a US$100,000 project on resource revenue management and its benefits for persons with disabilities.

The project is funded by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), an organization, working to influence energy sector policies in Africa.

The focus of the one-and-a-half-year project is to ensure existing policies on resource revenue allocations from the extractive sector is reviewed, to also benefit persons with disabilities.

The beneficiary regions are: Western, Ashanti, Eastern, Central and Volta. Four (4) districts will be purposely selected in each of these regions, based on where some extractive industries or activities are being carried out, as the implementing districts.

The project will also sensitize persons with disabilities, especially from the implementing districts, on resource revenues management in the country, such as revenues from the mining and extractive industries including the oil and gas sector.

They will also be empowered to start demanding benefits from these revenues to address their needs, aside the mandated 3% Disability Grant from the District Assembly Common Fund.

In interaction with the Voice Ghana team, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Hon. Eugenia Gifty Kusi, lauded the idea for review of existing policies on resource revenue allocations from the extractive sector as part of the project, to also benefit persons with disabilities.

In a related development, Hon. Eric Kwakye Darfour, the Eastern Regional Minister, expressed his full support for the project and advised VOICE Ghana to consider undertaking baseline survey as part of the project, to identify the needs of persons with disabilities, so as to develop future proposals in supporting their livelihoods.

The Central Regional President of Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Nana George Frimpong, expressed her full support towards achieving objectives of the project.

“I envisaged the project to go a long way to support persons with disabilities in accessing additional funding for their livelihoods, apart from the mandated 3% District Assembly Common Fund”, she said.

Other key collaborators of the project include the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Petroleum Commission, Minerals Commission, National Council on Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD).

VOICE Ghana plays active and leading role in disability policy advocacy, and inclusive governance for persons with disabilities in Ghana. The organisation has a corporate brand as the voice that speaks for the marginalized persons with disabilities in society.