Ho Assembly Supports 76 PWDs

The Ho Municipal Assembly in Ghana has provided financial aid and essential equipment to 76 individuals with disabilities (PWDs) as part of the 37th disbursement from the Persons with Disability Common Fund. These beneficiaries were supported across four crucial areas: income-generating pursuits, education, healthcare, and organizational development. These initiatives aim to enhance their livelihoods and encourage social integration.

Among the items received by some beneficiaries were freezers, fufu-pounding machines, sewing machines, poly tanks, and laptops; others were granted cash to either launch or enlarge their enterprises. Alexander Korsi Akpo, chairman of the Municipal Common Fund Management Committee, implored beneficiaries to utilize these resources and subsidies appropriately to guarantee the project's success in fostering economic self-reliance among PWDs.

He warned against selling or discarding the items, emphasizing the objective was to cultivate self-sustainability, not dependency.

Akpo also encouraged PWDs to abandon street begging and capitalize on opportunities provided by the Common Fund and other social welfare programs. He acknowledged the government's increase in the PWD allocation from three percent to five percent of the District Assemblies Common Fund. However, he lamented that the present five percent allocation was still insufficient to address the escalating needs of PWDs and solicited further aid from private entities, civil society organizations, philanthropists, and development partners.

He advocated for a transition from small-scale initiatives to capital-intensive and enduring projects that could foster employment and generate lasting income for PWDs and their organizations.

Ho Municipal Chief Executive Stephen Adom disclosed that the rise in the PWD allocation from three percent to five percent was a component of the government's commitment to improving the PWDs' welfare and advancing social integration. He urged beneficiaries to employ the items fruitfully and cautioned them against selling them. Adom revealed that the Assembly had set up a monitoring committee to oversee beneficiaries and assure the funds and resources allocated were used as intended.

He stated that this mechanism would allow the Assembly to evaluate the intervention's impact and ensure future assistance reached those in dire need. The government would also continue to support the education of children with disabilities.