13 Benefit from disability fund at Ejisu

The  Ejisu Juabeng Municipal Assembly has since 2011 disbursed GH¢136, 442 to 260 beneficiaries of its disability fund.

Under the District Assemblies Common Fund, two per cent is allocated to a disability fund for disbursement to persons with disability.

This is in line with the governments’ policy to assist persons with disability to enable them to be independent and to improve upon their social well-being rather than being dependent and perhaps condemned as social parties.

At a presentation ceremony to the eighth batch of 13 beneficiaries on Saturday, the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Afrifah Yamoah Ponkoh, said the selection of the beneficiaries was not politically motivated.

Under the programme, he said, qualified persons needed to apply through the chairman of the committee for the final selection of beneficiaries after investigations into their backgrounds.

He said  out of the fund, the Ejisu Juabeng branch of the Federation of the Physically challenged,  which comprise three main divisions, had also embarked on various development projects to improve their lives.

The Deaf Association, for instance, has a piggery project at Aperade, the physically challenged have student foam mattresses and chairs and canopies for hiring, which enables them to support themselves.

The MCE said that it was the view of the government that the vulnerable also had their share of the national cake to better their lives hence the prompt payment of their monies.

He, therefore, urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the money to improve their livelihood.

The Ejisu Juaben Municipal Director of Department of Social Welfare, Mr Festus Effaah Konadu, was grateful to the assembly for making it possible for the disbursement of the amount to become a reality.

He also advised the disabled association to be proactive and take decisions towards the welfare of its members.

By Ernestina Kyerewaa Oppong/Daily Graphic/Ghana