MMDAs served stern warning over disability funds expenditure

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has warned that the common fund for the disabled is not meant for food to feed the recipients but rather for economic generated activities.

Mr Nyarko, who doubles as a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said the disabled should at a point in time exit from the programme and be on their own having gotten some vocation through the common fund.

The Committee is embarking on a fact-finding mission to check on the Local Government Ministry and all the agencies under the Ministry.

All the regions with the exception of Greater Accra will be visited as part of the inquest.

According to Mr Nyarko, the Committee wants to find out how Internally Generated Funds (IGF) are used by the Assemblies.

It is also looking at whether or not funds meant for the disabled reaches them and whether they are benefiting from the policy.

The Committee is ensuring that sanitation among other responsibilities put under the care of the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry is being properly worked on.

Speaking on Onua FM’s Yen Nsempa on Monday morning, the Akim Swedru Member of Parliament indicated that the committee supervises the Local Government Ministry and its secretariat as well as all agencies under it.

He stressed that monies allocated for such purposes cannot cater for all applicants at a given time, therefore, the committee responsible for disbursement at the district level ensures that the funds are available based on the urgency of individual applications.

He revealed that after the committee has visited seven districts in every region, it realized that cases were not peculiar from one district to the other.

Almost all the problems they encountered with disability funds were the same everywhere, he noted.

The issues with IGFs have the same problem in all the assemblies, he added.

Osei Nyarko warned that all MMDAs must utilize the funds judiciously since the law will from now on a deal with anybody who embezzles public funds.

Anybody who misappropriates any of the funds be it disability fund or IGF will face full rigours of the law.

The committee will present the full report of the fact-finding mission to Parliament upon return.