Sawyerr condemns misuse of disability funds by some assemblies

The Chairperson of Parliament’s Local Government and Rural Development Committee, Queenstar Maame Pokua Sawyerr, has expressed outrage over the persistent mismanagement of funds meant for persons with disabilities (PWDs) by some Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Speaking to the media following the sitting to review the 2023 and 2024 Internal Audit Reports of MMDAs, Madam Sawyerr disclosed that several assemblies were diverting or misusing disability funds for purposes other than their intended use.

“While we are meeting with the MMDCEs, a lot of the monies meant for the disabled are being mismanaged. The excuse they give is that they are borrowing it and then they would replace it later. Whether they replace it or not, nobody knows,” she lamented. “Honestly, I don’t believe they put it back into their accounts,” she added.

Audit findings, she said, reveal that some assemblies use portions of the funds without proper authorization, often procuring items for beneficiaries instead of directly disbursing the money.

“Sometimes the MMDCEs themselves will use some of the money to buy items for them as if it’s their own decision. The excuses and reasons, for me, honestly, don’t make sense,” she stressed.

Madam Sawyerr, who is also the Member of Parliament for Agona East, warned that the Committee will not tolerate such practices in subsequent audits.

“If God willing next year, we sit again and we find that anybody has done that, we are going to be very, very hard on the person, whether it’s the finance officer, coordinating director, DFO, or the chief executive,” she cautioned.

She disclosed that the Committee has identified more than 27 districts with recurring irregularities and will intensify monitoring.

The findings will soon be submitted to the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister for Local Government, and the Chief of Staff.

“Now a lot of money is going to the assemblies. The DCEs are receiving more funds than MPs. If you give money to somebody in abundance and you don’t follow it up, the person will misuse it,” she remarked, adding, “This 2025, they are not going to misuse it anymore because we have started this early and on time.”

In Ghana, the allocation of funds to support persons with disabilities (PWDs) is part of the broader District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) framework, established under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution.

The DACF provides each Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assembly (MMDA) with a percentage of national revenue to promote local development and social inclusion.

In 2005, the government introduced a policy directing that 2% of every district’s share of the DACF be reserved specifically for PWDs.

This initiative aimed to empower PWDs economically, reduce poverty among them, and promote their active participation in community development.

Administration of the fund is overseen at the district level by the Social Welfare Department in collaboration with the DACF Administrator and local PWD associations.

However, over the years, civil society organizations and the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) have raised concerns about the misapplication, delays, and poor accountability surrounding the fund.

Audit reports and parliamentary reviews have repeatedly cited instances where assemblies either failed to disburse the money on time or used it for unauthorized purposes.

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Some MMDCEs have reportedly spent portions of the funds to procure items on behalf of beneficiaries without proper consultation, contrary to national guidelines that require direct cash disbursement or transparent project-based support.