Assembly inaugurates committee to manage disability funds

The Wa Municipal Assembly has inaugurated a seven-member committee charged with the responsibility of managing funds released from the District Assemblies Common Fund purposely for the welfare of people with disabilities.

The implementation of this policy of allocating two per cent of the Common Fund to address the needs of this group of citizens followed agitations by members of various disability groups comprising the visually impaired, hearing impaired and the physically challenged.

The committee will among others, vet and approve all applications for loans, monitor and supervise the utilization of funds and present quarterly reports on the management of the funds.

Mr. Mohammed Rufai, the Municipal Coordinating Director, who inaugurated the committee, at Wa on Friday, urged the members to discharge their duties to the satisfaction of all stakeholders of the fund.

He said although the Fund was given legal backing long ago, the implementation delayed because there were no clear directives on how it should be managed.

The Assembly, he stated, had been assisting people with disabilities in several ways before the establishment of the fund and therefore saw this new gesture as supplementing the efforts of the Assembly, he said.

Source: GNA