Government urged to increase common fund for disabled persons

Agona Swedru, Jan 16, GNA - Mrs Monica Siaw, Agona West Municipal Officer of the Department of Social Welfare, has suggested to the government to increase the two percent of the District Assembly's common fund allocated to the Persons With Disability (PWD) to at least five percent. She said the two percent was inadequate.

Mrs Siaw made the suggestion at a two-day workshop for members of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled in the Agona West Municipal at Agona Swedru in the Central Region. The workshop was under the theme "training in business planning and management." Some of the topics treated include developing an effective business plan, marketing analysis, management plan, financial control, risk management, financial considerations and transforming risk and insurance. She said if the increment was done it would enable trainees to receive credit facility to establish small scale businesses. Mrs Siaw said the department had written proposals to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other donors to supplement the efforts of the government.

Mr Isaac Kofi Asante, Agona West Municipal Chairman of the Society, said the training workshop would assist the members to know how to manage their businesses. Mr Asante said executives of the society were doing their best to take away some of the members who had gone to the streets to solicit financial assistance from people. He appealed to the well-to-do people, NGOs and philanthropists to assist the society. Mr Asante expressed concern about the delay in disbursement of their share of the common fund by the District, Municipal and Metropolitan assemblies and appealed to the new government to reverse the trend.