The Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) in the Western Region is primed to work assiduously towards continuously improving the living standards and raising the dignity of all Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Municipality.
The Assembly so far has undertaken eight (8) disbursements to Persons with Disability with support from its Municipal Disability Committee.
From the period of January 2020 till date, a total of one hundred and forty (140) PWDs, consisting of sixty-six (66) males and seventy-four (74) females have received items and support from the Assembly, using a total sum of two hundred and twenty-three thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc 223,000).
Mr Kojo Acquah, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of EKMA who made this known in an interview with IGOGHANA said the items disbursed were usually in the form of deep freezers, spinning machines, amplifiers, water tanks, fufu pounding machines, sewing items and embroider and a host of others.
He said the Assembly in collaboration with the Western Regional President of the Ghana Federation for Disability Organizations also undertook a five-day media campaign in the last quarter of the year 2021.
The campaign was under the theme, “Supporting the Special Child, the role of stakeholders”, aimed at sensitizing residents on the available schools and rehabilitation centers nationwide and aiding PWDs in dealing with the various wide barriers which hinder their full and effective participation in society.
He, therefore, called on all parents of PWDs to fall on the NPP-government’s intervention to enrol their wards in schools and assess funding from the Assembly for purchasing items required for their education.
On the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (Leap) program, he indicated that the Assembly has over the years provided some monies to extremely poor households in nine (9) beneficiary communities within the Municipality.
He said this was under the Government’s LEAP Program to alleviate their hardship and ensure access to healthcare services, among others.
Mr Acquah announced that from the period of January 2020 till date, the Assembly has disbursed a total amount of GHc 242,395.92 to four hundred and fifty-six household beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries comprised sixty-three (63) males and three hundred and seventy-five (375) females.
He pointed out that the Assembly was expecting to receive funds from the Government this year in order to undertake more disbursement exercises to alleviate their hardship and ensure access to healthcare services among others.
