Guidelines for the Management and Disbursements of the District Assemblies Common Fund for Persons with Disabilities 2024

Introduction

The National Council on Persons with Disability was created by Act of Parliament.
that is the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) as the State Agency mandated
for disability matters and inclusion. Section 42 of the Persons with Disability Act,
2006 (Act 715) obliges the Council to propose and evolve policies and strategies to
enable persons with disabilities enter and participate in the mainstream of the
national development processes, by monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.

Section 125 of Local Governance Act 2016, (Act 936) ensures that a percentage of
the total quarterly revenues of Ghana is released to the MMDAs for local level
development. Out of this, a percentage is allocated for the socio-economic
empowerment of persons with disabilities.

The Guidelines for the Disbursement and Management of the District Assemblies
Common Fund for Persons with Disability (Guidelines, 2010) was adopted to
regulate the management and disbursement of the common fund for persons with
disabilities by the Disability Fund Management Committees. In accordance with
Sections 42 (1) and (2) of the Act 715, the Guidelines (2010) obliges the MMDAs,
through the Disability Fund Management Committees, to submit reports on the
management and disbursement of the Fund.

The review of the Guidelines for the Disbursement and Management of the District
Assemblies Common Fund for Persons with Disability (Guidelines, 2010) was
informed by the inadequate regulatory provisions to accommodate emerging trends
in disability inclusion. The Council in 2018 worked in collaboration with stakeholders,
including 45 organizations of persons with disabilities and some selected district
assemblies, to review the Guidelines for the Disbursement and Management of the
District Assemblies Common Fund for Persons with Disability. Subsequently in 2021,
an additional district level focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted involving
95 individual stakeholders made up of mostly MMDA officials, persons with disability,
members of the District Fund Management Committees, (DFMCs) including regional
and district organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs).

The revised Guidelines for the Disbursement and Management of the District
Assemblies Common Fund for Persons with Disability is informed by numerous
complaints received by the Council, the Draft Persons with Disabilities Re-enactment
and the accompanying Legislative Instrument, concerns expressed by the Local
Government and Rural Development Committee of Parliament and the Disability
Fund Management Committees, Social Welfare and Community Development,
entrepreneurs with disabilities, students with disabilities, parents of children with
disabilities and Organisations of persons with disabilities.