Produce documentation on official expenditure to Assembly, PWDs advised

Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the Ashaiman Municipality have been asked to provide the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) with documentation on how and what the spend funds disbursed to them from the Disability Fund.

Mr Courage Wormenor, Chairman of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled, who gave the advice, said the failure of some PWDs who benefitted from the Fund to furnish the Assembly with the requisite receipts was creating auditing problems for the Assembly.

Mr Wormenor explained that officials over the years had been queried for their inability to attach the receipts to their accounting documents during auditing adding that it created the impression that the fund had been misappropriated or embezzled.

He gave the advice when ASHMA through the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, disbursed a total of GHs 69,500 to 33 PWDs in the Municipality to purchase corn mill machine, photocopier machine, deep freezer and brailler and brailling sheets.

“Please we cannot chase you for the receipts, do the honourable thing to furnish the Assembly with it to avoid creating troubles for them when external auditors come to audit their files,” he indicated.

He added that most of the beneficiaries who received their disbursement early this year were yet to provide documentation, a situation he described as worrying.

Mr Archibald Mensah, Head of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, Ashaiman Municipality, reiterated the need for them to produce the receipts.

“We know it is sometimes difficult to get receipts from some traders such as vegetable sellers but you can raise a honorarium certificate to cover them, this will solve the unavailability of receipts and auditing problems”, he said.

Mr Mensah added that the committee for the disbursement of the Disability Fund used to purchase the items for the beneficiaries but they started accusing them of purchasing inferior things for them hence the disbursement of cash to them.

He, however, added that to ensure the monies would be used for its intended purpose, officials of his outfit would accompany the beneficiaries to purchase the items after they cash the cheques.

He urged beneficiaries to strictly use the monies for their intended purpose which was to uplift their living standards and keep them off the streets.

Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, on his part, said government was committed in its quest to support PWDs in the country hence the timely disbursements.