Juaso (Ash), Dec. 5, GNA - The Asante Akim South District branch of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled (GSPD) has called for transparency in the disbursement of their share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

According to them, all they knew was that they were entitled to two per cent of the DACF but had never been privy to the exact amount due them ov= er the years. The situation, they said, had kept them in the dark for far too long=

and urged the assembly to brief them on their share to promote transparen= cy. Madam Ruth Obeng, the District Chairperson of the society, who made the call during the district's celebration of International Day of the Disabl= ed at Juaso, also expressed grave concern about the delay in releasing the funds for their programmes.

The celebration, which was on the theme, "Realising the Millennium Development Challenge for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities an= d their Communities" brought together disabled persons across the district. Madam Obeng, while acknowledging that the assembly was sponsoring so= me of their members in school, stressed the need for such expenditure to be made known to the society. She was, however, grateful to government for the numerous social interventions for the disabled and advocated for the enactment of a law t= o ban persons with disabilities from begging for alms. Mr De-graft Forkuo, District Chief Executive (DCE) in a response, assured them that their concerns would be addressed but asked them to bea= r with the assembly as the DACF was received on quarterly basis. He entreated persons with disabilities to join the society, insistin= g that monies would not be released to individuals. The DCE challenged the leadership of the society to ensure accountability and desist from partisan politics to attract more members. Mr William Ansah Kwakye, District Social Welfare Officer disclosed t= hat 500 disabled persons had been registered in the district as part of effor= ts to provide interventions for them. He urged parents with disabled children to provide them with equal opportunities to unearth their talents and desist from isolating them fro= m the public.