Volta:PWD’s receives support from Agortime Ziofe District Assembly
The donation is to enable them start up individual business as well as gifts for the new year celebration.
The received items will assist the beneficiaries to set up their own businesses and also revive the existing but struggling ones in the district to enable them take care of themselves and their dependants.
The beneficiaries received items including nineteen (19) deep freezers, a fridge, weaving yarn for three kente weavers, three phase electric meters for corn mill machine, rubber bag packaging, a set of table for a start of business, bags of rice, beans and cooking oil.
The District Director of the Social Welfare Department, Togbe Tsali IV, said out of the 30 beneficiaries, their outfit is paying school fees for five (5) young physically challenged in their various stages of educational life since the mode of disbursement of fund was changed from 2018 to the more sustainable distribution of valuable items to the beneficiaries to help improve their economic lives.
He noted that, the social welfare department has seen a total of 302 out of about 800 registered PWDs within the district benefit from the distribution of economic enhancement items to help improve on their livelihood.
He said the donations for the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) is suppose to have taken place earlier but postponed due to the Farmers Day Celebration adding that, the distribution of the items to the PWDs however supposed to be done quarterly but the Global Corona Virus pandemic could not make them fulfil the district’s agenda on the mode of distribution within the year successfully.
According to him, the only presentation done in the year was far back in January to some batch of the Persons with disabilities in the district adding that, the Assembly’s main challenge is unavailability of funds to purchase items for the beneficiaries.
Togbe Tsali IV laid bare the financial constraints the corona virus pandemic placed on the government purse which slowed down almost every activity in the government sector.
In addition, he said it is his prayer that by the end of 2022, the department will uplift the standard of life of all registered persons living with disabilities within the district noting that, all efforts are being made to compile a new album for the PWDs which shall be used to capture all the details of all PWDs within the district.
The Director further lamented about government taxation of the District Assembly Common Fund, a situation which affected their activities and pleaded with the stakeholders to consider the canker.
In an exclusive interview with the media, Togbe mentioned that, it is not everybody who applied for the items is able to have it because the department made a careful selection and that the only available items for disbursement is what the people have received.
He however hinted that the main distribution will be in the first quarter of 2022 adding that, there is going to be a keen monitoring this month to establish how the items are being used.
“Formerly the beneficiaries were given cash and sometimes animals to rare but when we go on monitoring, there is nothing to inspect. The money is finished and when hardship arise, they sell out the animals and the money too is gone, so Common Fund office came with the idea that, the beneficiaries should rather be establish with working machines”
He expressed his appreciation to the common fund office and government as a whole for their support.
The District Chief Executive of the Agotime Ziofe District, Emelia Emefa Agyemang, presented the items to the beneficiaries and urged them to make good use of them adding that the assembly will continue to support them whenever the need arises.
Some beneficiaries have expressed their joy in an interview with ignewss.com,
Adawuso Edem, a beneficiary from Ebe said, she is a seamstress and for so many years she has been in need of a sewing machine. “formerly the assembly gave us money, maize and the rest, but today my joy knows no bounds”.
Another beneficiary, Abotsi Kafui from Kpetoe Agbagodo noted that, this is her second time of receiving items from the assembly. “The previous ones were rice, maize, beans and cooking oil but today, I’m taking home a deep freezer which I will use to sell ice water and other beverages.”
According to Prosper Akpese, he will use his freezer to sell meat and again use the profit to buy another freezer to enable him have a bigger and better cold store.
SOURCE: www.ignewss.com