Tensions boiled over on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, as the investigative committee probing the botched December 2025 Disability Common Fund disbursement at the Ada East District Assembly concluded its public sittings amidst the evasion of key assembly officials and damning revelations of ghost beneficiaries.
The committee’s search for accountability hit a major wall during its final session as top administrative heads dodged public scrutiny, leaving critical questions unanswered regarding financial approvals, inflated procurements, and unexecuted disbursements.
Despite receiving invitations, the District Coordinating Director, Mrs. Jean Amerley Tagoe, failed to appear before the panel.
In a similar display of evasion, the Assembly’s Procurement Officer refused to testify for the second time. Having shunned the committee’s first sitting, the officer was spotted on the Assembly premises earlier on Wednesday, but vanished shortly before his scheduled testimony, driving away from the parking lot.
Background: General Assembly Mandates Extended Investigation
Wednesday’s sitting was the direct result of a resolution passed by the full house of the Ada East District Assembly during its general meeting on July 31, 2026.
Faced with mounting public outcry and glaring gaps in initial testimonies, the General Assembly refused to accept preliminary explanations and formally ordered a further, deeper investigation into the December 2025 disbursement exercise.
The committee was mandated to reconvene, cross-examine key administrative officers, verify physical items disbursed, and audit beneficiary lists before submitting a final report to the Assembly.
Ghost Beneficiaries and Calls for Forensic Audit
Fulfilling the General Assembly’s mandate, the committee took sworn testimonies from 14 alleged beneficiaries listed on official records submitted by the Department of Social Welfare.
The findings exposed severe breaches of integrity in the disbursement exercise:
• 10 beneficiaries testified that they received items vastly different from what they officially requested, with values nowhere near the approved GHC 3,000.00 (for second-time beneficiaries) or GHC 3,500.00 (for first-time beneficiaries).
• 4 alleged beneficiaries categorically denied ever receiving any cash, equipment, or items from the Assembly, confirming the existence of “ghost beneficiaries” on official assembly records.
In light of these revelations, the Chairman of the Disability Fund Management Committee, Mr. Theophilus Dugbatey Ayim, formally petitioned the panel to order an immediate forensic audit of the Disability Fund bank account.
Mr. Ayim disclosed that while his committee approved GHC 200,000.00 for the December disbursement, he was kept completely in the dark regarding the actual amount withdrawn from the bank account by assembly officials.
Contradictions and Hostility over DisabilityNewsGH Evidence
Appearing for his second hearing, the under-pressure Director of Social Welfare, Mr Enoch Addy, executed a complete U-turn from his earlier sworn testimony delivered before the committee earlier this year.
While he previously testified under oath that he had no involvement in the evaluation or procurement of the supplied items, Mr. Addy admitted on Wednesday that he personally inspected and approved the standard of the items.
However, when presented with photographic evidence gathered and submitted directly to the committee by DisabilityNewsGH.com – showing substandard items that fell far short of the approved GHC 3,000.00 minimum threshold – Mr. Addy denied the visual findings, directly contradicting his own previous admissions.
Visibly rattled when confronted with DisabilityNewsGH.com’s photographic evidence, Mr. Addy turned his frustration on the press, directly pointing at DisabilityNewsGH investigative reporter, Daniel Akpaloo Nyorngmor, for continuously reporting on the scandal.
“I am not happy with my name in the news because people are calling me from everywhere. I have done media work before and I know what they can do,” Mr. Addy complained to the panel.
In his frustration, Mr. Addy also dismissed members of the disability community who exposed irregularities in the disbursement, callously remarking: “Those people, noise making is their only weapon.”
However, the Presiding Member of the Assembly, who joined the investigative committee for the first time, immediately shut down the director’s complaints against the media, firmly reminding him: “This is a public inquiry, and the media is fully constitutionally permitted to cover it.”
Blame-Shifting to Absent Officers
When questioned on whether he conducted a value-for-money audit to verify if the inflated prices matched the market value of the items, Mr. Addy evaded the question.
Instead, he directed the committee to hold the absent Procurement Officer and the District Coordinating Director, Mrs. Jean Amerley Tagoe, responsible.
The plot further thickened regarding the contract awarded to Cobillee Enterprise. In a recorded telephone conversation with the committee, the supplier insisted that Mr. Addy orchestrated the procurement process and possessed full knowledge of the contract details.
Although Mr. Addy did not dispute the supplier’s claim during the phone call, he flatly denied knowledge of the contract or its total monetary value during Wednesday’s sitting.
What Happens Next?
With public sittings now officially concluded, the investigative committee is compiling its findings and is expected to present its final report to the full house of the Ada East District Assembly during an emergency session later this month.
DisabilityNewsGH.com remains committed to following this case to its logical conclusion to ensure full accountability and the restitution of funds meant for persons with disabilities.
By Daniel Akpaloo Nyorngmor, Ada
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
