In a dramatic concession to media scrutiny, the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) on Monday, September 14, quietly abandoned its controversial 7 per cent deduction on the Disability Common Fund.
The reversal comes just weeks after the Assembly vigorously defended the deduction in a public rejoinder.
On Monday, during a major disbursement of over GH¢400,000.00 to 59 beneficiaries, it reverted to standard statutory practice and issued Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) cheques with no deductions.
Official records show 43 beneficiaries received cash allocations via cheque, 15 were allocated physical equipment, and one received health support.
Several of those approved for equipment were also handed separate GCB cheques as start-up capital, and unlike the May exercise, all equipment supplied was brand-new and sealed – a stark departure from the broken used computers and faulty printer previously distributed.
The sudden policy reversal follows a series of investigative exposés by DisabilityNewsGH.com that revealed systemic procurement irregularities, illegal tax deductions, and the supply of broken, second-hand equipment to beneficiaries under budgets approved for brand-new items.
The Great Contradiction: Preaching Tax, Paying Full
The Assembly’s sudden retreat dismantles its own rejoinder issued on August 26, 2026, in which management claimed the 7 per cent deduction was legally grounded in withholding tax provisions.
In an extraordinary scene during Monday’s event, officials organised a “sensitisation session” to defend the deduction.
The move appeared aimed at pre-empting previous victims from demanding refunds.
While officials justified the past deduction on the microphone, the cheques handed to the 43 recipients told a different story: the 7 per cent deduction had been completely scrapped.
By conduct, the Assembly has affirmed the position that disability grants are social protection transfers, not procurement, and are therefore not subject to withholding tax under Ghana’s tax laws and the DACF Guidelines.
This raises an immediate accountability question: If the 7 per cent deduction was legitimate, why was it omitted from the new cheques? And now that the Assembly has conceded by conduct that the deduction was improper, when will it refund the thousands of cedis siphoned from the May 8 beneficiaries?
Fresh Lapses: Cheques Rejected Over Missing Advice
While the return to cheques marked a victory for transparency, administrative lapses created fresh hardship for recipients.
Several beneficiaries who went to the bank immediately after the event were left stranded after tellers rejected the cheques.
Checks by DisabilityNewsGH.com revealed the Assembly had failed to lodge the mandatory disbursement Advice with GCB ahead of the ceremony.
An Advice is the official pre-authorization mandate – listing cheque numbers, beneficiary names and amounts – that Assemblies must submit to the bank to validate cheques. Without it, banks are required to reject even genuine cheques as a fraud prevention measure.
For persons with disabilities – many of whom navigate severe mobility challenges and inaccessible transport to reach banking halls – the error was a distressing ordeal.
When they returned to the Assembly to rectify the anomaly, the responsible officers had already closed and left the premises.
Journalism That Reshapes Governance
Despite persistent lapses, Monday’s disbursement stands as proof of the watchdog role of the media.
By forcing the Assembly to abandon illegal deductions, stop supplying second-hand items, and return to traceable banking channels, investigative journalism has protected the public purse and restored dignity to persons with disabilities in Ashaiman.
DisabilityNewsGH.com will continue to monitor the rectification of the defective cheques and press the Auditor-General, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), and EOCO to audit past disbursements and enforce refunds to past victims.
By BNA and Daniel Akpaloo Nyormgmor
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
