The Board Chairman of the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD) has officially intervened in the escalating feud between the disability community in Ada East and officials of the District Assembly.
On Thursday, January 15, the Board Chairman, Mr. Frederick Asor, reached out to the leadership of the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the district, urging them to remain calm while a high-level solution is brokered.
Mr. Asor has committed to visiting the district on Tuesday, January 20, to lead a mediation meeting involving the PWD leadership and all other embattled parties.
In the interim, he has prevailed upon the disability community to refrain from further media engagements or public communications on the matter to allow for an amicable resolution.
The Investigation: A New Timeline
While the NCPD seeks a diplomatic end to the crisis, the Presiding Member (PM) of the Ada East District Assembly, Hon. Phillip Achia, has reaffirmed his commitment to a thorough formal investigation.
Hon. Achia has issued a new deadline to the seven-member investigative committee he established to probe the disbursement fiasco.
The committee, which was originally expected to submit its report yesterday, January 15, has been given an extension to January 21, to finalise its findings and recommendations.
Administrative Roadblocks and the “Secretary” Crisis
In an interview with DisabilityNewsGH.com, Hon. Achia expressed deep regret over the committee’s inability to begin hearings as scheduled.
He confirmed that the delay was caused by a failure within the Assembly’s administration to provide the necessary secretarial support.
The Secretary originally appointed by the District Coordinating Director declined the role. Without a Secretary to issue formal invitations to witnesses, record minutes, or coordinate the proceedings, the committee was rendered powerless.
Hon. Achia revealed that he personally visited the Assembly on two occasions to meet with the Coordinating Director to resolve the secretary issue, but found her absent.
Furthermore, all attempts to reach her via telephone proved futile. To bypass this administrative bottleneck, the Presiding Member has instructed the committee on Tuesday, January 13, to proceed by issuing invitations to the relevant parties using his own official letterhead, while he continues to seek a permanent solution to the secretarial vacuum.
Background: Unprecedented Allegations
The decision to probe the Social Welfare Department stems from an end-of-year Assembly meeting in late December 2025, where the issue of the PWD Common Fund disbursement was raised.
Hon. Achia described the allegations surrounding the procurement as “unprecedented.”
The reports included the purchase of highly perishable items—such as garden eggs, okra, onions, and tilapia—as part of a statutory economic empowerment package, alongside serious allegations of price inflation.
These details prompted the immediate establishment of the seven-member committee, which is tasked with ascertaining the veracity of the claims and recommending a way forward to ensure such a “disbursement fiasco” never recurs.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
I thank the council’s board chairman,Mr Asor and his team for swift intervention into this matter and I believe that they will always avail themselves in most of such cases surrounding the disbursement of the share of the district assemblies common fund for pwds across the country.
I am suggesting that most districts refuses to disburse the money on time with the reasons that the quarterly transfer of the funds is not enough and decide to pile up for three quarters or more before disbursement is done which is not the best practice so I plead with the your committee to deepen your investigations into those areas as well.
Again most of the DFMC fail to comply with the revised guidelines upon drawing the attention to some of such missing links by GFD reps who are on the committee,not that our reps are not knowledgeable or inexperienced but rather the committee use their numbers to override their rulings.
Kindly push and continue to sensitize the committee to do the needful.
Thanks.