An official internal document intercepted by DisabilityNewsGH.com has provided undeniable documentary proof that the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) is running an illegal 7% “tax” deduction scheme on Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Common Fund disbursements.
The leaked document, titled “List of 39 Affected Beneficiaries Confirming Cash Payment on Table and 7% Deduction“, reveals how assembly officials systematically sliced off 7% in cold cash from approved allocations meant for vulnerable citizens, including individuals living with Cerebral Palsy, physical disabilities, visual impairments, and Deafness.
In a single batch of disbursements totaling GH₵129,100, assembly officials siphoned off a whopping GH₵9,037.00 under the guise of an arbitrary “7% Tax Deduction.”
The intercepted document details allocations for 39 vetted beneficiaries, comprising 29 individuals approved for direct economic cash support and 10 individuals approved for equipment purchases.
Without any legal framework or authorisation from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) or the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Administrator, ASHMA applied a flat 7% deduction across the board:
• Cash Deductions “On the Table”: Beneficiaries who arrived to receive approved cash grants had 7% deducted on the spot before receiving their envelopes.
• Awudu Kabura (Physically Disabled) had GH₵350 deducted from his approved GH₵5,000 cash allocation, receiving only GH₵4,650.
• Ankra Daniel Twumasi (Cerebral Palsy) had GH₵280 deducted from his approved GH₵4,000 grant, receiving GH₵3,720.
Janet Eduah (Physically Disabled), Ibrahim Malik (Physically Disabled), and Wisdom Osei (Deaf) each had GH₵210 illegally withheld from their approved GH₵3,000 cash grants.
• Equipment Value Dilution: For beneficiaries approved to receive equipment, ASHMA deducted 7% from their approved procurement budgets, leading to beneficiaries receiving substandard or cheaper items.
• Francis Apetu (Physically Disabled) had GH₵490 deducted from his approved GH₵7,000 equipment allocation.
• Doris Narh (Deaf) and Esther Darko (Physically Disabled) each had GH₵406 deducted from their approved GH₵5,800 equipment budgets.
To justify these deductions to beneficiaries, ASHMA officials claimed the money was taken for “statutory taxes.” However, an analysis of Ghanaian tax legislation and public finance regulations proves that ASHMA’s 7% levy is entirely unlawful.
1. Cash Grants Are 100% Tax-Exempt
Disbursements from the 3% (now 5%) PWD Common Fund are statutory social protection grants disbursed under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution.
They do not constitute taxable income, commercial revenue, or chargeable gain under the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896). Taking 7% off cash handed across a table to a person with a disability is an illegal exaction.
2. Withholding Tax (WHT) Rules Apply to Vendors, NOT Beneficiaries
Under Section 116 and the First Schedule of Act 896, public institutions procuring goods are required to withhold 3% Withholding Tax from the supplier’s invoice and remit it to the GRA. For services, the WHT rate is 5% for resident contractors.
Crucially, Withholding Tax is deducted from the vendor’s profit margin, never from the beneficiary’s grant allocation.
When an Assembly budgets GH₵5,000 for a beneficiary’s equipment, the Assembly is legally obligated to procure equipment worth the full GH₵5,000 (VAT inclusive). Deducting 7% from the beneficiary’s budget means ASHMA is shortchanging PWDs while misapplying procurement laws.
3. Where Does the 7% “Tax” Money Actually Go?
Because state grants cannot be taxed, and statutory WHT on goods is 3% (not 7%), serious questions arise as to which bank account receives the 7% cash collected off the table, and whether these deductions are ever remitted to the Ghana Revenue Authority or pocketed by assembly officials.
This leaked document confirms DisabilityNewsGH.com’s earlier investigative report on Mr Anthony Kwaku Appiah, a disabled graphic designer in Ashaiman-Lebanon.
When Mr Appiah’s approved GH₵5,000 allocation was used to purchase a cheap GH₵2,300 worth desktop printer that broke down in weeks, the Fund Management Committee Chairman claimed the missing balance was swallowed by “tax deductions.”
The intercepted 39-beneficiary list proves that Mr Appiah’s experience was not an isolated error, but part of an organised municipal-wide racket where ASHMA systematically slashes PWD allocations under the false pretext of taxation.
The exposure of this intercepted document escalates the Ashaiman Disability Fund scandal from administrative negligence to potential financial crime, extortion, and breach of public trust.
DisabilityNewsGH.com calls on:
1. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA): To publicly clarify whether it authorised ASHMA to collect 7% “taxes” on cash grants handed to PWDs, and audit whether any such funds were ever remitted.
2. The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) & EOCO: To launch an immediate criminal investigation into the officers involved in deducting and receiving cash “taxes” on the table at ASHMA.
3. The Auditor-General: To conduct a special management audit into PWD Common Fund disbursements by the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly and order the immediate refund of all illegally deducted funds to affected beneficiaries.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
