The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has supported 82 persons with disabilities, including persons with mental health conditions, with livelihood equipment and cash to help them establish and expand income-generating activities. The intervention is funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), under which five per cent of the Common Fund allocation is reserved for persons with disabilities.
Speaking to the media after the distribution exercise, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Lawyer F.F. Faidoo, said the initiative was aimed at equipping persons with disabilities with items that would enable them to earn a living and reduce their dependence on government support. He said the support was based on the individual needs of beneficiaries and included ovens, deep freezers, ice chests, weeding machines, sewing machines, aquaculture accessories, laptops, welding machines and masonry equipment. Other items distributed included cylinders, stoves, garden tools, wheelbarrows, cameras and cash.
Lawyer Faidoo explained that the Assembly combines its Common Fund allocations when delays in the release of funds prevent the support from being distributed quarterly as scheduled. He said the current intervention brought together allocations for the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
Figures from the Assembly indicate that it received GH¢195,817.89 for the fourth quarter of 2025 and GH¢215,897.33 for the first quarter of 2026, bringing the total allocation to GH¢411,715.22. Of this amount, GH¢274,126.40 was used to procure livelihood items, while GH¢112,728 was disbursed as cash support, bringing the total disbursement to GH¢386,854.40 and leaving a balance of GH¢24,860.82.
Lawyer Faidoo said the Assembly’s approach was to provide beneficiaries with practical means of generating income rather than relying solely on direct cash support. He explained that persons with disabilities who require assistance apply through the Assembly, after which their requests are forwarded to the Department of Social Welfare for assessment. The Assembly, he said, also ensures that applicants genuinely require the items they request before the support is provided.
He said reports from monitoring teams indicated that previous beneficiaries had been using the items for the purposes for which they applied. “So far, we don’t have any problems with the beneficiaries. They have lived up to their words. They are using the items for the purpose for which they applied for, and we are satisfied,” he said.
He added that the Assembly was considering ways of expanding the intervention to reach more persons with disabilities in the metropolis. “The persons with disabilities in our metropolis are so many, and we want this programme to be structured in a way that every person can benefit from it,” he said.
Mr. Richard Asare, Senior Executive Officer at the STMA Department of Social Welfare and Chairman of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD), expressed appreciation to the President, the MCE, the Assembly and all stakeholders involved in the initiative. Speaking on behalf of persons with disabilities, Mr. Asare thanked the MCE for ensuring that available funds were shared among beneficiaries so that more people could receive some form of support.
He acknowledged that the Assembly might not be able to support every applicant at once but expressed confidence that those who had received assistance would use the items for their intended purposes and make them profitable. He said the performance of current beneficiaries could also help inform future distributions, particularly when those who did not benefit from the current exercise are considered for subsequent support. Mr. Asare therefore urged beneficiaries to put the items to productive use, generate income from them and use the proceeds to support themselves and their families. He said the support would help beneficiaries become more self-reliant and reduce the need to depend on begging or seeking alms by the roadside.
Lawyer F.F. Faidoo similarly encouraged beneficiaries to make prudent use of the items and ensure that the support provided translates into sustainable livelihoods.
The intervention is being implemented in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, with the Assembly expected to continue monitoring beneficiaries to assess the use and impact of the support.