CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Disability occurs everywhere in the world but the nature, rate of occurrence and existence may differ from one country to the other. Disability may occur naturally where some people may be born with the condition or will have developed it through aging. In other cases, some may get it from artificial causes such as accidents, wars, and the adverse effects of medication or substance abuse. Almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently impaired at some point in life. Especially those who survive to old age will experience increasing difficulties in their physical and mental functioning. (Ferguson et al., 2001).
Disability comes in different forms and severity. These include speech impairments, hearing loss, sight impairments, behavioural and physical conditions which may occur individually or together with other socio-economic conditions to prevent the individual from enjoying a normal life. Varying degrees of disability are discussed in the literature and these tend to influence the country by country definition of the condition of an individual.
Over/in recent decades, persons with disabilities have formed a movement with other social and health science researchers to identify the role played by social and physical barriers in disability. (Bynoe et al., 1991). These movements have addressed numerous challenges faced by persons with disability on the bases of equality and equity. Countries, in an attempt to address the challenges, have passed laws that protect the right of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
In Ghana, the 1992 Constitution has made several and specific provisions that seek to protect and guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities. The Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (ACT 715)
was enacted to ensure total integration of the PWDs into Ghanaian society. The major sections enshrined in this Act addresses the rights of persons with disability to employment, access to education, transportation needs, access to quality healthcare and facilities, and access to many other services which seek to make life as comfortable for them as possible.
Section 10 of the Children’s Act, 1998 (ACT 560) specifically makes provisions for the rights of a disabled child. The Mental Health Act, 2012 (ACT 846), and the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (ACT 852) all collectively address PWDs with some specific rights and fundamental freedoms (Asante & Sasu, 2015; Manful & McCrystal, 2011; Roberts et al., 2014).
The legal framework has provided (enormous) opportunities and reference points for the delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the rights and services designed to benefit persons with disabilities. Educational infrastructure and services, especially at the basic level, have become more accessible to children with disabilities.
Disability is not only a human right issue but also a developmental issue. PWDs stand at a higher risk of poverty, and poverty increases the risk of being disabled. This reveals the bi-directional link between disability and poverty (Sen, 2011). Other empirical research findings have shown that PWDs and their immediate families are socio-economically handicapped which in turn has affected their education, employment and income. In addition to that, the expenses which come with having the disability condition is also enormous.
As found by Jenkins and Rigg (2004), there is a recalcitrant effect on the children who because of their disability are unable to attend school. Again this limits their opportunity to access education and hence can distort/upset their future employment. Grammenos (2003), supports the argument that both employment and income opportunities worsen depending on the severity of the condition.
The fact is also confirmed by Thomas (2011) who recognizes that it is difficult for PWDs to benefit from development and do away with disability. The reasons given are discrimination in employment, limited access to transport, and lack of access to resources to promote self- employment and livelihood activities. All these point to the fact that PWDs are marginalized. Not only does the individual with the condition suffer, but their households are also likely to meet material hardship, food insecurity, lack of access to quality water, poor housing and inadequate accessible health care (Eide & Ingstad, 2013; Van Brakel et al., 2006).
The adoption of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons was made by the United Nations General Assembly at its 37th regular session on 3 December 1982. Subsequently, a declaration of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992) brought into sharp focus the need to promote effective measures for the prevention of disability, for rehabilitation and for the realization of the goals of ‘’full participation’’ of disabled persons in social life and development, and of ‘equality'(Nations, 1982). The declaration implied that PWDs should have access to opportunities on an equal basis to those of the whole population and an equal share in the improvement in living conditions resulting from social and economic development. More so the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs stipulate specific targets that aimed at serving as a framework for countries to address disability issues (Organization, 2016). With these new frameworks, developing countries are addressing disability issues and other developmental issues concomitantly.
To ameliorate this situation mainly imposed by society on PWDs and as well as to meet developmental goals, Ghana over the years have attempted to provide some services and opportunities, including counselling services, livelihood empowerment, rehabilitation training, direct employment and healthcare support for persons with disability and their immediate families.
The most recent of such interventions is a capacity development grant now set aside and managed by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies from their share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). The grant, widely known as the ‘Disability Common Fund’ (Doku et al., 2012) is currently 3% of the total DACF due each assembly.
The grant is earmarked to support initiatives of persons with disability in areas such as education, training in employable skills, acquisition of assistive devices and technical aids, as well as working capital for income generating activities of PWDs. It is also to be used to support activities of Organisations of PWDs especially in creating awareness on the rights of PWDs within the framework of the pro-disability legislations in Ghana as well as the cost of advocacy engagements with relevant duty bearers to demand their rights (Appiah-Agyekum, 2013). With over a decade of policy implementation, it is to be expected that PWDs will have experienced some measure of independence, sustainable livelihood and above all, increased public recognition, acceptance and inclusion in society on an equal basis with others.
Statement of the Research Problem
Article 252 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution established a fund known as the District Assemblies Common Fund and enjoined Parliament to annually make provision for the allocation of not less than five (5) percent of the total revenues of Ghana to the District Assemblies for development. The amount realized from this mandatory allocation are paid into the District Assemblies Common Fund and distributed among all the District Assemblies on the basis of a formula approved by Parliament. The formula considers the modern concept of development which sees development as a multi-dimensional process involving not only economic growth, but also
improvement in other living conditions such as health, education, access to potable water, good roads, adequate food supply, employment etc. Allocations to District Assemblies are therefore based on the total national revenue and the other factors mentioned in the formula above. The fund is managed by an Administrator appointed by the President with approval by Parliament.
The Disabilities Common Fund, also known as the Disability Fund was instituted as an intervention by the Government of Ghana in 2005 as part of the formula presented to Parliament. The fund aimed at providing support to Persons with Disabilities across the country. With the approval of parliament, a portion of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) due each of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies is set aside as a capacity development grant to support various initiatives of persons with disability in their respective districts, starting from ‘up to 5%’ in 2005, 2% in 2006 and 3% in 2016 (Adjei-Domfeh, 2016). The fund continues to receive overwhelming endorsement from all sides of the political divide because of the seeming neglect of disability issues in broad national policies and programmes. The sustained global crusade for the promotion of the rights of persons with disability, the increasing phenomenon of street begging by persons with disability and the intense pressure for the passage of the persons with disability Act, coupled with the limited inclusion of disability issues in the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 1) laid the foundation and justification for this support scheme (Crawford, 2008).
After several years of the introduction and utilization of the fund, there is an expectation that there would be appreciable improvement in the living conditions of persons with disability in the country. However, on the contrary, media reports and feedback from persons with disability are filled with allegations of corruption and diversion of funds by district authorities, misapplication and wastage of same by persons with disabilities, as well as non-adherence to the provisions in
the guidelines for the management of the fund by Fund Management committees and District Assembly Officials. Hundreds of persons with disabilities are still begging at traffic intersections in the cities while many of those in the countryside see no end to their vulnerability (Kuyini & Alhassan, 2016). There have been some studies on the Disability fund, especially in the Greater Accra Region. This study in the Eastern Region will attempt to validate the finding or otherwise, and examine practical steps taken by policy makers to address key recommendations made from these earlier studies.
General Objective
The overall aim of this study is to assess the contribution of the Disability Common Fund to the well-being of persons with disability in the East Akim Municipality.
Specific Objectives
- To examine the role of the District Assembly in the management of the Disability fund
- To discuss disbursement patterns of the fund and the amounts released from 2012 to 2016
- To determine the importance of the fund to the wellbeing of the beneficiaries.
Research Questions
- What role does the district assemblies play in the management of the Disability Fund?
- What is the pattern of disbursement of the disability funds from the year 2012 to the year 2016 in the East Akim Municipality?
- In what ways has the funds improved the wellbeing of PWDs within the East Akim Municipality?
