DCE Amoah(right) presenting a cheque to one of the students
The Shama District Assembly in the Western Region has intensified its financial support for tertiary students and Persons with Disability (PWDs) in the area.
The assembly in 2017 disbursed GH755,693.31 and GH501,483 respectively to the two groups.
Last Friday, it also presented cheques for amounts ranging between GHC1000 to GHC2000 42 students pursuing different programmes, including Law.
This brings to 650 the number of students benefiting from the assembly’s educational support scheme.
An additional 71 seeking assistance from the Scholarships Secretariat will also soon receive their packages.
The assembly, at last Friday’s ceremony, also presented fufu pounding machines, deep freezers, fridges, hair driers and physical cash totalling GHC113, 336 to 31 PWDs to enable them earn decent living for themselves.
Similar exercise had taken place three months ago, with plans by the assembly to embark on yet another one very soon to ensure that all PWDs in Shama are economically empowered irrespective of their physical challenge.
Daily Statesman gathered that 301 out of the 1000 registered PWDs in the district have so far been catered for.
Some 198 of them have been economically empowered with seven receiving medical support. The remaining 96, made up of 52 males and 44 females, have also been supported to pursue higher education.
Advice
Joseph Amoah, the District Chief Executive, advised the students to study hard and come back home at the end of their studies to help develop the district as a way of giving back to the society. He also advised the PWDs to utilize their items for the intended purpose and not to sell them for pittance, adding that the assembly and officials from the department of Social Welfare, are monitoring them.
The DCE noted that although his office could have utilized the huge sums of monies disbursed to the students and PWDs to undertake a lot of projects, it did not.
This, he said, is because the NPP government strongly believes in development of the human resource and will leave no stone unturned in pursuing this agenda.
Again, he said President Akufo-Addo believes in inclusive government and therefore ensures that all Ghanaians, irrespective of tribe, religion age, political affiliation or otherwise, benefit from the national cake.
Mr Amoah said it is in line with this that Government has increased the Disability Fund from two to three percent to make life comfortable for PWDs.
He therefore urged the PWDs and the students to show their appreciation to government by voting massively for President Akufo-Addo and all NPP Parliamentary candidates in the December 7 general elections.
The District Director of Education, Afua Amoakoah, commended the assembly for the support which she assured will yield dividends for the beneficiaries, their families, the district and Ghana as a whole.
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