The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Tano South in the Ahafo Region, Hon. Emmanuel Kwame Frimpong, has called on the public to desist from discriminating against Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and instead support their full participation in society.
He said PWDs were equally important members of society who deserved dignity, respect, opportunities and support to enable them to live independent and productive lives.
Hon. Frimpong made the call at Bechem during the disbursement of items under the 2026 District Assembly Common Fund for Persons with Disabilities.
The initiative, he explained, was part of efforts to economically empower PWDs and provide them with the necessary resources to establish sustainable livelihoods.
He urged members of the public, particularly traders and consumers, to patronise products and services provided by PWDs, stressing that such support would go a long way to improving their economic conditions.
The MCE further appealed to the public to show kindness and consideration to PWDs whenever they patronised their businesses.
He encouraged customers to, where possible, add a little extra to the amount they paid for goods purchased from PWDs as a gesture of support and encouragement.
According to him, empowering PWDs was not merely an act of charity but an investment in building an inclusive society where every individual had an opportunity to contribute to national development.
Items distributed
A number of livelihood and assistive items were presented to beneficiaries to enable them to engage in income-generating activities and improve their quality of life.
The items included deep freezers, refrigerators, sewing machines, industrial machines, laptops, hair dryers, wheelchairs, fufu pounding machines and bales of second-hand clothing, among others.
The beneficiaries were selected to receive items based on their individual needs and the nature of businesses or activities they intended to undertake.
Hon. Frimpong urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items and ensure that they served the purpose for which they were provided.
He also encouraged them to take ownership of the businesses and activities they would establish with the support, saying the ultimate objective was to make them economically independent.
Reducing street begging
The Municipal Director of Social Welfare and Community Development, Mrs. Gladys Azuuri, said the government’s intervention was aimed at reducing the burden on families caring for PWDs while creating opportunities for them to become self-reliant.
She said the provision of livelihood support was also intended to discourage PWDs from resorting to street begging as a means of survival.
Mrs. Azuuri explained that when PWDs were provided with the necessary resources and skills, they could establish businesses, generate income and contribute meaningfully to their families and communities.
She therefore urged the beneficiaries to use the items responsibly and work towards achieving sustainable livelihoods.
Beneficiaries grateful
Some of the beneficiaries expressed profound gratitude to the government and the Tano South Municipal Assembly for the support.
They said the items would provide them with the means to establish or expand their businesses and reduce their dependence on relatives and other members of society.
The beneficiaries pledged to make effective use of the items and work hard to become economically self-reliant.
They also appealed for continued support and monitoring to ensure that more PWDs in the municipality benefited from similar interventions.
The programme forms part of broader efforts to promote social inclusion, economic empowerment and improved living conditions for Persons with Disabilities within the Tano South Municipality.
