June 4, 2021
By: Ilyasa Baa
As the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) is working towards preparing a comprehensive data base of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the sixteen districts, those in the urban area especially around the Cotton Tree have started receiving cash payments from the commission.
The Social Safety Net Manager, at NaCSA Joseph Gbakewa has confirmed that verification and payment are going on simultaneously for the beneficiaries as each receives the sum of one million three hundred and nine thousand Leones from the Rokel Commercial Bank.
He said the payment will be cascaded across the remaining districts after the survey to ascertain the total number of PWDs in the country.
The social safety net manager revealed that there is no data base at the moment that is why they are having issues with the bloated number of beneficiaries in Freetown.
Mr. Gbakewa said the money might be small but the impact cannot be underestimated as the commission strives to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable people in the country.
The inclusion of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Statistics Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI) is being lauded by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as a positive step towards ensuring transparency and accountability. The data base when completed will put government and donor partners on the right footing in terms of planning for PWDs.