Govt begins to pay 344,786 LEAP beneficiaries
The Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) Management Secretariat (LMS) under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has began payments of the cash grants for the 75th and 76th cycles to 344,786 beneficiary households of the programme.
These beneficiaries would receive double their usual bi-monthly grant amount because of the delay in the payment of the 75thcycle cash grant.
Beneficiaries were paid between GH¢64 and GH¢106 bi-monthly based on the number of people qualified in a household.
According to a statement issued and signed by the Head of the LEAP Programme, Myles Ongoh and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Tuesday, the disbursements of the monies began last Monday after the government released funds for a nationwide payment to beneficiaries.
Mr Ongohnoted that as has been the practice, beneficiaries would be paid their social cash grants through e-zwich at designated pay-points in their respective communities and the premises of the participating financial institutions.
He said the LEAP programme sought to improve consumption, promote access to social services through linkages and stimulate behavioural change toward productive activities by the provision of cash grants to extremely poor and vulnerable households.
The head of the LEAP programme stated that current beneficiaries fell in the category of vulnerabilities which made them eligible households for the LEAP programme.
The categories were “elderly above 65 years and without support; orphans and vulnerable children; persons with severe disability who cannot work and pregnant women or mothers with children under one year.”
Mr Ongoh commended the LEAP programme’s partners including the World Bank, UNICEF, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) for their continued support towards the LEAP programme.
The Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) programme provides cash and health insurance to extremely poor households across Ghana to alleviate short-term poverty and encourage long term human capital development.
LEAP started a trial phase in March 2008 and then began expanding gradually in 2009 and 2010.
BY TIMES REPORTER
