3, 200 LEAP-ING out of poverty

from the Statesman

Over three thousand two hundred Ghanaians in 20 districts are to benefit from the second tranche of direct cash grant disbursements under the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) initiative enshrined in government's Social Protection Strategy.

Disbursements began on Tuesday June 3 and ended yesterday Wednesday June 4, 2008.

The rise in the number of beneficiaries from the initial 1,600, apart from being part of the general roll out plan, follows the successful and "highly effective” collaboration between the Department of Social Welfare, the implementing agency under the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, and Ghana Post during the first tranche of disbursements in the selected districts two months ago, Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare told The Statesman yesterday.

However, disbursements to beneficiaries in the Bawku Municipality, has been suspended due to the conflict in the region.

In what she describes as the "full implementation" of the programme designed over a three year period, the Ministry also effected the payment of grants according to need, from a minimum of GH¢8 for a household with one beneficiary, to GH¢ 10, GH¢12 and GH¢15 for households with two, three and four or more beneficiaries respectively.

Beneficiaries received a flat payment of GH¢8 during the first disbursement.

Grants are paid in two monthly installments. A household is described by the Statistical Service as having an average of 5 persons.

To forestall any misunderstanding arising from the differences in the amounts paid to beneficiaries, the Ministry undertook a two week education and sensitisation programme prior to the latest disbursement, the Minister, who has been re-elected to contest the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat on the ticket of the NPP, told The Statesman.

The LEAP project targets the bottom 20% of the population classified as extremely poor. According to the 2007 Ghana Living Standards Survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, there are 880,000 extremely poor households in Ghana.

Of this number, LEAP intends to reach an estimated 164,370 households over a five year period. It targets specifically, orphans and vulnerable children, the aged above 65 and the disabled who live in extreme poverty. They are expected to be on the scheme for a period ranging between one and three years.

According to field reports monitored by The Statesman, most beneficiaries of the scheme have experienced a lift in their fortunes, reflecting in a greater belief in their ability to make ends meet.

For instance, a woman (name withheld) who used to earn GH¢1 a day on each of the three market days she assisted her madam to sell onions at Tanoso in the Brong Ahafo Region now buys her own onions and sells them, earning a living. Another, who used to credit a single bag of charcoal to sell, now has the means to buy two bags with cash.

Mrs Osei Opare explained that although monies given under the LEAP are grants and are thus free, beneficiaries are expected to sign on to the other government interventions already in the system, including the Capitation Grant and the National Health Insurance Scheme, as well as access proper maternity care and birth registration where appropriate.

"Beneficiaries of the LEAP continue to show their appreciation to government for initiating this social strategy programme which has drastically turned their lives around for the better," she told this paper, after receiving reports from field monitors.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision to pay a minimum GH¢ 8 and maximum GH¢ 15, she said the amount of cash to be transferred to beneficiaries wold just be sufficient in order to have a significant impact with regards to the objects of the National Social Protection Strategy of lifting them out of extreme or that would relapse into poverty and non-productivity.

"At the same time, the transfer should not raise the economic status of the beneficiaries beyond a level that will encourage unemployment or create dependency or relapse into extreme poverty," she added.

The design of the LEAP project began in 2004, following the development of the National Social Protection Programme. The project is intended to reduce poverty, increase school enrollment and NHIS registration among the extreme poor and reduce child labour.

It is also expected to enhance the capacity of the poor and vulnerable persons by assisting them to manage socio-economic risks to fulfill their fundamental human rights.

This initiative will as well reduce the impact of risks and shock that confronts the poor, assist Ghana to meet the MDGs and NEPAD and address the root causes of poverty of social inequalities.