LEAP programme loses GH¢15.8m over wrongful payments, overspending between 2017 and 2022 - Report

Payment to unqualified persons, including the deceased and overspend­ing under the Livelihood Empower­ment against Poverty (LEAP) Programme cost the country about GH¢15.8 million between 2017 and 2022.

This was contained in an audit report on the management of LEAP released by the Auditor-General’s Department and copied to Parliament.

Out of the figure, GH¢396,620.00 was paid to 170 beneficiaries under the scheme whose socio-economic status had improved, and no longer qualified for the grant.

The report said an amount of GH¢84,480 was paid to representatives of some 44 deceased beneficiaries.

According to the report, the LEAP Man­agement Secretariat (LMS) did not adhere to fund utilisation guidelines resulting in ex­cess spending of GH¢15,369,309.97 risking the sustainability of the programme.

The audit report recommended the urgent need for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGSCP) to improve its records-keeping regime to enhance accountability.

It advised that moving forward, “all ac­countants on the LEAP programme main­tain records and report on quarterly basis to the Chief Director on all financial informa­tion related to cash grants and administra­tive cost relevant to the programme.”

Furthermore, it asked the LEAP secre­tariat to consider and review its decision to solely rely on data from the Ghana Nation­al Housing Register (GNHR) to identify beneficiaries but conduct a reassessment to graduate and exit ineligible beneficiaries.

“The LMS should adhere to the LEAP Fund utilisation guidelines during programme implementation to promote sustainability,” the Audi­tor-General urged.

LEAP is a social protection initia­tive implemented by the government to provide cash grants to extremely poor and vulnerable households to alleviate economic and social distress.

Piloted in 2008 and in its 15th year, the programme targets vulnerable groups such as orphaned and vulner­able children, breastfeeding mothers, old people and people with severe disabilities by providing bi-monthly cash payments to eligible households in various districts across the country.

As at the end of December 2020, a total of 335,015 extremely poor households across 259 districts have been enrolled onto the programme.