Government increases LEAP cash

The Government has increased the amount of monies paid to beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur announced this at Nanundo in the Mion District of the Northern Region.

The Minister was in the Northern Region to monitor the enumeration of beneficiaries onto LEAP 1000.

The Minister said from September this year, one member household which hitherto received GHc 24 a month will receive GHc 32. Two member households which received GHc 30 will now receive GHc 38 while three member households which received GHc 36 will receive GHc 44. Four or more member households will now be given GHc 53 a month.

The Manager of the LEAP programme at the Department of Social Development Dzigbordie Agbekpornu gave details of the LEAP 1000 being run in the Northern and Upper East Regions which is meant to prevent malnutrition and stunting in the 10 districts of the Northern and Upper East Regions.

Nana Oye Lithur and her entourage also visited alleged witches and wizards the Ngani Witches Camp in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region to monitor the enrolment of inmates onto the LEAP programme.

The Minister said as part of measures to capture as many vulnerable persons in social intervention programmes as possible, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is targeting inmates of witch camps, leprosariums and orphanages for the LEAP programme.

222 inmates of leprosariums are already on LEAP while 400 inmates of the Ngani Witch Camp in the Northern Region are being targeted to be included in the programme. In all over 813 alleged witches and wizards are to be registered in the Northern region onto the LEAP, this automatically will make them beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) free of charge.

Besides, the minister said her outfit will also register all prisoners in the country onto the LEAP and NHIS schemes.

The enthusiastic “witches” and “wizards” who lined up to be registered onto the LEAP were appreciative of the government’s move, since to them it is a lifeline towards a good course.

There are about 300 alleged witches and 110 alleged wizards in the Ngani witch camp. These together with over 600 of their children and grandchildren, will be enrolled onto the LEAP and NHIS.

One of the alleged witches, Memuna Tiyumba who obviously could not hide her excitement showered praises on the sector minister, Nana Oye Lithur, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, saying “We are happy of what you (Nana Oye) have done to us, we are grateful to you”.

But the minister in response asked the people of Ghana to be grateful to President John Mahama and his governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) for expanding the LEAP and making it possible to cover such vulnerable people.

Oye Lithur, who was accompanied by officials of the ministry, took the opportunity to explain to the alleged witches and wizards, that as vulnerable people they have been considered onto the LEAP.

The government, Oye Lithur said has decided that it will register all the communities where there are vulnerable women who have been branded as witches.

Oye Lithur also donated freebies to the alleged witches and wizards and their children.