‘LEAP programme useful for poverty reduction’

Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, the Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, has said the Ghana Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme could reduce poverty in many homes.

He said some evidence suggested that the Programme, implemented in the country since 2008 to assist the poorest and most marginalized groups in the society, must be sustained with commitment from all stakeholders.

Mr Adjei was speaking at a sensitization workshop for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) on the Programme, on Tuesday, at Abesim, near Sunyani.

The participants were representatives from 52 selected districts from the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Brong-Ahafo and Ashanti Regions.

Mr Adjei said the basic aim of the Programme was to provide a safety net for the poorest and the most marginalized groups in the country and expressed the hope that the workshop would equip the participants with the requisite knowledge on the Programme.

“From its humble beginning, statistics available from the Regional Department of Social Welfare indicates that as at 31st January, 2015, the Programme has been expanded to include 13 Assemblies with a combined total of 182 communities and a total of 7,534 beneficiary households,” Mr Adjei said.

Mr John Alexander Ackon, a Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection (GCSP), said the LEAP was the flagship programme of Ghana National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) managed by the Ministry of GCSP and implemented by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW).

The Programme is also supported by the Department for International Development (DFID), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, he said.