The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on Monday made its first payment of allowance to over 80,000 beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty(LEAP) Programme.
The beneficiaries are from the Ada District Distirct of the Greater Accra Region.
The LEAP programme supports orphans and vulnerable children, disable persons and the elderly without any source of support.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LXOaBQncdOfOBRFTi4du9reIHB0XyzpI”]The Minister and her entourage visited three new beneficiary communities namely; Azizakpey, Alorkpem, and Aflive where about 100 households and 130 beneficiaries in the Ada East District have been added to the programme.
The payment is supervised by the Department of Social Welfare, which is under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
Addressing the beneficiaries in the communities, the sector Minister, Nana Oye Lithur urged all the beneficiaries to use the money wisely.
She admonished that they “use the money to cater for the basic needs of their homes.”
She also encouraged that they use the grants to start small-scale business ventures for sustainable income.
Nana Oye Lithur expressed the Ministry’s committment to ensure that the vulnerable, excluded, aged and persons with disability can also contribute their quota to national development.
She said as part of efforts to ensure efficiency and reduce cost, the cash payment are being migrated into electronic payment and are being piloted in nine districts with three companies namely MTN, Aya Technologies and Ghana Interbank Payment System Solutions.
Ofoi Amedome a beneficiary and a sixteen year old orphan, who takes care of four of his siblings, expressed joy after receiving the money. He said “I will use the money to see myself and my siblings through school”
The LEAP programme was started in 2008 by former President John Agyekum Kufuor with 1,654 beneficiaries in 21 districts.
It has expanded to 90,785 beneficiaries in 144 districts.
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By: Magdalene Teiko Larnyoh/citifmonline.com/Ghana