The Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, who doubles as the Minister designate for the Ministry has challenged the key actors in the implementation of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) at the national, regional and district levels to proffer solutions to enhance the efficiency of the programme.
The LEAP Management Secretariat under the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry last week organized a two-day capacity building workshop on LEAP Processes and Performance for Stakeholders of the Northern Zone in Tamale on the teething challenges facing the policy.
The training was part of a nationwide zoning strategy employed by the Secretariat in engaging the national level structures, both Regional and District Social Welfare Officers and Participating Financial Institutions tasked with the responsibility to implement the pro poor social intervention.
Addressing the participants, Hajia Lariba Abudu, who doubles as Member of Parliament for Walewale constituency noted, “I am happy that this opportunity would give every one of us the needed knowledge and the chance to articulate our challenges. For I know, this programme has a lot of challenges – the Chief Director and the LEAP Secretariat always come to me to talk on the challenges”.
However, she said “I am happy that, today, with all of you here, you will try to bring out the challenges and also suggestions to the challenges for
The overall objective of the workshop was to ensure that key stakeholders at the national, regional and district levels have an enhanced understanding of the Programmes Payment processes, guiding principles, goals and objectives, their roles and responsibilities, as well as strengthen the capacity of District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) and improve the capacity of PFIs for effective payment delivery.
Head of the LEAP Programme, Mr. Myles Ongoh, for his part stated the training was to take stock of the progress of the programme, discuss the common challenges and find permanent solutions to those challenges in order to ensure the programme is more efficient and effective.
According to him, the Ministry has recognized the grants given to beneficiaries are woefully inadequate and therefore there are ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Finance for the cash to be reviewed upwards to meet the consumption of the household.
“We’re relentlessly working to make ensure that is reviewed, as you’re aware a one cedi added to one beneficiary is millions of cedis; in every payment cycle, we do close to about 35 million Ghana cedis – when we double it that would be about 70 million cedis without charges GhIBPS and other things, that is a lot of money and you cannot just get up and say you’re adding 50 or 20 cedis – that would mean that you’re pushing the programme to unsustainable levels.
“So we have to hasten slowly to make sure all documentations and mathematics are done” Mr. Myles explained.
