About 1,024 deprived households in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region have been newly enrolled on the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

According to the Department of Social Welfare, the beneficiary households were drawn from 19 communities namely; Yorogo Bulungu, Soe Yipaala, Dorogo Asaanabisi, Dorogo Abugnabisi, Zaare East, Zaare Asigribisi and Abrusi Saazongo.

The rest are Yorogo Gabiisi, Yorogo Kunkoa, Basengo Nyakoroko, Sirigu Kunkoa, Zaare West, Abrusi Naayire, Sumbrungu, Sumbrungu Kulbia, Sumbrungu Dazongo, Nyanriga and Tindonbisi.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Municipal Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Madam Mercy Pwavra explained that the due processes would be exhausted for the beneficiaries to receive payments from next month.

She said 158 old beneficiaries were recently paid their stipends and the new persons would also receive benefits soon.

Madam Pwavra said the LEAP stipend ranged from GH¢ 64.00 for one eligible member household and GH¢ 76.00 for two eligible members household.

She further added that a household of three eligible members received a stipend of GH¢83.00 whereas a household of four eligible members or more received an amount of GH¢ 106.00.

The LEAP, implemented in 2008 by the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), is a soft-conditional cash transfer programme to reduce poverty by smoothening consumption and promoting human capital development among extremely poor households.

Beneficiaries of the intervention are orphans and vulnerable children, persons aged 65 years and above without support, persons with a severe disability who cannot work, and extremely poor pregnant women with infants (under one year).

The Beneficiaries of the LEAP Programme are paid electronically on the e-zwich platform provided by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), through Participating Financial Institutions (PFI's).

The e-zwich payment platform requires biometric fingerprint verification of beneficiaries for payment to be effected.