An advocacy institution, SEND Ghana, has revealed that many beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) are bearing the brunt of the current harsh economic climate as government has been unable to release funds for disbursement.

According to the civil society organisation, the country risks losing out on its objective to end hunger, poverty and inequality due to payment infractions that undermine impactful social protection programmes like LEAP.

An impact analysis by civil society organisations comprising; Social Accountability Forum, Civil Society Platform for Social Protection and the Civil Society on SDG 10, has revealed delays in release of funds to beneficiaries by government.

In an interview with JoyNews on Thursday, the Communications Officer for SEND Ghana, Mohammed Abdulai, urged the government to honour its obligations towards the beneficiaries to improve their living conditions.

“From somewhere in 2019 till now, we have noticed that the payment has delayed; there are times that it delays for more than two months.”

“It means when a particular payment cycle delays, the beneficiaries end up getting their support in four months. How are these people faring? What are they feeding on? How are they able to meet the education and health needs of the occupants of their households?” he quizzed.

He encouraged the government to ensure grants are transferred to the appropriate agencies on time for the beneficiaries to receive their grants timely.

“Pay them but if there are practical challenges why you are not releasing funding for their payment, it is okay to communicate to the people.”

“Just let them understand the current situation. We all know we are not in normal times but we need to strive to do things in a normal way.”

LEAP is one of government’s flagship social protection programmes that provide bi-monthly cash payments to poor households in all districts of the country.

In addition to the cash transfer, LEAP offers free registration in the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Currently, 344,023 households benefit from the cash grants.