Government has increased the number of beneficiaries for the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) project from 8,426 to 35,000, and also increased the number of districts from 54 to 80. Minister of Employment and social Welfare, Mr. Stephen Amoanor Kwao, disclosed this when he addressed the media during his ministry’s turn on the “Meet the Press” series in Accra. He said government has committed GHc7.5 million to be paid to the beneficiaries and to cover January and June this year. A total of 8,391 households in 54 districts have already received GHc505, 432. LEAP is a flagship component of the National Social Protection Strategy that targets orphans, vulnerable children and their caretakers, persons with disabilities without productive capacity, and the aged above 65 years with no alternative means of livelihood. In 2008, the project covered 54 districts and 8,426 beneficiary households were paid a total of GHc2.2 million. Mr. Amoanor said the significant increment over the previous year’s amount demonstrates government’s determination to provide sustainable social protection for the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society. The minister also made known government’s decision to revitalize the informal economy, Saying, the ministry, in collaboration with the National Tripartite Commission and International Labor Organization (ILO), partners in Ghana, teamed up in June this year to set up a National Committee on the informal sector to deliberate and give policy direction in the sector. The aim is to among others create decent employment in Ghana, raise productivity, and reduce the risk associated with the sector. Mr. Amoanor Kwao stressed there can be no successful national development when the informal economy, which employs over 80% of the labor force, is not taken into account in policy formulation. He said operators in the informal sector are often not covered by social protection programmes, and the new decision by government is a step in the right direction. Source: Business and Financial Times