The Akatsi South Municipal Assembly has suspended its Acting Director of Social Welfare, Felix Sagah, following allegations of non-payment of allowances to focal persons who supported the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

The decision comes after a petition by affected focal persons, who are also Assembly Members, over unpaid allowances amounting to GH¢34,100.

The allowances were intended for 341 focal persons who participated in the identification and re-enrolment of vulnerable beneficiaries under the LEAP programme in April 2026.

The Assembly Members petitioned the Municipal Chief Executive, alleging that despite the release of funds, the payments had not been made.

Speaking on the matter, Akatsi South Municipal Chief Executive, Daniel Dagba, disclosed that the Acting Social Welfare Director had informed the Assembly that the funds were on his E-Zwich card and that he intended to withdraw and disburse them within two weeks.

“He said he had the money on his E-Zwich card and was going to withdraw it in two weeks to pay them. April passed, May passed, and we are now in June,” Mr Dagba stated.

According to the Municipal Chief Executive, the Assembly subsequently invited Mr Sagah to respond to the allegations, during which he indicated that he had begun paying the beneficiaries.

“He told us he had started paying the beneficiaries. So we quickly suspended him and asked him to step aside,” Mr Dagba said. He added that a committee chaired by the Internal Auditor has been constituted to investigate the matter, verify payment records and determine whether the focal persons received their allowances.

Mr Dagba noted that the committee will begin its work this week and will invite the Assembly Members to provide evidence in support of their claims.

He explained that if the committee is unable to verify that the payments were made, the Acting Social Welfare Director would be required to ensure that the outstanding GH¢34,100 is paid to the affected focal persons.

“If the committee is not satisfied with the documents provided, it will ask him to pay the GH¢34,100 so the focal persons can be paid,” he added.