The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has visited the Adenta Municipality in the Greater Accra Region to monitor the commencement of payments under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme.

The visit provided the Minister with an opportunity to interact directly with LEAP beneficiaries, caregivers and officials of the Adenta Municipal Assembly while observing the payment process and listening to beneficiaries about their experiences.

The beneficiaries include existing LEAP households as well as newly enrolled households identified following a nationwide reassessment of the programme.

Under the new six-tier payment structure, households receive grants based on their household size and vulnerability status. Two payment cycles are being paid together in the current exercise.

Households with one or two members and classified as vulnerable are receiving GH¢784, while those without vulnerability are receiving GH¢760.

For households with three to four members, vulnerable households are receiving GH¢984, compared with GH¢904 for those without vulnerability.

Households with five or more members are receiving GH¢1,260 if classified as vulnerable and GH¢1,188 if they are not classified as vulnerable.

Speaking to the media during the visit, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey said the exercise was not simply about disbursing funds but also about ensuring that government support reached households that genuinely needed it.

She explained that the reassessment had enabled households whose living conditions had improved to transition out of the LEAP programme, while creating an opportunity for other extremely poor and vulnerable households to be enrolled.

According to the Minister, the expansion of the programme following the reassessment makes effective monitoring essential to ensure that funds reach the intended beneficiaries.

She also appealed to caregivers who receive LEAP payments on behalf of beneficiaries who are unable to access the funds themselves to ensure that the money is delivered to those beneficiaries and used in their interest.

Dr. Lartey expressed appreciation to the Member of Parliament for the area, Ramadan Adam, the Adenta Municipal Chief Executive, Ella Christine Esinam Nongo, social welfare officers, caregivers and beneficiaries for their cooperation throughout the reassessment and payment process.

She noted that household circumstances could change over time, making regular assessments necessary to ensure that social protection interventions continue to benefit people who need them most.

The Minister urged beneficiaries to use the grants prudently to meet their household needs and encouraged caregivers and local officials to safeguard the integrity of the payment process.

She stressed that the support must ultimately reach the people for whom it is intended.