104 HOUSEHOLDS IN TECHIMAN RECEIVE LEAP GRANT (PAGE 21)

TWO thousand four hundred and fifty Ghana cedis has been disbursed to 104 households from four selected communities in the Techiman Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, for the second payment of the LEAP grant.
The money is part of a social protection package for people who have been classified as extreme poor in the society.
The amount for the second payment was different from the first payment, which was fixed at GH¢8.00 per household.
Under the new package, one beneficiary in a household received GH¢16, two received GH¢20, three had GH¢24 while four and above received GH¢30 for two months.
The beneficiary communities in the Techiman Municipality were Tanoso where 22 households benefited from the facility; Kenten, 29; Asueyi, 19, and Tuobodom, 34.
The disbursement was done on June 3 and 4, 2008 at the established payment points in the selected communities.
The Deputy Director for Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in charge of LEAP and Social Development at the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Mr Mawutor Ablo, who made the payment, said the LEAP programme started with 21 districts, and 32 more would be added to the number by the end of the year.
He stated that the complementary services that could be useful to the beneficiaries would be added as the programme progressed.
The Regional Director of Social Welfare, Ms Josephine Peace Atsu, advised the beneficiaries to regulate their birth rate such that they could have sizeable families to cater for, instead of producing many children whose maintenance would be a burden for them.
Touching on some of the challenges encountered during the payment days, he sited an instance when one Mr Yaw Ampofo of Tanoso, who was ill, delegated his wife to collect the money on his behalf, but the pay officers refused the request, since the picture on the identity card was not his wife’s.
According to Mr Atsu, the old and disabled in society who were not part of the programme initially but had now been added to it, did not receive the money because their identity cards were not ready at the time of payment.
Some of the beneficiaries said they used the money to purchase school uniforms, books and pens for their children.
A total of 91 households were present at the payment points but 13 of them were absent.