Regional Deputy Minister Advises Stakeholders Of LEAP

Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, yesterday appealed to stakeholders of the National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) to support the programme and put in their best to make it succeed.    

Mrs Chigabatia, who opened a workshop on NSPS and LEAP for stakeholders in Bolgatanga, said the programme was founded on two principles, 'that every Ghanaian matters and is capable of contributing his or her quota to national development if given the needed equal opportunities and data is available to support the need for such an intervention'.
     

She said it was a government funded programme that aimed at creating investment opportunities for the extreme poor, as they have the potential to contribute to economic growth of the country.    

It would also complement government overall development agenda represented by the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Two.  She said its success was most necessary as it involved the extremely poor who had no alternative means of meeting their subsistence needs or have limited productive capacity.
     

'The cash transfers are intended to empower the identified households, help them provide for their basic needs and enable them eventually 'LEAP' out of extreme poverty. It is also to support them to access existing government interventions in the areas of education and health at all levels and boost their self-esteem,' she said.    

Mr Mawutor Ablo of NSPS said 100 households from four communities in the Bawku Municipality had been selected to benefit and the grants would reach beneficiaries as soon as the area was peaceful.