Tongo-Beon (UE), Nov.28, GNA - The Livelihood Empowerment Programme Against Poverty (LEAP) introduced by the Government and implemented by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in the Upper East Region is making great impact on the lives of the people. The LEAP programme, funded by the World Bank, commenced early this year to mitigate the plight of the people of Upper East Region, who were severely affected by the flood and drought that hit the region in 2007. This came up during a visit by the monitoring team, led by Ms Victoria Natstu, to see the impact the programme had on the beneficiaries and to pay the second phase of the monies to them. Ms Natstu congratulated the beneficiaries for investing their monies in profitable ventures and urged them to take advantage of the second phase to expand their businesses. She explained that the money was meant for the poorest of the poor who were seriously affected during the flood and the drought that hit the region in 2007, and not based on political lines as being speculated by others.

Under the programme administered as cash transfer by the Ghana Post, a total amount of 472,500 Ghana cedis was to be paid to 4,250 people for a period of six months. Each beneficiary is to receive 30 Ghana cedis every two months under the six-month programme. The beneficiary districts are Bongo, Talensi-Nabdam, Kassan-Nankana, Garu-Tempani and Builsa. So far the beneficiaries have taken the first and second phases of the money. Some of them spoke to the Ghana News Agency and said they had invested their monies in petty trading including soap making and shea butter extraction as well as animal rearing, while others used part of the money to register for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Some of the beneficiaries indicated that they would not have been able to register for the NHIS if the LEAP programme was not initiated. Those engaged in trading explained that they use proceeds from the trade to take care of their families and therefore commended Government and the World Bank for the programme.

Mr Anaba Nabila, District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Talensi-Nadam, commended Government and the World Bank for the kind gesture and indicated that it would help alleviate the plight of the people. He explained that the NPP Government does not discriminate and was more sensitive to the plights of the people and that, it had instituted a lot of pro-poor programmes all geared towards assisting the poor. The DCE appealed to the people to renew their mandate for the NPP for it to continue to provide them with their needs. The Municipal Director of the DSW, Mr Christopher Babooroh entreated the beneficiaries to invest in more profitable ventures and to sacrifice and cultivate the habit of saving, even if the money was small to enable to acquire small loans for their businesses. Some of the areas the monitoring team visited included Bongo, Builsa, Garu-Tempani, Kassena-Nankana and the Tongo-Beon in the Talensi-Nabdam District.