Asamankese, June 29, GNA - A nine- member committee for the management of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme in the West Akyem Municipality was inaugurated on Monday at Asamankese.

Inaugurating it, the West Akyem Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Seth Otchere, explained that LEAP was aimed at reducing extreme poverty, hunger and starvation among poor households who had no alternative means of meeting their subsistence needs.

He, however, noted that people within that bracket were not easy to be identified because even the rich claimed to be poor. In view of the difficulties in defining a poor person in the country, Mr Otchere urged the committee to be very honest in the management of the programme for it to benefit the targeted members. He said there was no doubt at all that the reduction in the poverty levels of the people would lead to growth in all spheres of life in the municipality.

The MCE said conscious of that fact, his administration would ever seek to promote poverty reduction of among vulnerable. LEAP started in September last year on pilot basis in the area. Mr Otchere noted regularising the programme in the municipality stemmed from the effort put in by the earlier committee appointed to manage the pilot programme.

He commended the committee for its selfless performance and urged the new committee to also deliver for LEAP in the municipality to become the model in the country.