Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGSCP) has launched a pilot electronic payment system for the beneficiaries of its Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) programme in nine districts.
LEAP, a social intervention programme that involves the provision of cash transfers and health insurance to the poorest households in the country, is targeted at people who have no alternative means of meeting their subsistence needs and have limited productive capacity.
According to a statement, the project which is being implemented by three electronic payment service providers, MTN Ghana, Ghana Interbank Payments Systems Solutions (GhIPSS) and Aya Technologies, is expected to benefit over 7 000 households in the nine district.
The districts include, Saboba in the Northern Region, Nzema East in the Western Region, Kwahu West in the Eastern Region and Ga South in the Greater Accra Region.
Others are Zabzugu/Tatale and West Gonja in the Northern Region, Techiman in the Brong Ahafo and Keta in the Volta Region Asante Akim North in the Ashanti Region.
Commenting on the initiative, MoGSCP Minister, Nana Oye Lithur, said the payments were migrated to electronic platforms to ensure efficiency and cost reduction.
“We believe that as the LEAP helps individuals to provide for their basic needs, get access to education, health and food, the number of people who will need capital to start small-scale business ventures for sustainable income and the elimination of poverty will be reduced,” Lithur said.
In order to ensure that the LEAP programme meets its objectives and ensure that state resources are utilised judiciously and effectively she disclosed that the ministry has developed a monitoring and evaluation system.
