In a bid to alleviate poverty and empower the vulnerable, the Wa West District Assembly in the Upper West Region has recorded a total of 17,747 beneficiaries under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program.
The figures were disclosed by the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Hon Diorotey Vida during the First Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly.
According to the DCE, during the 81st and the 82nd cycles of LEAP which covered the months of September to December 2022, the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development successfully supervised cash transfers to the program’s beneficiaries.
Out of the total beneficiaries, 7,999 were males while 9,748 were females, and they were spread across approximately 3,904 households.
During her speech, Hon Diorotey Vida expressed appreciation to the Social Welfare and Community Development Department for its efforts towards achieving the program’s objective.
In addition, the Hon DCE announced that the LEAP pilot re-assessment program had been completed successfully, and data collection had been done.
However, there was ongoing community verification and validation to identify households that were not captured in the Ghana National Household Registry data.
These households would be added to the beneficiaries’ list later.
Meanwhile, the Social Welfare Officer, Mr. Pele Vitus Sei, disclosed that they had entered all 227 communities in the District and gathered data.
Mr. Pele acknowledged that the data collation exercise was crucial since it formed the foundation for social intervention policies in the District.
He also revealed that community members cooperated with the officials during the reassessment program and that chiefs and assembly members were directly involved.
The news of the 17,747 beneficiaries comes as a great relief to the Wa West District, as it is an indication of the government’s resolve to alleviate poverty and empower vulnerable residents.
Source: yagbonradioonline
