The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has introduced electronic payment for beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.
The e-payment, which is on a pilot basis in seven regions and nine districts, is to make disbursement of the LEAP grant easier, safer and faster to beneficiaries.
Three companies — MTN, E-zwich and Aya Technologies — have been selected as service providers for the new facility.
Initially, Ghana Post distributed the monies to the households across the 99 district in the 10 regions.
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, made this known when she paid a working visit to Bortianor Chokomey in the Ga South District in the Greater Accra Region to assess the pilot programme of the e-payment.
Background
The LEAP programme, which disburses funds to the poorest households in Ghana, started in 2008 with 1,640 beneficiaries. Currently, the beneficiary households had increased to 73,047 across the country.
Through the programme, the government assists the poorest families with basic needs, including food and improved health.
People who qualify under the programme include orphans, vulnerable children, the aged and the elderly from 65 years upwards and severely disabled persons who cannot work.
Under the programme, a household with one beneficiary is expected to receive GH¢48, two beneficiaries receive GH¢60, three beneficiaries GH¢72 and four or more receive GHc90 every two months.
The e-payment
According to Nana Lithur, the e-payment was in line with the global trend of technology usage and it was to make it safer and easier for the beneficiaries to receive their money.
She said through the pilot programme, challenges would be identified and worked on to make for a better programme.
The Mobile Money Implementation Manager of MTN, Mr Peter Bimpeh, said beneficiaries who would subscribe to MTN would receive their money through the mobile money merchandise.
Currently, he said, 987 beneficiaries in the Ga South District had received free mobile phones on which their funds could be accessed.
He explained that MTN would send codes to the beneficiaries whenever payment was made and with the codes they could visit any branch of the mobile money merchandise and collect their money.
Although the navigation of the phones had been a challenge to the beneficiaries, since most of them were illiterate, he said, sensitisation programmes were ongoing to educate them on the use of mobile phones.
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