Gender Minister begins Northern Region tour to monitor LEAP enrolment exercise

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has continued her monitoring of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Beneficiary Enrolment Exercise with visits to the Savelugu Municipality and Kumbungu District in the Northern Region. The visits formed part of the second day of her working tour of the Northern and North East regions, where she was accompanied by members of the Ministry’s Advisory Board to assess the progress of the ongoing enrolment exercise. As part of the engagements, Dr Lartey paid courtesy calls on the Chief of Savelugu, Yoo Naa Abdulai Yakubu, and the Chief of Kumbungu, Gbullung Naa Musah Surani, where she acknowledged the critical role traditional authorities play in supporting social protection programmes within their communities.

The Minister also met the Municipal Chief Executive for Savelugu, Alhassan Fuseini, and the District Chief Executive for Kumbungu, Imoro Yakubu Kakpagu, to strengthen collaboration towards the successful implementation of the enrolment exercise. Dr Lartey and her delegation further visited selected LEAP enrolment centres, where they interacted with beneficiaries, prospective applicants and field officers to assess the progress of the exercise and gain first-hand insight into the experiences of participants. She commended the traditional authorities, local government officials and community members for their cooperation and support, noting that their contributions were essential to the success of the programme.

The Minister also urged all stakeholders to continue working together to ensure that vulnerable households are successfully enrolled and receive the support provided under the LEAP programme. The Minister is accompanied by members of the Ministry’s Advisory Board and senior management staff as part of the exercise, which is aimed at assessing the progress of the nationwide LEAP enrolment and expansion programme. As part of the first day’s activities, Dr Lartey paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Fuo, Abdulai Neindow, in the Sagnarigu Municipality before visiting the community’s LEAP enrolment centre.

At the enrolment centre, she interacted with beneficiaries, registration officials and community members while observing the registration process to assess the efficiency of operations and ensure that eligible households are enrolled in a transparent and orderly manner. Addressing the media, the Minister said the monitoring exercise forms part of the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the successful implementation of the expanded LEAP programme, which seeks to enrol an additional 400,000 beneficiary households across the country. She explained that the exercise provides an opportunity to assess field operations, identify operational challenges and implement timely interventions to improve service delivery.

Dr Lartey also highlighted the importance of the nationwide LEAP reassessment, noting that it is intended to update beneficiary data, strengthen the integrity of the programme and ensure that support reaches the most vulnerable households. According to her, the reassessment will help minimise inclusion and exclusion errors while promoting fairness, accountability and effective targeting of social protection interventions. The Minister’s three-day tour will also include engagements with stakeholders across the Northern and North East regions, as well as a visit to the Gambaga Alleged Witches Camp.