Government has begun a nationwide review of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in a bid to implement sweeping reforms and improve its effectiveness.

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, explained that the exercise is intended to cleanse the beneficiary database by weeding out ineligible recipients, ensuring that support reaches those who need it most.

She made this known while addressing journalists in Parliament after her appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Dr Lartey, however, indicated that the ongoing verification process will cause a delay of about two weeks in the release of payments for the first quarter.

“We are moving from 350,000 to 400,000 households, so there is a bit of enumeration ongoing on the field and then uploading the beneficiaries unto the system to ensure that we meet the target.

“We are hoping that within the first two weeks we will be able to cover, pay and then catch up with subsequent payments. It is not the availability of funds, it is the documentation,” she stated.