Ghana prepares to audit LEAP social program payments — MyJoyOnline

Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection held a preparatory meeting for officers ahead of a nationwide assessment and monitoring of the first and second payment cycles under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme. Over the next two weeks, monitoring teams will work with cash assistance recipients across the country.

Preparation for fieldwork

Officers were given recommendations for upcoming fieldwork, including an introduction to the updated monitoring questionnaire and procedures for addressing issues that may arise during the review. According to MyJoyOnline, meeting participants reviewed reassessment and enrolment of beneficiaries in the programme, payment systems, beneficiary quotas, data quality, payment instruments and complaint-handling procedures.

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Handling recipients’ inquiries

Particular attention was paid to problems with payment cards and data. These include, in particular, name mismatches, errors in beneficiary records and discrepancies in payment information. Officers were also informed how to respond to beneficiaries’ inquiries, document cases and refer them to the relevant LEAP structures and social services for further consideration.

The meeting also stressed the need for consistent communication during monitoring. Teams must provide people with accurate information, properly manage expectations and not make promises on matters requiring decisions at the state policy level. Case management mechanisms and Single Window structures are planned to be used to resolve identified problems and provide further follow-up on cases.