The
Auditor
General’s
report
has
disclosed
that
the
Livelihood
Empowerment
Against
Poverty
(LEAP)
Management
Secretariat
disbursed
cash
grants
to
44
beneficiaries
who
had
passed
away,
totalling
GH¢84,480.
The
report
further
highlighted
that
an
amount
of
GH¢396,620
was
disbursed
to
beneficiaries
who
were
no
longer
eligible
for
the
programme.
LEAP,
a
government-implemented
social
protection
initiative,
aims
to
provide
cash
grants
to
extremely
impoverished
and
vulnerable
households
to
mitigate
economic
and
social
hardship.
This
information
was
conveyed
in
the
transmittal
letter
to
the
Speaker
of
Parliament
on
August
8,
2023
by
the
Auditor
General,
Johnson
Akuamoah
Asiedu.
“We
found
that
LMS
paid
cash
grants
to
caregivers
of
deceased
beneficiaries
in
one-member
households,
resulting
in
payments
to
44
deceased
beneficiaries
amounting
to
GH¢84,480.”
“We
also
noted
that
LMS
did
not
conduct
reassessments
of
LEAP
as
required.
Despite
identifying
positive
impacts
of
the
programme,
LMS
failed
to
graduate
or
exit
beneficiaries
even
when
their
socioeconomic
status
had
improved.
This
led
to
payments
of
GH¢396,620
to
beneficiaries
who
no
longer
qualify
to
be
on
the
programme,”
he
stated.
The
Auditor
General
pointed
out
that
the
audit
was
conducted
from
February
to
October
2022
at
the
LMS
and
five
districts
of
three
regions,
covering
the
period
from
2017
to
2022.
He
also
underscored
that
LMS
did
not
comply
with
fund
utilisation
guidelines,
thereby
spending
more
funds
on
running
the
programme
than
permitted,
leading
to
overspending
of
GH¢15,369,309.97,
which
poses
a
risk
to
the
programme’s
sustainability.
Additionally,
MOGCSP
did
not
maintain
appropriate
records
on
the
funds
expended.
He
suggested
that
MOGCSP
should
enhance
its
record-keeping
practices
to
improve
accountability.
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