The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) intervention is meant to empower a target population and not to provide for their basic needs, Mr Stephen Adongo, Director of Child Rights, Department of Social Welfare, said in Sunyani on Friday. He reiterated that the government-introduced intervention would serve as a ‘spring board’ to help the target population to ‘leap’ out of the malaise of extreme poverty and not to make the poor dependent on government as projected by a section of the media. Illustrating the programme, the Director said extremely poor households would be provided with “fish and taught how to fish” by linking them to other complementary programmes. Speaking at a workshop on the LEAP programme and the National Social Protection Strategy, organised by the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Mr Adongo stressed that under the intervention, 20 per cent of 880,000 extremely poor persons would be targeted. He stated that under the programme, a minimum monthly stipend of GH¢8.00 to a maximum of GH¢15.00 would be paid per household but that would depend on the number of people who would qualify. The Director, however, stated that due to the incapability of the sector Ministry and the Department’s shortfall in logistics, payments would be made every two months, beginning January, this year. Beneficiaries would be expected to converge at a designated pay point chosen by the Ghana Posts and identity cards would be issued to them before any payment would be made. Already, 21 pre-pilot districts have been selected and 10 regional social welfare and 21 district welfare officers are also being trained for the programme, he added. Speaking on Financing Social Protection in Ghana, Mrs Angela Asante Asare, Programme Coordinator, National Social Protection Strategy, Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, said the government was expected to dole out over 11 billion dollars to support the Social Protection Strategy programme. Source:GNA