By Iddi Yire
Accra, Sept. 16, GNA – Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has announced that the new grant rates under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme will take effect this month.
She said the LEAP programme had undergone what she described as the most significant transformation in its history, with bi-monthly grants increasing from an average of GH¢334 in 2024 to GH¢424 in 2026 and now to GH¢569, representing a 70 per cent increase. The new grant rates are also protected by an indexation mechanism to safeguard beneficiaries against inflation.
Dr Lartey announced this during her presentation at the Government Accountability Series Press Conference held at the Presidency in Accra.
“We completed a comprehensive reassessment of 350,000 beneficiary households using data from the National Household Registry, which has allowed over 226,000 households to graduate out of extreme poverty.”
The Minister said the programme ceiling had been expanded from 350,000 to 450,000 households, adding that following the national reassessment, about 450,000 eligible households were being retained or enrolled under the approved programme ceiling.
She announced that from Monday, September 14, 2026, the Ministry had commenced the disbursement of the first and second payment cycles for 2026. Beneficiary households would receive both cycles together.
“From, Monday, 14th September 2026, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection began disbursing the first and second payment cycles of 2026,” the Minister said.
“Each eligible household will receive twice the applicable bi-monthly amount, as the two cycles will be paid together.”
Dr Lartey said under the revised LEAP grant structure, households with one to two members and a vulnerable member would receive GH¢392, while similar households without a vulnerable member would receive GH¢380.
Households with three to four members and a vulnerable member would receive GH¢474, while those without a vulnerable member would receive GH¢452.
She said households with five or more members and a vulnerable member would receive GH¢630, while those without a vulnerable member would receive GH¢594.
The Minister advised beneficiaries with enrolment or grievance concerns to contact the LEAP Management Secretariat through telephone number 0303 969 399 or the toll-free lines 0800 800 800 and 0800 900 900.
She further assured eligible persons who had been assessed and enumerated but were yet to complete their biometric registration not to panic, saying the process had been designed to onboard all 450,000 targeted households by the end of 2026 with their full entitlements.
GNA
Lydia Kukua Asamoah