Prioritise social protection programmes - Political parties urged

Ghanaians have asked political parties to prioritise social protection programmes in their manifestos ahead of this year’s general election to improve the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable in society.

They note that the adverse impact that COVID-19 would leave behind would pose an even daunting challenge for the next government to deliver on its promises.

“This makes it even more imperative for political parties to show a clear commitment to how they would deliver on some of the most critical aspects of social protection,” a statement, signed by the Country Director of SEND-Ghana, Mr George Osei Akoto-Bimpeh, said.

These were part of results of a survey conducted by SEND-Ghana on the expectations of Ghanaians on issues they wanted political parties to address in their 2020 manifestoes.

Expand LEAP

It said Ghanaians also demanded that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme be expanded to cover the remaining 750,000 extremely poor persons waiting to be enrolled onto the programme.

The LEAP programme currently covers 1,650,000 extremely poor persons out of the 2.4 million currently in the country.

It said there could not be a better time to have a conversation on social protection than now, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic could potentially worsen the widening inequalities in the country.

It said the 2020 election presented a greater opportunity for Ghanaians to put some of the many issues confronting the poor and vulnerable on the national agenda as political parties campaigned for the people’s mandate.

It said Ghanaians also wanted an increase of the financial support to beneficiaries of LEAP by 100 per cent to ensure that they met their basic needs and establish a mechanism for review to reflect the prevailing inflation rate.