Yendi LEAP Beneficiaries: Yendi MCE Rejects Claims of Political Replacement‎‎

Details

Published: September 9, 2026

Published at: 08:56am

By Saibu Terry

‎The Municipal Chief Executive of Yendi Hon. Muniru Sugri, has rejected allegations by former Yendi Member of Parliament, Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, that genuine beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in Yendi have been removed and replaced with supporters of the governing party.

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‎In a statement responding to the claims, the MCE said neither Members of Parliament nor Municipal Chief Executives have the authority to select, remove or replace LEAP beneficiaries.
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‎According to the statement, beneficiary households are identified through the Ghana National Household Registry using a proxy-means test. The process is then subjected to screening by Community LEAP Implementation Committees comprising a community focal person, a teacher, a health worker and a civil society representative.
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‎The statement added that the District LEAP Implementation Committee validates the selected households before the LEAP Management Secretariat in Accra enrols them

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‎It stressed that “no politician sits at that table, and no politician can add or delete a name.”
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‎Government explained that the changes to the LEAP beneficiary list in Yendi form part of a nationwide reassessment of beneficiary households being undertaken by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
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‎The exercise, it said, is intended to determine whether existing beneficiaries still meet the programme’s eligibility requirements while creating room for households that have been waiting to be enrolled.
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‎According to government, beneficiaries may exit the programme for several reasons, including death, relocation, children reaching the age limit, improvement in household circumstances, or failure to verify records.
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‎It maintained that the reassessment is taking place across the country and is not limited to Yendi or influenced by political considerations.
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‎Government also pointed to its stated plan to expand the LEAP programme, with a national target of 400,000 beneficiary households this year, arguing that the policy direction is one of expansion rather than reduction.
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‎Residents of Yendi who believe they have been wrongly removed from the programme have been encouraged to report their concerns to the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development at the Yendi Municipal Assembly.

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‎The statement said a grievance and appeals mechanism is available and pledged that the concerns of affected residents would be followed up irrespective of their political affiliation.
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‎Government has also challenged anyone with evidence that beneficiaries were removed or replaced for political reasons to provide specific details, including the names involved, communities and dates.
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‎It said such evidence would be submitted to the Ministry for investigation and expressed support for an independent audit of the Yendi LEAP beneficiary list.
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‎The statement cautioned against making unsubstantiated allegations, arguing that such claims could create unnecessary fear among vulnerable people who depend on LEAP support.
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‎It concluded by stressing that poverty should not be politicised and that the government’s responsibility to vulnerable residents of Yendi applies regardless of political affiliation.

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