Ghana widens LEAP cash transfers to 450,000 households as new payments begin

Pinned summary · as of 16:46

The government has raised the ceiling of its LEAP cash-transfer scheme for poor households to 450,000 and started paying the revised grants this month. Gender Minister Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey outlined the changes on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, at the Government Accountability Series.

What we know

• LEAP, the state cash-transfer scheme for poor households, can now cover up to 450,000 households, and grants have been raised.
• Payments under the revised arrangement started on 14 September, with the first and second cycles of 2026 paid out together.
• The wider rollout follows a nationwide review of who is on the programme, drawing on data from the Ghana National Household Registry.
• The revised grants run from a low of GH₵380 up to GH₵630 for a household each bi-monthly cycle, with the amount set by family size and vulnerability.
• The scheme's grants have been restructured alongside the higher ceiling, and the government has pointed to a completed review of existing beneficiaries as the basis for the change.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Dr Lartey told the accountability forum that the programme has its funding in place; Onua Online reported this and no other report repeats it.
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  Dr Lartey said the higher payments were meant to make LEAP respond better to changing economic conditions facing beneficiary families; this is the minister's own explanation and appears in only one report.
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  Onua Online listed the minister's band-by-band amounts: GH₵392 or GH₵380 for one- or two-person households, GH₵474 or GH₵452 for three to four members, and GH₵630 or GH₵594 for five or more, depending on whether a vulnerable member is present. The Vaultz News did not carry this breakdown.
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  The Vaultz News said the ceiling was previously 350,000 households and that the average grant is now about GH₵569.14 per cycle. It also reported that the expansion carries inflation protection for grants. No other report has confirmed these points.
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  According to the Vaultz News, the 2026 Budget set aside GH₵1.1 billion for LEAP. Its own illustrative calculation puts a full year of transfers to 450,000 households at roughly GH₵1.54 billion, some GH₵437 million (40 per cent) more than the sum budgeted this year. The paper stressed this is not a forecast of an overrun, since enrolment is incomplete and the rollout is late in the year.
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  The Vaultz News quoted Dr Lartey as saying the review covered 350,000 beneficiary households and that more than 226,000 of them moved out of extreme poverty. Onua Online did not report this.
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  Onua Online said Dr Lartey also reported that 1,168,278 people were reached by a child-rights awareness campaign, that 291 vulnerable children were supported in five residential and sub-vented homes, and that 6 of 16 children at the Child Care Centre have moved into stable longer-term care. These figures are her own and not confirmed elsewhere.
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  Dr Lartey said the ministry is pushing five bills and policies through Cabinet this year and expects to table four measures at the next parliamentary sitting: bills on persons with disabilities, children, justice administration for children and young persons, and domestic abuse, according to Onua Online. Parliament has not received them yet.

Why it matters for Ghana

Many poor families in Ghana depend on the bi-monthly LEAP transfer for food, school costs and basic needs, so a higher ceiling brings more households into the scheme and larger payments for those already in it. Paying two cycles together means beneficiaries should see a bigger lump sum at first. Onua Online also published helplines for beneficiaries, including the secretariat's number 0303 969 399.