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The Social Welfare Department would this year expand the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to cover more beneficiaries. The programme, which commenced in 2008, was to provide cash hand-outs and health insurance to extremely poor households across Ghana, to alleviate short-term poverty and encourage long term human capital development. Beneficiaries are single parents with orphan or vulnerable children, elderly poor and persons with extreme disability. Mr George De-graft Assan, Tema Metropolitan Director of Social Welfare, told the Ghana News Agency that the Department was doing retargeting in some districts after which the programme would be expanded to cover new registrations. Mr Assan appealed to Assembly Members in the Tema Metropolis, who have identified eligible residents to access the programme, to be patient as it would surely be expanded to cover them. He said a total of 886 residents from the Tema Metropolis, Kpone-Katamanso and Ashaiman Municipalities were currently benefiting from the LEAP programme. He said in January, this year, his outfit together with the Ghana Post Company paid a total of GHC 50,382 to beneficiaries under his jurisdiction. Mr Assan however indicated that the amount paid covered September and October 2013 with November, December 2013 and January 2014 yet to be paid. He explained that the amount paid forms part of the GHC 55,416 disbursed to the metropolis to be distributed to beneficiaries. The remaining GHC 5,034, he noted, was returned to government chest by the Ghana Post Company, which is in charge of the disbursed money. He said all the disbursed money could not be paid because some of the beneficiaries had either travelled out of the metropolis or were sick at the time of the payment.