Reducing Poverty: 30k poor households to benefit from LIPW

Unemployed people of over thirty-thousand (30,000) poverty-stricken households in eighty districts in Ghana are expected to be employed under the Labour Intensive Public Works Project (LIPW).

The Project is under the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) by Government of Ghana in partnership with the World Bank the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) seeking to contribute towards Governments efforts at improving the livelihoods of extreme poor and poor households by harnessing investments in the Social Protection sector to support these households to better access services that promote their productivity and improve their access to jobs.

The Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) costing US 60 million ,has five major components Productive Inclusion , Labour Intensive Public Works ,LEAP Cash Grants , Social Protection Systems Strengthening ,Project Management, Coordination and Capacity Building.

The project succeeds Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GASOP) implemented from October, 2011 to May 2018 at total cost of Us 138.6 million.

Speaking to Starr News at the sidelines of a 3-day Workshop on Pre-tender training on Labour Intensive Works Costing and Contracts, for about 120 local potential labour intensive contractors in Koforidua , Ing.Dr.George Kojo Osei Ababio, National Coordinator for GPSNP said the Labour Intensive Project Work Component which is under the direct purview of Ministry Local Government and Rural Development is to create short-term employment and income-earning opportunities to over 30,000 poor households which are targets of the project.

He said, the Labour Intensive Project Work maintains or rehabilitates assets that improve the productivity of beneficiary communities and respond to the anticipated effects of climate change to be achieved through the implementation for about hundred and Fifty (150) different labour intensive contracts on Small Earth Dams/Dug-outs, Feeder Roads and Climate Change mitigation sub-projects in eighty (80) beneficiary Districts across the country which the beneficiary poor household inhabitants will be employed.

Mr. Kojo Osei Ababio noted the workshop is to address major criticism often labeled against Labour Intensive Project Works globally ,which is the poor quality of work done adding the workshop is to build the capacities of all prospective contractors who may be interested in executing projects under the Labour Intensive Project Works to ensure the delivery of quality assets, which is a key requirement under the project.

The Director of Policy, Planning,Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Silvanus Kofi Adzornu said the Project is tied to the Sustainable Development goals of reducing Poverty, zero hunger, ensuring gender equality, provide decent job,and addressing inequality.

He therefore charged the contractors to be guided as such and ensure they employ people from poor households in the beneficiary communities while ensuring execution of climate resilient quality projects.