Of Safety Ropes, Nets, Ladders and Trampolines: Exploring the Politics of Implementation of the Livelihoods Empowerment against Poverty in the Central Region of Ghana

Henrietta Abane

Social protection has been an important component of the development discourse in particularly underdeveloped countries in the light of failure of past policies in reducing poverty and building human capabilities. It is expected to manage risk and adversity among poor and vulnerable groups. Yet the conception, selection of recipients and disbursement of support systems have sometimes been compromised for political gains. Being an area which has received little research the key role of politics in shaping this all important social protection agenda has generally been overlooked. This study explores the role of politics in shaping Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, a flagship social protection intervention, in the Central Region. It used the programme implementers in the region as respondents as well as some members of a beneficiary community. The study identified that international donor agencies and countries that support LEAP have influenced the size of the programme whereas local political actors have tried and failed to capture its benefits in a number of ways.