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Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has warned social workers who take advantage of LEAP beneficiaries by deducting illegal charges from their monies to desist from the practice.

“Social Workers and other staff are paid to render the service they are delivering, hence no LEAP beneficiary should give any amount of money to any social worker as a token or otherwise,” she stressed.

Nana Oye Lithur sounded this caution in Agbozume, Some, when she paid a courtesy call on some chiefs of the Some Traditional Area as part of her working visit to the area and also see to the registering of about 600 elderly persons onto the NHIS for free in the Ketu South Municipal Assembly.

Torgbui Atsu Awuaba V, Miafiaga of Some, detailed that reports about some social workers deducting some amount of money from the cash being disbursed to LEAP beneficiaries were rife in the area.

He further detailed that the act defeats the purpose for which the social intervention was set up, and appealed to Nana Oye Lithur to check the practice.

According to him, efforts by his stool to address the issue has made him unpopular in the area and gotten him labelled as a difficult man among some social workers in the Ketu South Municipal Assembly.

Nana Oye Lithur, after the interaction, pledged to investigate the matter and take disciplinary action against any social worker found culpable.

“Those found to have illegally done these deductions will be asked to refund the monies to the beneficiaries,” she added.

She seized the opportunity to appeal to the chiefs to report any social worker who demands any charge from LEAP beneficiaries to the police.

Nana Oye Lithur promised the chiefs that she would come back to discuss other social intervention programmes with them and how their communities can benefit from them. 

On his part, the Torgbuiga Adamah III, Makosor of Some Traditional Area, lauded Nana Oye Lithur for her tremendous efforts to better the lives of vulnerable groups in the country.

According to him, social interventions are necessary in every society to enable the vulnerable live meaningful lives.

“Though social interventions are good and of immense benefit to various deprived communities across the country, in the future we hope traditional heads will  be consulted before certain interventions are brought out since we live in the communities and know how best these interventions will go a long way to eradicate all forms of poverty,” he appealed.