Listening to the Voices of the People : A Beneficiary Assessment of the Implementation of the Labour Intensive Public Work (LIPW) Programme under the Ghana Social Opportunity Project (GSOP) in the Upper West Region of Ghana

The Labour Intensive Public Work (LIPW) programme, under the Ghana Social Opportunity Project (GSOP) is a social protection programme initiated by the Government of Ghana to offer jobs and income earning opportunities to some targeted rural residence through the application of labour intensive technology in the construction of community infrastructure that has the potential of generating secondary employment. Beneficiaries of the programme are paid GH¢7 for 6 hours work in a day. They are engaged in the construction of dams/dugouts, feeder road and the planting of trees. This study sought to assess and identify the challenges facing the project implementation from beneficiary's perspective in order to set the platform for an interactive feedback between project implementers and community members for the smooth implementation of future LIPW programmes. A beneficiary assessment methodology involving techniques such as interviews, focus group discussions and observations were used to collect data. The study revealed that beneficiaries are satisfied with the targeting process, and the quality of asset created by the project. However, they are unsatisfied with the amount of wage payed to them, delays in payment of wage, mode of payment and period of engagement in the project. The study therefore recommends that programme implementers engages community members in the setting of wage rate and incorporate some training programmes in entrepreneurship into the programe design to build the capacity of beneficiaries.