Conditionality, Citizenship And The Impact Of Cash Transfer Programmes In Ghana
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Date
2022-04
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University of Ghana
Abstract
Research on cash transfer programmes focuses on how they affect human capital development and poverty alleviation. It is well-established that people living in poverty face challenges that surpass their ability to meet their daily needs. Addressing challenges that meet the needs of people living in poverty is an effective way of improving the uptake of citizenship rights among them. This study aims to determine whether cash transfer programmes influence the uptake of citizenship rights among beneficiaries. In addition, the study investigates whether conditions attached to cash transfer programmes influence their beneficiaries' uptake of citizenship rights. It also looks at how local capacities support the implementation of conditional cash transfer programmes. Two cash transfer programmes, Ghana Luxembourg Social Trust (GLST) which strictly monitors and enforces its conditions and Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) which minimally monitors its conditions are tested for their influence on the uptake of citizenship rights among their beneficiaries. Shai-Osudoku and Ningo-Prampram Districts have been adopted as case studies for this study.
The study used the concurrent mixed-methods approach involving the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Data were analysed using contingency tables for the quantitative and thematic analysis for the qualitative study. Findings reveal that cash transfer programmes positively influence the uptake of citizenship rights. However, the dimensions of this influence differ or are similar depending on the contextual factors on the ground in Shai-Osudoku and Ningo-Prampram districts. Contextual factors include the level of education of people who are three years and older in the district, the level of poverty in the district and the number of persons per household in the district. The study also indicates that conditionality influences the uptake of human capital development activities and that local-level capacities must be taken into consideration when implementing a CCT programme.
These findings reveal that strict monitoring and enforcement of conditions attached to cash transfer programme influence the uptake of citizenship rights by their beneficiaries better than minimal monitoring and enforcement. On this basis, the strict monitoring and enforcement of conditions should be taken into consideration when designing conditional cash transfer programme for effective behavioural changes among beneficiaries.
Description
PhD. Public Administration And Policy Management
Keywords
Conditionality, Citizenship, Impact, Cash Transfer, Ghana