Abstract
This study examines the role of traditional leaders in the implementation of social protection policies atthe local level. In Ghana, traditional leaders play significant roles at the community level and have beenincorporated into the modern state as development intermediaries, yet there is a paucity of research ontheir role in the implementation of social assistance programmes. This paper draws on fieldwork fromthree communities in the Krachi East District – Dormaben, Addo Nkwanta, and Adumadum – to explorethe social interfaces and power relations involved in the implementation of the LivelihoodEmpowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) cash transfer programme. Data were gathered through semistructuredinterviews with key stakeholders, as well as through participant observation and informaldiscussions. The study established that although the oversight responsibilities of chiefs and traditionalleaders are limited in the current democratic dispensation, they continue to operate in an informal spacethrough social norms and practices in the community. The research revealed that although traditionalleaders’ roles are unofficial, they use their power to influence core LEAP implementation processes:targeting, sensitization and enrolment, payment, monitoring, and grievance redress mechanisms. Thisstudy calls for the need to pay attention to the local power dynamics at the community level.
