Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to terminate a longstanding sanitation services contract between the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Zoomlion Ghana Ltd., citing concerns of financial impropriety and systemic inefficiencies.
The 19-year-old agreement, originally brokered under the erstwhile Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA), has come under renewed scrutiny following the expiration of its latest term in September 2024. Under the most recent arrangement, GHS850 ($56) was budgeted monthly per street sweeper, with GHS600 ($39) retained by Zoomlion and GHS250 ($17) disbursed to the workers.
In his petition, Mr. Awuni alleged that Zoomlion, a private waste management firm, billed the government GHS90 million ($5.9 million) in interest charges in 2024 for delayed payments. He also pointed to discrepancies in worker numbers, noting that YEA audits in 2018 found only 38,884 active sweepers—well below the 45,000 claimed by Zoomlion in its invoices.
Zoomlion has reportedly submitted a new proposal seeking a 54% increase in the monthly allocation per sweeper to GHS1,308 ($86), under which the company would retain GHS888 and remit GHS420 to each worker. The proposal is currently under discussion with the YEA, according to company officials.
“The YEA lacks verifiable data to support Zoomlion’s sweeping headcount,” Awuni said. “Even when the Accra Metropolitan Assembly flagged mass absenteeism in 2022, Zoomlion continued billing for 45,000 workers.”
Kofi Baah Agyepong, the agency’s immediate past CEO, previously recommended that the YEA sever ties with Zoomlion, arguing the agency could manage the sanitation module in-house, as it does with other youth employment programs. Notably, direct YEA modules pay beneficiaries higher wages than those routed through Zoomlion.
Awuni’s petition recommends decentralizing the sweepers’ supervision and payroll to local assemblies and the YEA, leveraging the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for direct payments. “Eliminating Zoomlion as an intermediary could increase wages, reduce absenteeism, and improve sanitation outcomes,” he stated.
However, Awuni does not advocate full disengagement with Zoomlion. He suggests retaining the company’s Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP), which manages waste transportation logistics, warning that abrupt cancellation could disrupt refuse collection across municipalities.
Awuni previously led a 2013 investigation into GYEEDA under the Mahama administration that led to legislative reform, criminal prosecutions, and the recovery of misappropriated funds. Despite the overhaul, the Zoomlion contract remained intact.
“I am confident that with the documentary evidence provided, President Mahama will finally terminate this contract,” Awuni said. “We owe it to the sweepers—and to the nation—to put an end to this.”
Source:TheDotNews