The longstanding sanitation contract between Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), which ended September 2024 is facing intense public scrutiny and growing demands for its non-renewal.
The uproar, reignited by CEO for the YEA, Malik Basintale follows concerns raised by renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni
Manasseh, whose investigations into the GYEEDA scandal first brought the sanitation module under the public’s radar in 2013, minced no words:
“The NDC and NPP are all evil as far as Zoomlion is concerned.”
Manasseh provided a damning timeline:
- 2006–2011 (under President Kufuor): Sweepers were paid GH¢50, while Zoomlion received GH¢300 per person.
- 2011–2017 (under President Mahama): Sweepers received GH¢100, while Zoomlion’s take rose to GH¢400.
- Post-2017 (under President Akufo-Addo): Beneficiaries’ allowance increased to GH¢250, while Zoomlion took GH¢600.
Manasseh strongly opposed any move to modify the contract:
“You don’t review fraud. You end it.”
He urged the government to eliminate the middleman role Zoomlion plays and instead empower local assemblies to supervise and pay cleaners directly.
Adding credibility to the call for non-renewal , Kofi Agyepong, the former CEO of the Youth Employment Agency, clarified that as of his exit on January 25, 2025, Zoomlion had no active contract with YEA regarding the sanitation module.
“We can’t be doing something that the assemblies are already doing,” he said. “That is both inefficient and unsustainable.”
He highlighted the overlapping roles of Zoomlion and the local assemblies, arguing that direct employment and supervision by assemblies would serve both economic and accountability purposes.
In a move that further legitimizes the public’s outrage, the NDC Caucus in Parliament has issued a strongly worded statement on April 25, 2025, distancing itself from any attempts to interfere with YEA’s decision-making:
“Neither the Sanitation Committee nor any Member of Parliament has been authorized to interfere in the YEA’s decision regarding the sanitation module.”
The statement, signed by Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga also emphasized that Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are free to determine their own sanitation arrangements without coercion or political pressure. It cited the 80% allocation of the Common Fund directly to assemblies, enabling decentralized control over developmental priorities.
Zoomlion: A Legacy of Questions
From Manasseh’s exposé and references to the GYEEDA Report to the public’s growing frustrations, the sanitation module has become symbolic of Ghana’s struggle with waste, corruption, and inefficiency in public-private partnerships.
Manasseh reminded authorities that:
“Zoomlion is involved in too many shady deals… Look at page 131 of the GYEEDA report commissioned in 2013. There’s a copy in your office.”
Even major assemblies like the AMA and KMA have petitioned to be excluded from the Zoomlion-YEA arrangement, citing difficulties in oversight and accountability.
There is now a unified message from multiple stakeholders:
- End the contract.
- Empower the assemblies.
- Pay workers directly.
- Ensure value for money.
For Manasseh:
“That contract must end now. Even if we give the full GH¢850 to the sweepers, it still won’t be enough under the current economic conditions.”
