Manessah petitions Mahama to terminate Zoomlion-YEA contract over alleged corruption

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama. He wants to end the contract between the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

In a statement on May 2, Mr. Awuni criticized the 19-year-old contract. He described it as inefficient, lacking accountability, and exploitative of sweepers.

The latest contract expires in September 2024. It allocates GH₵850 per sweeper monthly. However, Zoomlion keeps GH₵600, leaving sweepers with only GH₵250.

Mr. Awuni noted that Zoomlion charges interest on late payments from YEA. This resulted in a reported GHS90 million interest claim for 2024 alone.

Zoomlion has submitted a new proposal to YEA for review. They seek to increase the allocation per sweeper to GHS1,308. If approved, Zoomlion would keep GHS888 and pay sweepers GHS420 monthly.

Manasseh questioned the transparency of the number of sweepers presented by Zoomlion. The YEA lacks data to verify the claimed 45,000 sweepers each month.

In 2018, concerns were raised about this discrepancy. The YEA's headcount showed only 38,884 active sweepers at that time. The current YEA CEO stated that Zoomlion did not submit its payroll for verification when requested.

In 2022, the YEA could not provide data when complaints arose from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly about inactive sweepers. Despite this, Zoomlion continued billing for all 45,000 every month.

Mr. Awuni referenced former YEA CEO Kofi Baah Agyepong’s position on scrapping the contract. He believed that YEA could manage sweeping independently like other employment schemes.

He pointed out that other modules pay beneficiaries more than those under Zoomlion's management.

“I proposed to the President to discontinue this contract,” Mr. Awuni said. “This way, assemblies can directly supervise and pay sweepers using their District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).”

He believes eliminating Zoomlion as a middleman will improve wages and motivation among sweepers.

While calling for an end to this contract, Manasseh acknowledged Zoomlion’s Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP). He warned against abruptly ending SIP due to potential sanitation issues in some assemblies lacking waste trucks.

Mr. Awuni reminded the President of decisive actions taken in 2013 regarding GYEEDA investigations. These led to canceled contracts and prosecutions under the new YEA Act.

“With my documentary evidence submitted with this petition,” he said confidently, “I believe the President will terminate the Zoomlion contract.” This is notable since it remains one of the last untouched agreements from GYEEDA despite negative findings in a report commissioned by him.