Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has formally petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to terminate the long-standing contract between the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, citing corruption, lack of transparency, and exploitation of sweepers.
According to Manasseh, the contract, which began under the erstwhile Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), has cost the state millions of cedis annually while providing minimal benefits to the street sweepers it was meant to support.
In a press release issued on May 2, 2025, he argued that the arrangement has outlived its usefulness and now serves more as a vehicle for profiteering than for public service.
The investigative journalist said under the most recent contract that expired in September 2024, each sweeper was allocated a monthly stipend of GH¢850. However, Zoomlion retained GH¢600 of that amount and paid the sweepers only GH¢250. In addition, Zoomlion charged the state GH¢90 million in interest in 2024 alone for delays in payments from the YEA.
Despite this, the company has submitted a new proposal to the YEA, which is currently “under discussion.” The proposed arrangement would increase the allocation per sweeper to GH¢1,308, with Zoomlion taking GH¢888 and paying the sweepers just GH¢420 — a structure Manasseh describes as unjust and unsustainable.
“The sweepers, who do the actual work, are paid the least, while Zoomlion continues to profit massively,” Manasseh wrote in his petition. “This system is unfair and has failed to account for the public funds entrusted to it,” he said.
Manasseh also raised serious concerns over the credibility of the data used to process payments. In 2018, the YEA’s internal checks found only 38,884 sweepers actively working, in contrast to Zoomlion’s reported figure of 45,000, he intimated.
According to then-CEO Justin Kodua Frimpong, now the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Zoomlion failed to submit its payroll for verification despite repeated requests, Manasseh alleged.
He added that in 2022, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly complained that many sweepers had stopped showing up for work, yet Zoomlion continued billing the state as though they were fully active. The YEA, at the time, was unable to provide data to counter the claims, raising further concerns about the monitoring and transparency of the contract.
He pointed out that the immediate past CEO of the YEA, Kofi Baah Agyepong, recommended scrapping the contract altogether. He reportedly told the YEA Board that the agency could manage the sanitation module internally, just as it does with other programmes, which offer higher direct payments to beneficiaries without involving intermediaries like Zoomlion.
In his petition, Manasseh proposed that the assemblies and the YEA should take direct control of the sanitation workers, who are funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). This, he believes, would ensure higher pay for the sweepers and better accountability.
“Removing Zoomlion as the middleman will empower the local assemblies and ensure sweepers are fairly compensated,” he noted and added, “It will also encourage them to work more diligently and maintain cleaner cities.”
However, Manasseh advised that the government retain Zoomlion’s separate contract under the Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP), which involves refuse collection and transportation to dumping sites. He warned that terminating this component abruptly could result in sanitation breakdowns in districts lacking waste trucks and equipment.
Manasseh expressed confidence that President Mahama would act, citing the president’s tough stance during the 2013 GYEEDA scandal, which led to contract cancellations, prosecutions, and the eventual enactment of the YEA Act.
He noted that the Zoomlion contract remains the only one from that period not terminated despite adverse findings in the GYEEDA investigative report commissioned by President Mahama himself.
With fresh documentary evidence submitted alongside his petition, Manasseh urged the President to act once more in the national interest.
“We hope President Mahama will not fail us, the sweepers, and our dear nation,” he concluded.
A Daily Guide Report