Manasseh Azure Awuni has asked Mahama to cancel the YEA-Zoomlion contract.

Cancel the YEA-Zoomlion contract.

Earlier this week, I submitted a formal petition to President John Dramani Mahama, urging him to end the long-standing 19-year contract between the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited

Under the most recent contract, which expired in September 2024, GH¢850 was allocated per sweeper each month. However, Zoomlion took GH¢600 of that amount and paid only GH¢250 to the sweepers. In addition, if the YEA delayed payments for three months or more, Zoomlion charged interest—resulting in a GH¢90 million charge in 2024 alone.

Just yesterday, Zoomlion disclosed that a new proposal is being reviewed by the YEA. In this updated arrangement, Zoomlion wants the per-sweeper allocation increased to GH¢1,308. Out of this, Zoomlion would keep GH¢888, while sweepers would receive GH¢420.

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This contract has long been plagued by issues of transparency and accountability. For years, Zoomlion has claimed to have 45,000 sweepers on its payroll. However, the YEA lacks verifiable data to support that figure. Back in 2018, the agency raised concerns after conducting a headcount and finding only 38,884 sweepers on the ground—far fewer than Zoomlion’s claim. The YEA’s CEO at the time, Justin Kodua Frimpong (now General Secretary of the NPP), revealed that Zoomlion refused to provide its payroll for verification despite repeated requests.

In 2022, the YEA was again unable to back up its numbers when the Accra Metropolitan Assembly complained that many sweepers had stopped showing up for work. Yet Zoomlion continued to bill the government for 45,000 sweepers every month.

Kofi Baah Agyepong, the immediate past CEO of YEA, told the agency’s board that it was fully capable of managing the sweeping module without any third-party involvement. He recommended the termination of the Zoomlion contract, noting that YEA independently manages other employment modules—paying beneficiaries directly and at higher rates than the sweepers, whose payments are funneled through Zoomlion.

In my petition to President Mahama, I proposed that the YEA and local assemblies directly manage the sweepers. Since the sweepers are funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), it makes sense for the assemblies to take over supervision and payments. Doing so would ensure better oversight and fairer wages for the sweepers. Without Zoomlion acting as the middleman, more of the allocated funds could go directly to the workers—likely improving attendance and productivity.

It’s important to note that Zoomlion holds a separate contract with local assemblies for waste collection. This contract, known as the Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP), covers the transportation of garbage collected by the sweepers to designated dumping sites. While I’ve recommended ending Zoomlion’s involvement in the sweeping module, I’ve advised the President to allow the SIP contract to continue for now. Terminating it immediately could create sanitation issues in areas where assemblies lack the necessary waste trucks.

This isn’t the first time I’ve raised concerns about this issue. In 2013, I conducted a detailed investigation into GYEEDA (now YEA), which led to significant action by President Mahama. He terminated several problematic contracts, passed the YEA Act, oversaw the prosecution and imprisonment of two individuals, and ensured the recovery of misused funds.

The Zoomlion contract is the only major one that remained untouched, despite serious findings in the official GYEEDA report commissioned by President Mahama himself. That report included strong recommendations against Zoomlion due to numerous irregularities.

With the new documentary evidence I’ve submitted, I am hopeful that the President will now take decisive action and finally bring this contract to an end. It is long overdue, and doing so would send a strong message that public funds must be managed responsibly and that the welfare of ordinary workers matters.

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I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported this ongoing campaign to fight the corruption tied to the YEA-Zoomlion contract. The sweepers—some of the hardest-working and most underpaid individuals in our public sector—deserve better. We cannot continue to look the other way while a private company takes the lion’s share of funds meant to support the livelihoods of thousands of poor Ghanaians.

We trust that President Mahama will act in the best interest of the nation and the workers, and finally bring justice to this long-neglected group.

Signed,

Manasseh Azure Awuni

Investigative Journalist

May 2, 2025

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