Manasseh Azure Petitions President Mahama to End Controversial YEA-Zoomlion Contract

Prominent investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has formally petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to terminate the long-standing and controversial contract between the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a contract that has lasted for nearly two decades.

In his petition submitted this week, Manasseh raises critical concerns about financial irregularities, lack of accountability, and exploitation of poor street sweepers under the contract. He points out that under the most recent agreement, which expired in September 2024, each sweeper was allocated GHS850 monthly, but Zoomlion retained GHS600, paying only GHS250 to the actual workers.

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Even more alarming, Zoomlion reportedly charged the state GHS90 million in interest in 2024 alone for delays in payment by YEA.

Now, Zoomlion is proposing a new arrangement, currently under discussion at the YEA, that would increase the monthly allocation per sweeper to GHS1,308, with the company taking GHS888 and leaving the sweepers with GHS420.

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But Manasseh argues that the number of sweepers Zoomlion claims to manage, 45,000 monthly, cannot be verified. YEA’s own headcount in 2018 revealed fewer than 38,884 sweepers, and in 2022, the agency had no data to defend Zoomlion’s claims, even when the Accra Metropolitan Assembly reported that many sweepers had stopped showing up for work.

Despite repeated concerns, Zoomlion continues to bill the state for tens of thousands of workers. Manasseh emphasized that even the former CEO of YEA, Kofi Baah Agyepong, recommended terminating the Zoomlion contract, arguing that the agency was fully capable of managing the sweeper module independently, just as it does with other programs where beneficiaries are paid directly.

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Manasseh is advocating for a shift in oversight to local assemblies and the YEA itself, proposing that they supervise and pay sweepers directly through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). This move, he says, would not only improve wages but also boost morale and accountability on the ground.

Zoomlion’s separate contract under the Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP), which handles waste transportation, could remain, Manasseh suggests, to avoid immediate sanitation disruptions, although he notes that even this contract eats into local assembly budgets.

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The petition comes more than a decade after Manasseh’s explosive 2013 investigation into GYEEDA, the predecessor of YEA, led to contract cancellations, legal action, and reforms initiated by President Mahama. However, the Zoomlion contract was never terminated, despite serious findings in the government-commissioned GYEEDA report.

With fresh documentary evidence and continued public support, Manasseh is hopeful that this final vestige of what he calls “massive corruption” will now be dismantled.

 “We hope President Mahama will not fail us, the sweepers, and our dear nation,” Manasseh concluded in his press release.

This petition marks a renewed call for transparency and justice in public sector contracting, especially for those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

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