Sanitation contract: Zoomlion shortchanged workers with a paltry GHS258 allowance — Amaliba

The Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has taken a swipe at waste management firm Zoomlion Company Limited.

He accused the company of shortchanging its sweepers under the now-cancelled 19-year-old sanitation module contract signed with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) by paying them a paltry salary.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3’s New Day show on Friday, June 13, Amaliba stressed that while he supports local companies, he will always stand against any deliberate attempt to cheat poor workers while the company cashes out.

“I am not against a Ghanaian businessman, but I want a Ghanaian businessman whose work would also improve upon the living conditions or the needs of the people that he’s working with.

“In this case, we have Jospong shortchanging the people who are doing the work and giving them a paltry salary. But if there is a renewal, and that renewal says that you would give these people liveable wages, I have no problem,” said Amaliba.

Under the contract, the waste management firm was allocated GHS850 per worker monthly.

Out of this amount, GHS258 was paid directly to each sweeper, while the remaining GHS592 was retained by the company for administrative purposes—a situation investigative journalist Manasseh Azure deemed unfair, prompting his advocacy to get the contract terminated.

Amaliba also threw his weight behind the President’s directive to decentralise the procurement of sanitation module contracts and make them competitive.

“I can also understand the monopoly issue that people are talking about on this table. That’s right. Can we allow other players to come in? And that, for me, is a good call for one reason. That reason is this: if you give all the contracts to one particular entity, what happens if the workers decide to go on strike?” he asked.