Manasseh’s Mischief On JOSPONG Waste Bin Contract Exposed! The News Is Misleading

When you are bent on collapsing the Jospong group of companies, the largest local job provider to over 250,000 Ghanaians based on mere hatred for its owner, you begin to forget the basic journalistic principles you learnt at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Manasseh’s mere hatred for one man, whose initiative has grown over the years and sustaining over 250,000 lives and their dependence is causing a promising Journalist to gradually hallucinate into oblivion.

Manasseh’s purported work on an alleged waste bin contract to Jospong group which he rushed to press without basic journalistic due diligence was headlined “Gov’t cancels ¢362m Jospong contract after Joy News investigation”. As an inquisitive mind, I got intrigued and decided to click on the link to read. Knowing very well that Journalists are thought in school the “5 W’s” and an “H”, which constitute a news report and are basic in providing understanding to the reader, I was misled into reading a news story rather on the work Manasseh did on the said contract but with nearly nothing on the supporting information to the headline of the story. Apart from the “lead” of the story which virtually repeated what was on the headline, from the 2^nd paragraph to the 15^th was only a running commentary on Manasseh’s one sided- investigative work without any substantive supporting information on the contract cancellation. A total waste of time!

Manasseh’s work cited the said companies belonging to the Jospong group having inflated the cost of the waste bin to over ¢148 million. Do not be misled! Government has not in any way canceled any contract. The alleged contract died on its own terms because the time period for executing the contract has elapsed and the companies did not perform due to the pending issues and government’s inability to provide clear source of funding for the initiative.

Note that, Ghana’s waste management challenge is mainly due to the unavailability of waste bins in most households to store waste. It is those uncollected waste bins that found its way into our drains, streets and other public places marring the beauty of our dear nation. The waste bin for every household initiative has proven to be a major solution to solving waste management challenge in any country. The likes of Rwanda who is now hailed as one of Africa’s cleanest country is a living testimony to this bin solution.

I wasn’t surprised that Eco-bank Ghana Ltd, Africa’s most respected Bank has decided to provide a $10 million USD loan facility to Jospong to help roll out this waste bin contract. It is a great initiative and must be supported.

Manasseh in his quest to save his face, after severally maligning Jospong in this waste bin contract decides to instigate this story to create the perception as if the damning allegation he made in his work is what has propelled the said ending of the contract. That is not true!

After the story misleads you into reading Manasseh’s work of the said contract, the last paragraph now talks about the substantive issue by indicating that a cabinet committee headed by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo ordered the cancellation of the waste bin contract.

The news report further indicated that the cancellation was contained in a letter from the Local Government ministry and communicated to the businessman. Immediately I saw a purported letter in the story, I thought that was the letter claimed to be communicating the cancellation of the contract, but rather the old over repeated Public Procurement Authority’s letter granting the Local Government Ministry request for sole sourcing the contract.

So after all these scandalous write-ups on Jospong on this waste bin contract, you resort to serve us this half-baked gutter Journalism without telling us the substance of your news heading? Why didn’t you publish the document you claimed contain the said cancellation of the contract if you want us to believe your publication? You see how mere hatred for Jospong is gradually making you hallucinate into oblivion? Hate cannot win!

Since you are bent on your self-acclaimed investigative Journalist title, I encourage you to enroll into Tiger eye’s school of investigative journalism and learn from Anas Aremeyaw Anas on how to conduct basic investigative journalism. At least this will save you from always running from one government office to the other looking for letters and report on Jospong to run him down.

Remember this, Hate cannot win!!
You can reach the writer on [email protected]