By Alex Ababio
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, has publicly committed to a fundamental reform of the agency’s long-standing contract with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a private sanitation company, describing the current terms as exploitative and “evil.”
In a recent statement, Mr. Basintale pledged not to renew the existing contract, which governs the payment and conditions for thousands of young Ghanaians employed in sanitation and environmental maintenance roles. The announcement has focused renewed attention on a contract that has been a subject of public debate for nearly two decades.
A Contract Under Scrutiny
The YEA’s relationship with Zoomlion, which provides sanitation services to municipalities across the country, dates back to the inception of the National Youth Employment Programme in 2006. For over 17 years, the contract has been periodically renewed, most recently under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Central to the controversy is the monthly wage paid to the young people working under the programme. Reports and public records indicate that sanitation workers have been receiving a monthly stipend of GH¢250, a figure critics argue is woefully inadequate. This amount stands in stark contrast to the total value of contracts awarded to Zoomlion.
According to records from the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament and Auditor-General’s reports cited between 2017 and 2023, Zoomlion has received over GH¢1 billion in contract payments across various metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies during that period. This disparity between corporate revenue and worker compensation has been a persistent point of contention.
“This is about basic human dignity,” Mr. Basintale was quoted as saying. “A contract that pays a worker a wage on which they cannot survive, while others benefit disproportionately, is not just bad policy; it is a betrayal of public trust.”
Context of Economic Disparity
The pledge for reform comes against a backdrop of rising unemployment and stark income inequality in Ghana. Data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) placed the national youth unemployment rate at 19.7% in 2023. The GH¢250 monthly stipend for sanitation workers is frequently compared to the remuneration of top public sector executives.
Leaked documents presented to Parliament in 2022, for instance, suggested that some chief executives at state-owned enterprises like COCOBOD and the GNPC earned monthly salaries reportedly ranging between GH¢60,000 and GH¢90,000. While these figures are at the extreme end of the public sector pay spectrum, they serve to highlight the vast income gaps that characterize the Ghanaian economy and fuel public frustration.
A Personal Pledge and Its Implications
Mr. Basintale made his commitment in a notably personal context, delivering the pledge while standing by his late father’s grave. He framed the decision not merely as an administrative action but as a matter of personal and ancestral accountability.
The announcement signals a potential major shift in policy for the YEA, an agency tasked with addressing youth unemployment. The specific details of the proposed reformed contract have not yet been made public, but Mr. Basintale’s firm language suggests an intention to significantly renegotiate terms with Zoomlion or explore alternative models for delivering the sanitation programme.
The move has been met with interest from labor advocacy groups and civil society organizations focused on workers’ rights, who have long campaigned for improved conditions for informal and contract workers. It remains to be seen how the contractor, Zoomlion, will respond to the proposed overhaul and what the final shape of any new agreement will be. For the thousands of young Ghanaians currently earning GH¢250 a month, Mr. Basintale’s pledge represents a promise of potential change, the fulfillment of which will be closely watched.
Alex Ababio
The Executive Director of African Liberators Economic Institute & Managing Editor for Ghanaian Watch