General News
Zoomlion Charges YEA GHS 90 Million Interest for Delayed Payment – Manasseh Azure Awuni
Yesterday, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Jospong Group of Companies, Sophia Kudjordji, lied on TV3 when she joined the discussion on the ongoing controversy over Zoomlion’s contract with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
Sophia Kudjordji falsely claimed, despite knowing the truth, that Zoomlion does not receive payments for interests on purported loans the company contracts to run the YEA programme. The programme is a contract awarded by the YEA to Zoomlion to manage sweepers of markets in all the metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies in Ghana.
“We take loans at the commercial prevailing rates, and when the reimbursement is done, we are not reimbursed for the interest that we pay. So, if you have delayed payment for six months [or] one year, how do you expect us to get the same money to pay the people again?” Sophia Kudjordji said on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme, hosted by Keminni Amanor.
She made this false statement to justify why the company charges so much to manage sweepers.
Zoomlion, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, has run the Youth in Sanitation Module of the YEA with outrageous terms, overseen by government officials, since the YEA’s inception in 2006, the same year Zoomlion started the sanitation business in Ghana.
The latest contract, signed in 2022, gave Zoomlion 850 cedis per beneficiary, but says the company should pay each beneficiary 250 cedis and keep 600 cedis as management fees.
The 600 cedis management fee Zoomlion charges per sweeper for this contract does not include the cost of disposing of the waste swept in the markets. Zoomlion has separate contracts with all the assemblies in Ghana, which pay for that. That contract is the Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP), deducted at source and paid to Zoomlion in Accra.
Contrary to Sophia Kudjordji’s claim, evidence available to manassehazure.com reveals that Zoomlion charged the YEA GHS90 million as “interest on overdue invoices for the YEA Sanitation Module” in March 2024.
Sources within the YEA said higher interests had been paid to the company in the past.
A letter written by Zoomlion’s Director of Finance, Adokarley Okpoti-Paulo, and dated March 25, 2024, said, “The company [Zoomlion] borrows from the financial institutions at commercial rates to keep the programme running.”
The letter and its attachment, however, do not show any proof of loans contracted to finance the programme. It states the monthly bills owed in arrears and the interest for each month.
It is, therefore, not true that Zoomlion takes loans to prefinance the programme without reimbursement. The payment of interest on arrears to Zoomlion is stated in the contract Sophia Kudjordji defended on the show.
Clause 8.2 of the 2020 YEA/Zoomlion contract states: “Payment of the amount due shall be made within three (3) months upon receipt of the bill/invoice by the Agency [YEA].”
The contract further states: “If Zoomlion does not receive payment in accordance with Sub-clause 8.2 (payment) due to delay in the release of funds to the agency from the Ministry of Finance, Zoomlion shall be entitled to receive interest and financing charges, which shall be negotiated between the Ministry of Finance, the Agency, and Zoomlion.”
From the invoice, the interest is calculated on the entire amount due the company, both its management fees and beneficiary allowances. Despite charging the state for delayed payments, Zoomlion has, over the years, owed the sweepers allowances for months, sometimes up to a year.
Unverified 45,000 figure Zoomlion Presents for Payment
Even though thousands of sweepers have stopped working because of poor wages and Zoomlion’s delayed payments, the company still presented exactly 45,000 people as the number on its payroll.
As far back as February 2018, the CEO of the YEA, Justin Kodua Frimpong (the current NPP General Secretary) said the YEA’s headcount showed the number on the ground was far less than the figure Zoomlion presented for payments.
“Zoomlion Ghana Limited furnished the agency [YEA] with a total figure of 45,320 as beneficiaries across the country, detailing a regional breakdown. Based on this premise, the agency initiated a nationwide headcount to verify the figures as submitted,” Mr. Kodua said.
He went on: “Out of the 45,320 names, 38,884 turned out for the exercise. In response to the discrepancy in the data, the service provider [Zoomlion] contended that beneficiary apathy and short notice given to beneficiaries accounted for the discrepancy.
“The exercise revealed that of the 38, 884 most of them were recruited without recourse to the Youth Employment Agency. Therefore, there were no appointment letters issued to these beneficiaries, a practice we consider unacceptable. The service provider, till date, has been unable to furnish the agency with the payment records of beneficiaries on their payroll.”
Per the contract, the YEA is supposed to recruit the sweepers and hand them to Zoomlion to manage. So, if “most” of the 38,884 people were recruited without recourse to YEA, then it suggests Zoomlion did the recruitment on its own.
Because Zoomlion receives payment based on the number of beneficiaries on the payroll, it is in the company’s interest to have more people on the programme.
It also means that Zoomlion presented a bill of over 6000 beneficiaries who could not be found on the ground when the YEA conducted its headcount.
This number could be more if one factors in the recruitments without the YEA approval.
Despite the unresolved discrepancy in figures, the YEA paid Zoomlion without compelling the company to present the payroll to back its claim that it had 45,000, and not 38,884 beneficiaries on the programme.
The numbers Zoomlion presented for payment at the YEA did not show on the ground and was felt by the assemblies, whose share of the District Assemblies Common Fund was deducted at source and paid to Zoomlion for the sweepers’ contract.
In September 2022, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Elizabeth K.T. Sackey, wrote to the YEA requesting a list of beneficiaries responsible for cleaning the metropolis because the number did not match the daily attendance.
Her letter, dated September 13, 2022, said, “Attendance to work by the beneficiaries have been very low and this affects the quality of work on daily basis. This has resulted in many critical locations not being swept since the AMA depends on YEA operatives to clean such places.
“In view of the above, I wish to request for a full list of YEA beneficiaries assigned to the AMA and their places of work in each of the three sub metros namely Ashiedu Keteke, Ablekuma South and Okaikoi South. This would enable the assembly to identify grey areas where labour have [sic] to be deployed for necessary action.”
The YEA had no response for her. At a YEA board meeting on October 13, 2022, where the CEO called for the discontinuation of the Zoomlion contract, the board minutes stated:
“The CEO further stated that management does not have the data to authenticate any claims from the service provider [Zoomlion], including the number of beneficiaries at post and working. Hence, when the Accra Metropolitan Assembly requested information on beneficiaries working in the metropolis, management could not provide them with the same.”
If the YEA were to pay its beneficiaries allowance with the figure it verified, it would cost the government 9,271,000 per month.
But because YEA paid Zoomlion using the unverified 45,000 Zoomlion presented, it cost the government 38,250,000 cedis a month to implement the Youth in Sanitation Module.
There is pressure on the government to discontinue YEA’s contract with Zoomlion and allow the assemblies to manage the sweepers.
The latest contract between the YEA and Zoomlion expired in September 2024.
The current acting YEA CEO, Malik Basintale, has said he would not renew the contract in its current form. Unlike his predecessor, he has not stated he wants to discontinue it.
Source: Manasseh Azure Awuni
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the provisional 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Results for school candidates.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, WAEC announced that candidates who sat for the examination can check their provisional results through their respective schools. The Council also stated that candidates who wish to access their results online may do so through its official website.
According to WAEC, the release of the 2026 BECE Results follows the completion of the marking process and the consideration of examination irregularities by the appropriate committee.
The Council noted that investigations into examination malpractice led to the cancellation and withholding of a number of candidates’ results.
WAEC disclosed that 105 candidates had their entire results cancelled, while the subject results of 496 candidates were also cancelled.
In addition, the Council announced that the subject results of 119 candidates have been withheld, while the entire results of 48 candidates have also been withheld pending further investigations.
According to the Council, these sanctions were approved following investigations into cases of irregularity detected during the conduct of the examination and the marking of scripts.
WAEC explained that the decisions were taken by the 37th Meeting of the Final Awards and Examiners’ Appointment Committee for the BECE, 2026, held on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
The approved sanctions are as follows:
- Cancellation of Subject Results of 496 candidates;
- Cancellation of Entire Results of 105 candidates;
- Withholding of Subject Results of 119 candidates; and
- Withholding of Entire Results of 48 candidates.
The Council further revealed that the subject results of 2,722 candidates from 229 schools have been withheld for further scrutiny.
It explained that the withheld results may either be released or cancelled depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigations, which are expected to be completed by August 31, 2026.
WAEC stated:
“Meanwhile, the subject results of 2,722 candidates from 229 schools have been withheld for further scrutiny. The withheld results may be cancelled or released based on the outcome of investigations by August 31, 2026.”
The Council urged candidates, parents, guardians and other stakeholders to use only official channels to access the 2026 BECE Results, adding that candidates can obtain their results either through their respective schools or via WAEC’s official online results portal.
The release of the 2026 BECE Results marks the end of this year’s examination process, although investigations into examination malpractice involving affected candidates will continue until the Council reaches a final determination on the withheld results.
A fresh dispute has erupted within the Kantanka family ahead of the funeral and burial of the late Apostle Prof. Emeritus Kwadwo Safo, as lawyer and former MP Sarah Adwoa Safo has issued a strong warning to her younger brother, Israel Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, popularly known as Akofena.
The disagreement centers on the scheduled funeral and burial rites, which are expected to take place on Thursday, July 30, and Friday, July 31. While Akofena, who describes himself as the leader of the Kristo Asafo Church, insists that no funeral activities will be held on those dates, Adwoa Safo has maintained that the ceremony will proceed as planned.
The latest disagreement follows an earlier confrontation between the siblings during Akofena’s installation ceremony as head of the Kristo Asafo family. The incident reportedly turned violent, with Adwoa Safo alleging that gunshots were fired at her vehicle. She was subsequently taken to the hospital for medical attention.
Speaking at a recent press conference, Akofena urged members of the Kristo Asafo Mission and the public to disregard the announced funeral dates.
“I stand by my authority as the head of the Kantanka family and leader of Kristo Asafo to say that any date circulating should be ignored. There is no truth in it,” he stated.
However, during an interview on Okay FM’s morning show, Adwoa Safo dismissed Akofena’s claims, insisting that the funeral arrangements remain unchanged.
“He did not set the funeral date, neither is he the leader. The funeral will go ahead exactly as scheduled,” she said.
Adwoa Safo further revealed that the family has formally requested police protection and informed state authorities about the event to ensure adequate security.
According to her, several high-profile dignitaries, including the Chief of Staff, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, and the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, are expected to attend the funeral.
She also cautioned Akofena against attempting to disrupt the event, reminding him that he and others involved in the earlier confrontation are reportedly on bail and are required to maintain good behavior.
“He should not dare come to the funeral to create chaos. By the grace of God, he failed in his alleged attempt to kill me. We have notified all the security agencies, and anyone who tries to cause violence will face the full force of the law,” Adwoa Safo said.
The public disagreement has intensified tensions within the Kantanka family as preparations continue for the late Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s final funeral rites.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka funeral arrangements have been temporarily suspended after the High Court in Accra granted a 10-day interim injunction stopping the planned burial and funeral ceremonies.
The court’s order prevents the Kristo Asafo Mission and all individuals involved in organizing the funeral from proceeding with any burial rites or related activities scheduled for July 30 and 31, 2026.
According to the court’s ruling, all funeral events must be put on hold until the expiration of the 10-day injunction or until the court issues further directives on the matter.
The reasons behind the legal application that resulted in the injunction have not yet been made public.
The Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka funeral had been planned as a two-day state-recognised event expected to attract thousands of mourners, dignitaries, church members, and sympathizers from across Ghana and beyond.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, founder and spiritual leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission, passed away earlier this year. His death marked the end of an era for one of Ghana’s most influential religious leaders, widely known for his contributions to faith, education, technology, and local industrial development.
With the interim injunction now in force, the future of the Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka funeral remains subject to the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings before the High Court.
The CLOSSAG Elections in Dambai have been overshadowed by growing tension following allegations that several aspiring candidates were disqualified without being given clear reasons during the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG) elections in the Oti Regional capital on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
The reported disqualifications have triggered dissatisfaction among some delegates and members, who say the development has cast doubt over the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
According to information gathered from participants at the election venue, several individuals seeking various positions were informed they could not contest. However, those affected reportedly received no detailed explanation for their disqualification, prompting complaints and calls for accountability from election officials.
The situation became even more contentious after observers noted that the vetting of candidates was taking place simultaneously with the election process. Some members described the arrangement as highly unusual, arguing that all vetting procedures should have been concluded before voting commenced.
They contend that conducting vetting while delegates were casting their ballots created uncertainty and raised questions about the credibility and integrity of the election.
Several affected members have therefore appealed to the CLOSSAG Electoral Committee and the leadership of the association to provide a comprehensive explanation for the reported disqualifications. They are also urging officials to ensure that the election is conducted in a transparent, fair, and credible manner that reflects the democratic values of the association.
Some participants warned that failure to address the concerns could undermine members’ confidence in the outcome of the elections and potentially fuel further disputes after the declaration of results.
Despite the growing concerns, the election process was still underway at the time this report was filed.
CLOSSAG officials had not issued a statement responding to allegations of unexplained candidate disqualifications or concerns about the conduct of the elections.
As members await an official response, many are hopinghopeiation’s leadership will address the issues raised to preserve confidence in the electoral process and maintain unity within the organizatiorganisationort is based on concerns raised by participants at the election venue.
The allegations regarding candidate disqualifications and the conduct of the election had not been independently verified at the time of publication, and CLOSSAG officials had not responded to the claims.
General News
GRIDCo Breakdown Triggered Nationwide Power Outage – Energy Expert Calls for Urgent Grid Overhaul
The Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), Benjamin Nsiah, has attributed the nationwide power outage that occurred around 3:11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, to a system failure at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
In an interview with Kojo Preko Dankwa on Kessben Maakye show in Accra, Mr. Nsiah insisted, Ghana’s transmission network is heavily integrated, with all major power generation sources connected through the GRIDCo platform to a single transmission system. He explained that when GRIDCo’s system developed a fault, it disrupted power transmission from generating plants, including those operated by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
He noted that GRIDCo must first resolve the transmission fault before IPPs can restore electricity to the national grid for distribution to consumers.
Mr. Nsiah said reports of electricity returning to some areas indicate that GRIDCo is gradually restoring its network, allowing power plants to reconnect and feed electricity back into the system.
The energy expert, however, warned that the incident exposes the vulnerability of Ghana’s integrated national grid. He called for the establishment of isolated or “islanded” power systems that can continue supplying electricity to parts of the country even when the main grid suffers a major failure.
According to him, such a policy should be developed by the Ministry of Energy and implemented by GRIDCo to strengthen the country’s energy security.
He also urged the government to provide adequate resources to GRIDCo to improve the resilience of the transmission network and prevent similar nationwide outages in the future.
Mr. Nsiah further commended the government for taking steps to decentralize power generation, noting that relocating some VRA generation facilities to the Ashanti Region is a positive move that will improve electricity reliability and strengthen regional power supply.
By Maurice Otoo
2026 BECE Results Out; WAEC Takes Firm Action Against Examination Malpractice
VALCO Strategic Equity Capitalization: Minority Backs Workers, Demands Full Transparency
Supreme Court: OSP Can Probe Corruption but Cannot Independently Prosecute Without Attorney-General’s Authority
-
General News1 week agoDr. Charles Dwamena Sues Hubtel for GH¢5 Million Over Alleged Campaign USSD Sabotage
-
Entertainment1 week agoDJ K.A Apologises Over Viral Video, Says It Was Recorded Four Years Ago
-
General News2 weeks agoOkatakyie Afrifa Granted GH¢100,000 Bail Over Alleged Disruption of NPP Constituency Elections
-
General News1 week agoChairman Wontumi Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison Over Illegal Mining
-
Entertainment2 weeks agoGhanaians Question Akwaboah’s Advice to Save GH¢8,000 Monthly Before Marriage
-
Entertainment4 days agoGhana Secures $3.5 Million UNESCO Heritage Support During Tourism Minister’s South Korea Visit
-
Entertainment1 week ago“Hits Rule Everything Now” — Perez Musik Says Legends Like Bob Marley Would Face Challenges Today
-
Entertainment1 week agoRamatu Gumah Named Chairperson and Head of Africa Diaspora Relations at Africa Development Council