The Director of Communication and Corporate Affairs at Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Emma Osei-Duah, has expressed satisfaction with the progress the company has made over nearly two decades of operations.
She asserted that Zoomlion has significantly shaped and transformed Ghana’s waste management landscape.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Madam Osei-Duah said the company has dignified the work of sweeping and waste management, making it more attractive to many Ghanaians.
“We realised that there was no dignity in sweeping jobs, and that was why we decided to give them uniforms. Due to the transformation, the job has now become attractive,” she explained.
According to her, some individuals who started as sweepers have since climbed the professional ladder.
“We have a lot of new people in the job, while others who started off as sweepers are now accountants, PhD holders, among others,” she added.
Her comments come in the wake of a letter from the Office of the President, announcing plans not to renew Zoomlion’s contract with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
The decision follows a petition by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, who in 2013 exposed alleged irregularities in the Zoomlion-YEA contract and has since called for its termination.
Under the previous agreement, each sweeper was allocated GHS850 monthly—GHS600 of which went to Zoomlion, with GHS250 going to the worker. In 2024, Zoomlion reportedly charged the state GHS90 million in interest due to delayed payments by YEA.
The government has indicated plans to increase the wages of sweepers, citing “probable cost savings” from ending the current arrangement with Zoomlion. Future sanitation contracts, it added, will be awarded through a competitive, regionally or district-based procurement process.
Despite the development, Madam Osei-Duah insists Zoomlion has operated with diligence and integrity throughout its mandate.
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