Former Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Mr. Kofi Agyepong, has strongly refuted claims made by waste management company Zoomlion Ghana Limited regarding negotiations over sweeper allowances under the YEA sanitation module.

In a press statement released in response to Zoomlion’s April 30, 2025 publication, Mr. Agyepong described the company’s assertions as misleading and inaccurate.

He categorically denied claims that the YEA, under his leadership, countered Zoomlion’s 2024 proposal with an offer of GHS300 per month for sweepers.

“I wish to categorically state that no such counter-proposal was made by the YEA during my tenure as CEO,” he said.

“The only proposal submitted to the YEA Board under my leadership was GHS500 per month per beneficiary — an amount proposed reluctantly due to budget constraints.”

According to Mr. Agyepong, Zoomlion’s November 2024 proposal requested that the total allocation per beneficiary be raised to GHS1,308, with GHS888 retained by Zoomlion as a management fee, and GHS420 passed on to the beneficiary.

He described the proposal as “excessive, unjustified, and deeply unfair to the sweepers,” and stated that it was flatly rejected by the YEA board during his tenure.

Zoomlion had claimed in its press release that discussions on the proposal were ongoing.

Mr. Agyepong, however, insisted that under his administration, the matter was closed and no further talks were held. “Any engagement Zoomlion has now is entirely with the new leadership and has nothing to do with the previous management,” he stressed.

He also took the opportunity to shed light on other key reforms his administration attempted to introduce during contract renewal talks with Zoomlion — reforms which, he said, were also rejected by the company. These included proposals to transfer payment control of sweepers directly to YEA for better accountability, and a logistics oversight plan requiring all contract-related materials to be stored in YEA-controlled warehouses.

“These were part of efforts to improve transparency, protect public funds, and ensure fairness to beneficiaries,” Mr. Agyepong explained. “Zoomlion’s refusal to accept these proposals is exactly why my administration declined to renew their contract.”

He concluded by urging the current YEA leadership to resist pressure from Zoomlion and to prioritise the interests of sweepers and the Ghanaian taxpayer.

“Reforms in the Zoomlion-YEA partnership must not be viewed through a partisan lens,” Mr. Agyepong emphasised. “They are part of a necessary national conversation about transparency, equity, and public accountability.”