Renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has called on volunteer sanitation group BuzStopBoys to reject any form of support from waste management giant Zoomlion.
His comments follow a recent meeting between Ghanaian bloggers, influencers, and Zoomlion’s CEO, Elder Joseph Siaw Agyepong, where discussions reportedly included a plan for Zoomlion to donate to BuzStopBoys.
Manasseh argues that for decades, Ghana’s sanitation sector has been plagued by questionable contracts and monopolization, with successive governments funneling billions of cedis into Zoomlion and other Jospong Group subsidiaries—yet the country remains dirty.
“Governments since Kufuor have siphoned billions of cedis from different ministries to multiple Jospong companies (mainly Zoomlion) in the name of sanitation. Many of these contracts are tainted with corruption. The country remains filthy, but the politicians claim they cannot cut Zoomlion’s monopoly because Jospong has the resources,” he stated.
He further recalled how the Kufuor administration in 2006 sidelined established sanitation companies like City and Country Waste in favor of Zoomlion, a then-little-known company with no equipment or resources. According to him, Zoomlion only became resourceful after receiving massive government contracts, and other companies could have done the same if given equal opportunities.
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In contrast, BuzStopBoys, a group of young volunteers, have been cleaning up Accra’s streets with limited resources—yet their impact, Manasseh suggests, is more visible than that of Zoomlion, which rakes in hundreds of millions annually from sanitation contracts.
“Today, some young men called BuzStopBoys have emerged with almost bare hands and a willingness to keep Accra clean. Their work appears more impactful than Zoomlion, which makes hundreds of millions every year from sanitation contracts,” he emphasized.
Manasseh believes Zoomlion’s planned donation to BuzStopBoys is a PR move to claim credit for their hard work. He urged the group to reject any financial or material assistance from Zoomlion.
“I call on BuzStopBoys to reject Zoomlion’s support. Don’t allow Zoomlion to take credit for your work. Our so-called leaders should do the sensible thing by giving resources to those who can do the job and not those who rely on bloggers and media hype while the country remains filthy,” he asserted.
He also called for a decentralized approach to sanitation management, advocating for local assemblies to regain control of their resources instead of depending on Zoomlion.
“The assemblies should be given back their resources to manage sanitation instead of the government channeling the funds to Zoomlion. If the assemblies need services, they can hire groups like BuzStopBoys to help,” Manasseh concluded.
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