Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has called on grassroots sanitation group BuzStopBoys to reject a proposed donation from Zoomlion Ghana Limited, cautioning that the sanitation giant may seek to leverage the group’s credibility for its public relations benefit.
In a Facebook post published today, Manasseh criticised successive governments’ ongoing reliance on Zoomlion, arguing that the company has failed to deliver tangible results despite benefiting from billions of cedis in government contracts.
He urged Ghana’s leaders to redirect resources to local assemblies and efficient groups like BuzStopBoys, which have demonstrated a genuine commitment to improving sanitation.
Manasseh’s remarks come in response to a recent meeting between Zoomlion, its CEO Elder Joseph Siaw Agyepong, and a group of Ghanaian bloggers.
The meeting reportedly centred on Zoomlion’s plans to support BuzStopBoys, with bloggers tasked with publicising the donation.
Questioning Zoomlion’s motives
Manasseh Azure Awuni
Manasseh expressed scepticism about Zoomlion’s intentions, noting that the company has long been accused of benefiting from questionable government contracts while Ghana’s sanitation challenges persist.
He highlighted that since the Kufuor administration, successive governments have funnelled billions of cedis from various ministries to Jospong Group companies, primarily Zoomlion, under the guise of improving sanitation.
Many of these contracts are tainted with corruption. The country remains filthy, but politicians claim they cannot cut Zoomlion’s monopoly because Jospong has the resources.
They lie, forgetting that Zoomlion had no equipment or resources when it was awarded nationwide sanitation contracts in 2006. It was those contracts that enabled the company to acquire resources.
Call for accountability and resource reallocation
Zoomlion Ghana
Manasseh praised BuzStopBoys for their impactful work, contrasting their efforts with Zoomlion’s perceived inefficiency.
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 called on BuzStopBoys to reject Zoomlion’s support, warning that the company might seek to take credit for their work.
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.
Manasseh further advocated for a shift in how sanitation resources are allocated, suggesting that local assemblies should be empowered to manage sanitation directly.
The assemblies should be given back their resources to manage sanitation instead of the government channelling the funds to Zoomlion. If the assemblies need services, they can hire groups like BuzStopBoys to help.
