According to Zoomlion, the move is a very commendable saying it will “serve as a blueprint for other modules going forward.”

The sanitation management company however used the opportunity to clarify some supposed misconceptions raised by the YEA prior to and during the announcement of the restructuring.

[contextly_sidebar id=”eT4Z0ZyJlbckrYWRfGb7NTDXDgW9fRJ5″]The management of the YEA served notice it will take on new service providers to handle its Youth in Sanitation Module from June this year [2018], when the government’s contract with Zoomlion expires.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Justin Koduah, the decision has become necessary as an assessment of Zoomlion’s services rendered to successive governments since the company was established in 2006, showed indicated that the current arrangement is not satisfactory.

“With particular reference to the sanitation module managed by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the Agency over the past year has been reviewing Zoomlion’s activities particularly on the internal administrative functions, models ran by the agencies and its relationship with the service provider,” he said.

Disparity in numbers of beneficiaries 

Mr. Koduah also raised issues with the number of people engaged by Zoomlion under the module saying the number of people they have independently verified is far less than the figure presented by Zoomlion.

He said whereas Zoomlion provided them with about 45,320 names they [YEA] were only able to verify some 38,884 people after a headcount.

But a statement from the Communications Directorate of Zoomlion described some of the claims by YEA as “erroneous.”

With regards to the disparity in the number of registered beneficiaries under the sanitation module, Zoomlion defended the figure saying they have provided enough information to the YEA to that effect.

“Zoomlion wish to state that the company’s number is captured in an album with the names, pictures and other details of beneficiaries for verification purposes. The shortfall however occurred as a result of a mixture of reasons, which the CEO of YEA, Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong has himself alluded to in a couple of media interviews,” a statement from the company said.

Zoomlion added in its statement that several issues including long distance had prevented some of the beneficiaries from attending the headcount.

We don’t pocket GHc400 from each beneficiary

Zoomlion has also been accused of pocketing GHc400 out of GHc500 every meant for the payment of beneficiaries; a claim the sanitation management giant dismissed.

It explained that the remaining GHc400, known as Management Service Agreement, is used for the procurement of logistics including wheelbarrows, shovels, brooms, rakes, among others used by the beneficiaries; a directive initiated by the YEA itself.

“Further to the Management Service Agreement, the GHc400 management fee which has not been reviewed since 2011 goes into the procurement of Logistics for the delivery of the service by the YEA operatives. The assumption that this money goes into the pocket of the service provider is therefore very erroneous!”

“The following are some of the logistics the money goes to buy: Wheelbarrows, shovels, brooms, rakes, cutlasses, alley brooms, jackets, spades, uniforms, hand gloves, nose masks, reflective jackets, safety boots, pickers, street brush, road cones etc. These are supplied regularly and are all paid from the management fee. Apart from these, vehicles to carry supervisory staff including fueling the vehicles are all covered from the Management Fee,” the statement added.

Zoomlion also complained about the delay in reimbursing it for its services saying it affects their operations.

“Zoomlion has for countless years had to pre-finance the payment of these allowances of beneficiaries by borrowing money at high-interest rates but at no cost to the government due to delays in its payment.”

“Presently, payments to the company is in arrears of over four years running in millions of cedis,” the statement added.

Below is the full statement from Zoomlion:

ZOOMLION IS HAPPY WITH ANY RESTRUCTURING OR REVIEW OF SANITATION MODULE OF YEA

The Management of Zoomlion Ghana Limited wish to commend the Management of the Youth Employment Agency for its plans to restructure the Sanitation Module of the Youth Employment Programme to serve as a blueprint for other modules going forward.

Without preempting any further discussion on the review or restructuring of the module, management however feels compelled to make some clarification on the following issues raised at the YEA press briefing yesterday.

1. Disparities in reported beneficiary numbers versus physical count-That 38,884 beneficiaries turned up for the counting exercise by YEA as against the 45,320 recorded by managers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

Zoomlion wish to state that the company’s number is captured in an album with the names, pictures and other details of beneficiaries for verification purposes. The shortfall however occurred as a result of a mixture of reasons, which the CEO of YEA, Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong has himself alluded to in a couple of media interviews.

i. Beneficiary Apathy: Prior to the Agency’s exercise, there had been series of headcount exercises conducted by 1) the Agency’s regional and district representatives together with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, 2) District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) directorate, 3) the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited within a period of two (2) months with the objective of ascertaining the true numbers of the beneficiaries. In all these exercises, the beneficiaries had to commute back and forth from their communities to the district capitals and this may have led to the comparatively low turnout as compared to the numbers of beneficiaries in the album provided.

ii. Late arrival or ‘no show’ of the Head count team from the Agency to some of the centers. This situation led to most of the beneficiaries leaving the centers out of frustration. A situation which seriously accounted for the team not meeting all beneficiaries to get them to be counted.

iii. Short notice to the beneficiaries by the Agency upon the team’s arrival in the district caused beneficiaries in the hinterlands to miss the headcount. An example of this happened in Ejura Sekyere-Dumase District

iv. Transportation: Most of the communities have means of transport to the district capital only on market days therefore it became difficult to travel to the district capital when it is not a market day a case in point is Bole-Bamboi and Bunkpurugu yooyoo Districts in the Northern Region. Beneficiaries also had challenges regarding payment for transportation to headcount centres at the district/municipal capitals and this greatly affected the turnout of beneficiaries to the exercise.

v. Zoomlion spent more hours spanning a day to two days at particular headcount centres to ensure that no one was left out compared to the Agency which spent some few hours in a day and hurriedly counted beneficiaries they met and left this resulting in the discrepancy.

2. Issuing of Appointment letters to Beneficiaries.

Since the inception of the Programme in 2006, under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), Zoomlion has never issued any appointment letter to any beneficiary under the sanitation module. Per the Management Service Agreement, employment of the beneficiaries is the sole responsibility of the Agency who then have the mandate to issue appointment letters.

3. Payment of management fee

The decision to pay beneficiaries Gh¢100 per month out of the Gh¢500 Management fee was not the initiative of Zoomlion Ghana limited. In fact, at the inception of the module in 2006, beneficiaries were receiving Gh¢50 per month, it was the management of Zoomlion that initiated the move for the allowance to be increased to Gh¢100. So the same Agency which set the initial amount is the only one that has the authority to change it.

Misconception over the Management Fee to Zoomlion

Further to the Management Service Agreement, the Gh¢400 management fee which has not been reviewed since 2011, goes into the procurement of Logistics for the delivery of the service by the YEA operatives. The assumption that this money goes into the pocket of the service provider is therefore very erroneous! The following are some of the logistics the money goes to buy:

Wheel barrows, shovels, brooms, rakes, cutlasses, alley brooms, jackets, spades, uniforms, hand gloves, nose masks, reflective jackets, safety boots, pickers, street brush, road cones etc. These are supplied regularly and are all paid from the management fee.

Apart from these, vehicles to carry supervisory staff including fueling the vehicles are all covered from the Management Fee.

Zoomlion has for countless years had to pre-finance the payment of these allowances of beneficiaries by borrowing money at high interest rates but at no cost to the government due to delays in its payment. Presently, payments to the company is in arrears of over four years running in millions of cedis.

Submission of Reports

The company has since 2006, religiously submitted quarterly and annual reports to the management of the YEA, and has never had any correspondence from the Agency acknowledging receipt or questioning the quality of work being done.

Conclusion

Zoomlion Ghana Limited has over the past 12 years been at the forefront of ensuring that Ghana is clean, green and healthy. Over, this period the company has built experience, capacity and logistics to serve the country in as much as we can to ensure that the President’s vision of making everyday a sanitation day and Accra the cleanest city in Africa a reality.

By dint of hard work and its service excellence, the company which has won several awards both local and international has operations in other countries including Angola, Zambia, Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia.

Communication Directorate

Zoomlion

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Zoomlion hails YEA’s restructuring move, clarifies ‘misconceptions’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.