The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, has pledged to resist the renewal of the controversial management service agreement with Zoomlion Ghana.
According to him, the current contract—under which workers are paid as little as GHC 250—is unacceptable. He described the previous administration’s agreement with the company as “evil.”
His statement follows a public campaign by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, who has strongly criticised ongoing plans to renew the contract.
In a series of posts on social media, Awuni urged Basintale and Osman Ayariga, the Acting CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA), among others, to terminate the deal. He noted that workers under the arrangement earn less than the minimum wage in Ghana’s mining sector.
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In a Facebook post responding to the campaign, Basintale wrote:
All my life, I have fought for integrity and for the betterment of the youth and the people of Ghana. For seven years and nine months, the NPP renewed the Zoomlion contract in its current state, paying Ghanaian youth/workers just GHC 250.
His Excellency @JDMahama has come to review, reset, and bring Ghana back on track. This includes ensuring that every worker is paid fairly for their labour.
He further vowed:
I promise, on my honour, as I stand by the grave of my late father, not to renew this contract in its current state or form. It is evil for the previous government to have committed to such an agreement, and I shall stop it.
Basintale concluded:
My brothers and sisters, on 7th December 2024, change came—and change must happen. If my own mother, brother, or sister were Zoomlion workers, I wouldn’t be happy with them earning GHC 250 as a salary. And for that reason, I can’t be happy with your mother, father, brother, or sister receiving the same.
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Likewise, the Acting CEO of the NYA, Mr Osman Ayariga, has also vowed to ensure that the right actions are taken regarding the contract.
