We designed it to occupy the youth, not as full-time work – Zoomlion spokesperson clarifies
Emma Adwoa Appiaa Osei-Duah, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has clarified that the sanitation jobs offered under the company’s youth engagement initiatives were never intended to be full-time positions.
According to her, the roles were designed to provide temporary support and engagement for young people transitioning from one phase of life to another.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day program monitred by MyNewsGh, Adwoa Appiaa explained: “This job was not set up as a full-time eight-hour job. It was set up to occupy the youth who might have finished the phase of education and are waiting to continue. So get something to occupy yourself until when you decide to move on,” she said.
When asked if the work could be classified as a typical 9-to-5 job, she firmly replied, “It is not a nine-to-five at all.”
Sharing her past experiences as a supervisor of beneficiaries under the sanitation initiative, she recounted how some individuals willingly prioritized the sanitation work over their own businesses.
“I had some ladies who were traders in the market. They sold cloth. But early in the morning, they would not go and open their shop. They would rather come and sweep.
“And I found it unbelievable. So I asked them, why wouldn’t you go and concentrate on your shop? They’re like, ‘Oh, we love to sweep,’” she recalled.
