The Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology, Yaw Frimpong Addo, has urged Ghanaians to remain calm amidst growing public concern over the Youth Employment Agency’s (YEA) sanitation partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Limited.
Addressing the media after a nationwide waste management assessment tour, Frimpong Addo assured that the ongoing Zoomlion-YEA contract controversy will not jeopardize Ghana’s environmental sanitation efforts.
His remarks come in response to a recent statement by YEA Chief Executive Malik Basintale, who revealed that the current form of the contract with Zoomlion would not be renewed—sparking fears over potential job losses and disruptions to sanitation services.
“There are news items out there purporting to come from the YEA. That is not wholly true,” Frimpong Addo stated. “People should not panic because it’s not going to affect the work of environmental sanitation.”
He noted that while concerns exist, Parliament remains fully engaged, and the issue will be addressed thoroughly in the Committee’s upcoming report, following its just-ended tour of key waste treatment facilities across four regions: Ashanti, Western North, Bono, and Ahafo.
According to Frimpong Addo, “The workers there—if the allocations they’re talking about are something that needs a second look—we will discuss that in our report, and it will come to the floor of Parliament. That’s where representatives of the people meet to discuss and debate such matters.”
The MP for Manso Adubia emphasized that while public concern is understandable, the situation is not a national crisis, and certainly not beyond Parliament’s reach.
“We don’t want this out there that Ghana is in crisis because 40-something thousand people may be laid off. Certainly, it calls for concern, but we should not panic,” he reiterated.
The Committee visited the Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP), a Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a Medical Waste Treatment Plant in the Ashanti Region. They also toured Integrated Recycling and Compost Plants (IRECOP) in Sefwi Wiawso, Sunyani, and Goaso.
Frimpong Addo also stressed the importance of public-private collaboration in tackling Ghana’s waste management challenges. “This is a cooperation between the private sector and government. If there is a problem, we just have to sit down and think through the challenges that led to the headlines we are reading.”
He concluded with a call for dialogue and evidence-based decision-making, assuring stakeholders and the general public that the Committee is fully committed to preserving sanitation jobs and improving environmental outcomes.
