Acting CEO of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, has made a firm declaration not to renew the existing contract with Zoomlion Ghana Limited if the current wage of GH¢250 for sanitation workers remains unchanged.
In a strongly worded Facebook post on Friday, 25 April, Basintale criticised the current terms of engagement, describing them as exploitative and unjust to the Ghanaian youth.
His comments follow growing public pressure, particularly from investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, who has long campaigned against the contract’s renewal, citing poor treatment of workers and breach of contract terms.
Echoing similar sentiments, Basintale asserted that the present arrangement is a “rip-off” of poor Ghanaians and cannot be allowed to continue under the current administration.
“All my life, I have fought for integrity and for the better placement of the youth and people of Ghana,” Basintale wrote.
“I promise on my honour as I stand by the grave of my late DAD, NOT to RENEW the contract in its CURRENT STATE or FORM. It is EVIL for the previous government to have committed to this and I SHALL STOP IT,” he declared, vowing to ensure workers are paid satisfactorily under President Mahama’s leadership.
He further expressed personal concern over the plight of sanitation workers, stating, “If my mother, brother, or sister were a Zoomlion worker, I wouldn’t be happy with any of them taking GH¢250 as salary.”
Mr Basintale invited the public to join him live on Facebook at 8 pm to share their thoughts and discuss the way forward regarding the contentious contract.
