Out of Ghana’s GHS1.7bn sanitation levy, GHS1.5bn went to Jospong – Manasseh Azure details amid Accra floods 

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Accra floods

Investigative Journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni has disclosed that Ghana’s flooding situation has never been a lack of money but the pouring money into Jospong a monopoly that engages in more PR than execution.

According to Manasseh Azure Awuni, GHS 1.5 billion from Ghana’s GHS1.7 billion sanitation and Pollution levy went to Zoomlion and the Jospong Group.

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Manasseh Azure, in an X post, shared the  Ministry of Finance RTI documents showing 1.73 billion cedis collected from the Sanitation and Pollution Levy between 2021 and 2024, with 1.51 billion cedis disbursed to six companies: Zoomlion Ghana, Sewerage Systems, Waste Landfills, Dredge Masters, Kumasi Compost, and IRECOP.

He highlighted that all recipient companies are subsidiaries of the Jospong Group, owned by Joseph Siaw Agyepong, covering contracts for waste collection, landfills, wastewater treatment, dredging, and sanitation guards across various ministries and regions.

Manasseh Azure further detailed that the Jospong Group also received payments from other public funds like the District Assemblies Common Fund, questioning the impact given ongoing waste management and flooding challenges despite the monopoly on major contracts.

In a post on X, Manasseh wrote, “The Government of Ghana collected 1.7 BILLION CEDIS as the Sanitation and Pollution Levy. All the 1.5 BILLION cedis disbursed from this fund went to companies owned by only one person. Check who is behind these companies.

This is in addition to the fact that Zoomlion and the Jospong Group were also paid from other statutory funds, such as the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), and World Bank-funded sources for their numerous contracts.

The problem has never been about the lack of money. It’s pouring money into a monopoly that engages in more PR than execution”, his post added.

Meanwhile, Manasseh Azure Awuni, in another post, has called the current Mahama government to account for past flood control spending by the former Akufo-Addo government before new contracts are signed.

According to Manasseh Azure, Ghanaians must know how the hundreds of millions of cedis and dollars already spent on flooding were used before any new shady contracts are awarded.

Manasseh Azure, in a post on X, cited a 2022 transfer of 100 million Ghana cedis from the Sanitation and Pollution Account to Dredge Masters Limited, linked to Zoomlion for Accra drainage works.

The investigative journalist questioned the results from hundreds of millions spent amid Ghana’s recurring flooding situation.

Manasseh Azure also attached an image of an official Controller and Accountant General bank transfer document dated March 2022 for Phase III of the Accra Sanitary, Sewer and Storm Water Drainage Alleviation Project.

In his post, Manasseh Azure wrote, “Before the government uses the flooding as an opportunity to award shady contracts, we should account for the hundreds of millions of cedis and dollars already spent, including this and other payments to Zoomlion’s sister company, Dredge Masters”.

In related news, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, the Interior Minister, has provided a thorough account of the destruction caused by heavy rains on June 29.

According to the Interior Minister, more than 7,700 households were displaced, with 38,802 people affected, while seven persons are still missing.

The minister disclosed that the downpour inundated several communities with thousands of residents in 18 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, June 30, the Interior Minister said, “When you put all these numbers together, we have a total of 7,761 households that were displaced with 38,802 individuals affected with seven persons still missing as of this morning”.

See the post below:

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