The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has announced plans to implement a 300 percent increase in allowances for beneficiaries of its sanitation module under a new waste management agreement.
This development comes after the suspension of YEA’s contract with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, following widespread concerns over the GH¢258 monthly allowance previously paid to sanitation workers.
New Waste Management Agreement in the Works
Addressing journalists after appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), YEA Chief Executive Officer, Malik Basintale, revealed that a committee has been set up to assess tenders from new waste management service providers.
“When I took office, I swore by my late grandfather’s grave that no contract would be signed to pay GH¢258. That figure is unacceptable in this modern era,” Basintale emphasized.
“In any future contract, we will not go below the minimum wage. We are looking at close to a 300 percent increase in allowances.”
Absentee Beneficiaries to Lose Salaries
The YEA boss also disclosed that about 5,000 beneficiaries who vacated their posts will forfeit two months’ worth of salaries.
“We have not discovered ghost names; what we found are individuals who were absent. Those at post have been validated, but those absent will lose two months’ pay,” Basintale explained.
He further confirmed that beneficiaries who were duly validated have already received their allowances, which were credited to their bank accounts.
YEA’s Commitment to Fair Compensation
The decision to increase allowances signals YEA’s renewed commitment to ensuring that sanitation workers are fairly compensated above Ghana’s minimum wage, in line with the agency’s broader reforms to improve transparency and efficiency in youth employment programs.
