Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, has announced a significant boost in allowances for beneficiaries under the agency’s sanitation module, with plans for a pay increase of over 300%.
The adjustment comes in the wake of the suspension of YEA’s contract with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, under which sanitation workers were paid GH¢258 — a figure widely criticised as inadequate.
Speaking to journalists after appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday, August 22, 2025, Mr. Basintale disclosed that a committee has been set up to review tenders and select a new waste management service provider.
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“When I took office, I swore by my late grandfather’s grave that no contract would be signed to pay GH¢258. That amount is unacceptable in this modern era,” he declared. “In any future contract, we will not go below the minimum wage. We are looking at more than a 300 percent increase.”
Mr. Basintale also revealed that about 5,000 beneficiaries who failed to report to their duty posts will forfeit two months of unpaid salaries.
“We have not discovered ghost names; what we found were individuals who were absent. Those who were at post have been validated, and those absent will lose two months’ pay. Beneficiaries who were validated can confirm that their allowances have already been credited to their accounts,” he clarified.
Story By: Afia Ohenewaa Akyerem