Waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has petitioned the office of the Auditor-General to address what it described as anomalies created in its 2020 Report that has led to media misinformation.
According to the company, the report and subsequent media reportage were quite misleading and unfortunate as they failed to capture both sides of the story and situate the issues in their proper contests.
The company noted that the reportage is calculated to mislead unsuspecting members of the public and tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the company.
A statement from the company indicated that issues raised in the publications about payments of GH¢3.8 million for no work done and GH¢19 million payment to Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (SSGL) in 2019 do not form part of the 2020 Auditor-General’s Report dated 31 May 2021.
Another document, the company said, entitled Report of the Auditor-General on the Management and Utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund and other Statutory Funds for the year ended 31 December 2020 and dated 11 June 2021 on the Auditor-General’s website were used as the source for the publications.
According to Zoomlion, a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies, on the issue of the refund of GH¢3,801,530.00, upon becoming aware of the payment, the company and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies for which payment was made (“the affected MMDAs”), constituted a team of joint representatives to determine the status of the first quarter payments.
It noted that the team completed its work and submitted a report to the parties that subsequently passed a resolution dated May 7, 2019 to state, among other things, that deduction made for the first quarter of 2018 is justified and therefore no refund is required and that Zoomlion will continue to offer fumigation and sanitation services in accordance with contracts signed.
“We further wish to inform the public that work has already been done in all the MMDAs with certificates of completion signed by all interested parties.
“A little more investigation into the issues by the Auditor-General would have revealed that the issues had been resolved,” the statement said.
Zoomlion argued that the Auditor-General’s report on the payment of GH¢95 million to Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (SSGL) and the recommendation for refund is inaccurate and misleading because the said payment was not given to SSGL as a credit guarantee.
“We find the report of the Auditor-General and the subsequent media reportage to be quite misleading and unfortunate as they capture only one side of the story without situating the issues in their proper contexts.
“The report is therefore calculated to mislead unsuspecting members of the public and to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the company. We, therefore, entreat the general public to disregard the report and the media reportage.
“It is unfortunate that the Auditor-General, against the advice of the Supreme Court (ref: Zoomlion Ghana limited vrs. Auditor General) did not seek the input of the service providers (Zoomlion Ghana Limited and SSGL) and other stakeholders regarding the issues before coming out with its report.
“The Auditor-General did not contact Zoomlion Ghana Limited and SSGL, neither did the Auditor-General query nor heard the companies before finalizing and publishing its report. This is a blatant disregard for the right of fair hearing,” the statement added.
Responsible corporate citizen
According to the company, it remains a responsible corporate citizen that works ethically with integrity to promote environmental sanitation across the country.
Such publication, it noted, is, therefore, a deliberate attempt to vilify the company but assured its stakeholders and the public it had done no wrong whatsoever.
It called on the media to be decorous in their reportage of such national reports to avoid causing disaffection towards a company that has been at the forefront of fighting the waste menace in the country and led the drive to curb the spread of the current pandemic.
