Don’t Extend Contracts With Zoomlion – PAC Chairman Cautions MMDAs
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, James Klutse Avedzi, has prompted Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) against renewing contracts with waste management firm Zoomlion.
This follows PAC’s conclusion of the absence of observable benefits from the deal, which was revealed during a public accounts committee hearing in Ho.
The Ketu North MP underscored that parliament had sanctioned the non-renewal of the waste management company’s contract.
The caution was made after the Fanteakwa South Municipal Assembly failed to provide the requisite documents to renew its contract with the waste management company.
Furthermore, the committee proposed a comprehensive review of the existing agreement with Zoomlion, considering that numerous assemblies lack transparency regarding the terms of their contract with the company.
“I am told there is a clause in the contract that gives automatic renewal. Unless you, the assembly will communicate to the company the intention not to renew.
“So go back and read your contract document and then make reference to that clause, and inform Zoomlion that when your contract expires, you will not renew it again. Because you are not deriving any benefits from that, you are just wasting that money,” he said.
The committee added that the verification exercise is difficult for the assemblies and auditors.
“The committee is therefore recommending to the assemblies to not renew the contracts when the existing agreements expire,” Mr Avedzi indicated.
The Auditor-General (A-G), in its annual report on the management and utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund and other Statutory Funds, has, on countless occasions, cited Zoomlion for various contract breaches.
In most cases, the A-G recommended a stop to the payments and a refund of monies Zoomlion undeservedly received.
In some cases, it recommended an abrogation of the contracts.
The chairman’s warning comes amid growing concerns about the cost-effectiveness and transparency of Zoomlion’s contracts with MMDAs.