Jospong Group of Companies, with Zoomlion Ghana Limited – a waste management company, as one of its subsidiaries – has denied any wrongdoing in the award of a contract for the procurement of one million dustbins and 900,000 pieces of biodegradable bin liners for distribution to households in the 216 districts of Ghana.

Five companies were said to have been given the contract for the procurement of the dustbins on behalf of the government at a cost of $74,040,000, but a news report by Joy Fm’s Manasseh Azure Awuni claimed that the company ripped the nation off with an amount of GH¢130 million in an inflated contract to those companies.

But in a press statement to deny the allegation of bloated contract released yesterday and signed by the Head of Communications, Sophia Lissah, Jospong Group said the allegations in the Joy Fm’s news report were “grossly misleading and unfortunate, to say the least.”

It has therefore asked the station and its sister stations which broadcast the report to retract it within three days and apologise to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jospong Group, Joseph Siaw Agyapong, or be ready to face any action thereof.

According to the statement, the agreement for the contract was ‘pre-financing and credit sale’ one.

“The total number of waste bins to be supplied under the initiative is 1,000,000 at a supply rate of $60 per piece (to be paid at the prevailing Bank of Ghana interbank exchange rate) plus 900,000 pieces of Biodegradable Bin Liners at $15.60 per piece. The total contract sum of $74,040,000 was to be pre-financed by the companies, which therefore allowed the Government of Ghana flexibility payment terms for a period of 24 months,” the release underscored.

It said that so far none of the companies had supplied any item under the contract nor had any payment been made by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to any of those companies.

“We wish to state categorically that reference made to waste bins in the district with pictures displayed online by Joy Fm were meant to mislead the public that because some assemblies have not distributed existing bins, there was no need for distributing the bins as required by the contract, is unfortunate,” Ms Lissah said, stressing that the One Million Bins Distribution Programme is meant to ensure that households in Ghana have bins to enhance waste management, disposal and collection in all communities.

“On the face of the evidence, we deem the publication in question by Joy Fm’s Manasseh Azuri Awuni as malicious and calculated to tarnish the hard-won reputation of the Jospong Group, the Chief Executive and its subsidiaries,” the statement said.