Zoomlion Ghana Limited has issued a detailed rebuttal of Auditor General findings that flagged approximately GH¢2.3 million in payments for cleaning and sanitation services at the 13th African Games, arguing the report misread two legally distinct contracts as a single duplicated billing.
The Auditor General’s report raised concerns about what it described as overlapping labour charges, undefined “Services” cost heads and missing itemised bills of quantities in invoices covering work done across four venues during the Games. Zoomlion’s management rejected each finding categorically, saying the conclusions stem from a fundamental misreading of how the contracts were structured.
The core of the company’s defence rests on the separation between two categories of work. Vector control, covering fogging and the elimination of mosquitoes, reptiles, rodents and cockroaches using specialised thermal foggers and knapsack sprayers, was contracted and executed independently of janitorial services, which covered daily waste collection, mopping, disinfection and washroom maintenance. The presence of labour costs in both sets of invoices was not duplication, the company argued, but an accurate reflection of two separate operational teams deployed under two separate agreements.
“Labour appearing in both invoices is not duplication,” the company stated, insisting the charge represents the legitimate cost of human resources for two distinct operations.
On the question of undefined charges, Zoomlion said every invoice was backed by a contract and service level agreement specifying task frequencies, coverage areas and quality benchmarks across more than 30 distinct activities, ranging from daily colour-coded bin emptying and mechanical sweeping to mobile toilet provision, medical waste treatment and water supply with cesspit emptying.
The company also disclosed the full scope of equipment deployed across the Accra Sports Stadium, Borteyman Sports Complex, Achimota Cricket Oval and Bukom Trust Emporium, including compaction trucks, medical waste vehicles, floor scrubbing machines, buffer machines, vacuum cleaners, mobile toilets and hundreds of colour-coded bins. It said line-item breakdowns for all equipment and consumables are available for inspection.
Zoomlion’s most pointed argument concerns process rather than substance. The company said all contracts, invoices, service schedules, supervision logs and equipment records were submitted to and available at the Ministry of Sports and the responsible state institutions during the Games period. It challenged the basis of the findings by asserting that the Auditor General had every opportunity at the material time to review those documents and seek clarification before reaching its conclusions.
Services ran from March 1 to April 1, 2024, covering a full week before the Games opened, with a 24-hour shift system in place throughout. Over 350 personnel completed training at the Army Peace Operations Training School between February 4 and 24 in waste management, vector control, health and safety and conflict resolution. Zoomlion said there were no sanitation failures or disease outbreaks during the entire operational period.
