Jospong justifies GHC258 price for dustbin
- According to Jospong Group of Companies allegations that price is inflated is misconceived and misleading
- The Group said the cost of raw materials for the production, distribution and transportation of bins to households were factored in the overall calculation
The Jospong Group of Companies have justified the sale of a single dustbin for $60 (GH¢258) to the previous government, insisting their products were "not ordinary dustbins".
The Jospong Group of Companies were awarded a mammoth contract by the erstwhile Mahama government to provide one million bins and 900,000 bin liners to the District Assemblies.
It has been revealed that the contract was awarded to five Jospong companies, namely Yeeco Plastics Ghana Limited, JSA Logistics Limited, Able Plastic Recycling Limited, Meridian Waste Management Services Limited and Universal Plastic Product and Recycling Company Limited (UPPRCL).
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Then Local Government minister, Collins Dauda, awarded the contract to the aforementioned companies through single sourcing procurement, but it has emerged that some of the Jospong related companies do not have the capacity to produce dustbins.
An investigation into the issue by Joy News' Manneseh Azuri revealed that majority of the bins had been left to rot, just a year after a lot of money was spent on getting them produced and distributed to the District Assemblies.
It has also been revealed that the contract was awarded at the cost of $74,040,000 (¢318 million), with a single dustbin being sold to government for $60 (GH¢258), instead of the GH¢150 agreed in the initial contract.
However, the Group had justified the high cost of the bins, insisting the raw materials used were of high quality, while the distribution of the bins also contributed to the cost.
Responding to the issue on Joy FM's Top Story, the Communications Manager for Zoomlion Ghana, Robert Coleman said: “Bins are manufactured based on raw materials [and] we are talking about a contract that we needed to distribute the bins to the households and we charged transportation."
He argued that there was nothing wrong with five related companies of the Jospong Group winning the contract, saying "these companies are limited liability companies and therefore they have the right to bid for any contract that they have the necessary expertise".
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He added: "They are all affiliated to the group and they have their specialty and that is the major reason why before the contract was awarded people from the various ministries and authorities have to come and check if they have the capacity."
Source: YEN.com.gh
