The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Mr. Malik Basintale, has unveiled a plan to increase allowances for the sanitation module beneficiaries by more than 300 percent.

This decision comes on the heels of the agency's contract suspension with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, which previously allegedly paid workers a meager GH¢258 monthly.

Mr. Basintale said: "When I took office, I swore by my late grandfather's grave that no contract would be signed to pay GH¢258. That figure is unacceptable in this modern era. In any future contract, we will not go below the minimum wage. We are looking at more than a 300 percent increase”

Mr. Basintale made the announcement at a press briefing after appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Friday in Parliament House, Accra.

The PAC public hearing slated from Tuesday, August 19, to Tuesday, August 26, would consider the Auditor-General's report on MDAs for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The six-day public hearing will examine the Auditor-General's report, which highlighted significant issues, including Ghana's public debt and weaknesses in financial reporting and asset management.

The Acting CEO of YEA also revealed that approximately 5,000 beneficiaries who failed to report to duty would forfeit two months of unpaid salaries.

"We have not discovered ghost names; what we found are individuals who were absent. Those at post have been validated, but those absent will lose two months' pay," he explained.

He told the media that validated beneficiaries, however, could attest that their allowances had already been credited to their accounts.

According to him, a committee had been tasked with reviewing tenders to select a new waste management service provider, marking a new chapter in the agency's sanitation module.