Zoomlion Begins Investigations Into Alleged Bribery Scandal

Management of waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, have begun investigations into the alleged bribery scandal in Liberia resulting in a two-year ban by the World Bank. The company was cited in a World Bank report to have paid bribes to facilitate contract execution and processing of invoices in respect of an emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation (EMUS) project being financed by the World Bank. Zoomlion Ghana Limited has consequently been disqualified from securing and executing any contract financed by the World Bank Group for the next two years. Confirming the incident, Communication Manager at Zoomlion, Mr Robert Coleman said disciplinary action had been taken against the Ghanaian official who paid the bribes. Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview, Mr Coleman indicated that the official had been recalled back to Ghana, pending further investigations into the matter. He said Zoomlion had standards which all its subsidiaries across Africa were expected to comply with. �It�s obvious that the standards were flouted in this case�, he stated, and added that, it was important for Ghanaians and the international community to appreciate the fact that, the offence was committed by an individual without the knowlege of the leadership of Zoomlion. The EMUS project for Liberia is to assist the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) to provide solid waste services. It also aims at increasing the volume of collected and disposed waste from approximately 30 per cent of daily generated waste to 45 per cent. The US$4 million project was awarded in April, 2011 and is scheduled for completion in December, this year. Zoomlion, according to the World Bank, would need to demonstrate full and satisfactory compliance with the integrity standards in order for the ban to be lifted. According to the World Bank, Zoomlion had itself acknowledged wrongdoing and had accepted full responsibility. �This is a case where a company under a World Bank investigation is demonstrating responsibility for wrongdoing by enforcing disciplinary action and committing to a new standard of integrity governing its operations,� World Bank Integrity Vice President, Mr Leonard McCarthy stated. �Promoting this type of corporate responsibility while holding companies accountable for wrongdoing is one of the strategic pillars of the World Bank�s anticorruption strategy," he added. Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Conex came into partnership in 2010 to form Zoomlion Liberia Incorporated to bid for the construction of landfill cells in Whein Town financed by the World Bank. Zoomlion Liberia Incorporated went ahead to bid for a waste management contract to provide services in Monrovia. The company employs more than 100 Liberians on both the Whein Town landfill project and waste management project. Zoomlion Ghana Limited is a giant in the waste management, as well as environmental sanitation business in Ghana and Africa as a whole. The company, which began its operations in 2006 with a few members of staff, has today grown into a conglomerate, exploring various businesses including waste management and sanitation, janitorial services, landscaping and beautification and street and drain cleaning. It is also into organic composting. Currently, Zoomlion is operating in other African countries such as Togo, Angola, Liberia, Zambia and Guinea.