Zoomlion owner paid me 'good money' to stop Waste Management Decentralization Campaign – A Plus

Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, has alleged that he received a substantial sum of money from Mr. Joseph Siaw, owner of the Jospong Group of Companies, to halt a campaign against the interests of one of his companies.

According to A Plus, Mr. Siaw compensated him financially to end his campaign for the decentralization of waste management in Ghana, which would impact the operations of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

He revealed that his decision to launch the campaign was in retaliation after Paul Adom-Otchere, host of Good Evening Ghana, defamed him on Metro TV, a media station also owned by Mr. Siaw.

“So, this man takes my photo, puts it on TV, saying, ‘A Plus, you have gone to take GH₵250,000…’ He said a lot, and this money he is talking about—you say you are NPP, and the money is being given to parliamentarians, so why are you not talking about the NPP parliamentarians? Okay, so A Plus will not say anything. I have grown, but I am a very bad guy. When he did that, I didn’t respond; I just left him. Then on Monday, I started ‘Waste Management Must Be Decentralised’ because Zoomlion owns Metro TV. So, if you use Metro TV to do that, Paul, you don’t have anything of value that I will attack apart from your wife,” he stated.

“I started ‘Waste Management Must Be Decentralised’ because I wanted to attack his boss, Zoomlion, and I spent time on it. You see where all the Youth Employment issues are heading? Yes, I will have time. I will deal with you. His boss called me; Zoomlion called me so many times, but I wasn’t picking up his calls. Everyone in this country was calling me, saying Zoomlion wants to talk to you, but I wasn’t picking up. Paul, ask your boss what happened when he met me. I won’t sue you for defamation. Have you noticed I stopped the waste management campaign? Because his boss paid me for his misbehavior on Metro TV,” he added.

According to A Plus, Mr. Siaw paid him “good money to stop writing about him on social media.”

He further warned the TV host to stop defaming him, adding, “I have taken the damages from his boss, and Paul, if you watch this show and decide to start again, I will tell you about two of your friends. The amount they will pay, you will be so disappointed in your life.”

A Plus’s claim comes on the heels of his recent admission that he was contacted by an individual regarding the payroll fraud incident involving the National Service Scheme (NSS).

Detailing the circumstances, the lawmaker explained that the individual, whose identity he has not disclosed, approached him in November 2024. He said the individual sought his assistance in clearing their name, insisting on their innocence in the NSS payroll fraud matter.

A Plus further explained that he leveraged his influence as a media personality and a major shareholder at the time in a Ghanaian-owned media company to assist in clearing the individual’s name through media engagements aimed at addressing the matter.

His admission regarding the NSS scandal followed a challenge by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, who asked the Gomoa Central MP to come clean on his involvement in the NSS scandal, which is currently under investigation by the AG’s Office.

Meanwhile, Zoomlion has been under heavy public scrutiny over its contract with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA). According to critics, the contract, currently under review for possible renewal, is exploitative, with Zoomlion paying GH₵250 to each sweeper recruited by YEA out of the GH₵850 it receives from the state employment agency for managerial purposes.

In defense, Zoomlion has maintained that it only manages the sweepers and is not responsible for their recruitment or the determination of their allowances.

GA