The Minister of Railways Development and Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado Constituency in the Central Region, Joe Ghartey, has intimated that there are no commercial services for train as at Tuesday, 29th September, 2020.
Speaking on Face to Face, the Essikado MP, revealed that Ghana has four commercial trains, with no passenger train moving in the Greater Accra Region. He iterated that the Ghana Railway Company limited decided that, the train service was going to be reintroduced in a systematic manner.
“So, what they have done is that, they are going to start with Sekondi Takoradi. They have gone for their test run and the Ghana Railway Development Authority will certify the trade, then it will start. From there, they will do the one from Accra to Tema.”
Touching on the volume of manganese conveyance via the railway line from Nsuta to Takoradi, the Member of Parliament for Essikado Constituency elucidated that the Nsuta to Takoradi line is same line that is being developed on the western line, which has been halted for at least a month. He insisted that government has injected a valuable amount of capital on the project and so if cargo is still moved on the rail, the line would not be developed.
“The only double line we have in this country, is up to Manso. After Manso, is a single line. We have awarded a standard gauged contract to Huni Valley, even the double line is side by side. So, the people have written to us now that, they want to close down the line for a month. So, we have to decide; do we want a standard gauged line, or we want to continue lifting manganese?
“Now, what is happening is that, up to the time that we will finish development of our standard gauged line to Tarkwa, you will realize that, the Ghana Railway Company Limited will not be in a position to move a lot of manganese, because they are working on the railway line.”
Highlighting the number of railway lines, the Railway Ministry has constructed within their four years in office, after a promise that within five to fifteen years, Ghana should have 4000kilometers of railway, he stated that the process of construction and awarding contracts is about 2000km, half way on the line, revealing that, the ministry has constructed about 70km in Mpakadan. Huni Valley has also seen construction of about 30km.
According to the Railways Development Minister, the SkyTrain which was promised two years ago, has processes being halted due to the coronavirus pandemic but, plans are underway to make the SkyTrain feasible. He reiterated that the promise to provide Ghana with a SkyTrain was “not a promise made in a vacuum”.
Addressing the issue surrounding the compensation for residents of Adjumako Eyan Essiem, who were asked to give up their lands for the construction of a railway, the Minister stated that the role of the railway ministry does not include compensations to residents whose lands were taken but rather, the responsibility of the lands commission to make such payment.
Nevertheless, he revealed that the residents are being paid their compensation by the lands commission. However, urging Ghanaians to have patience as a virtue, he insisted that things are not done in a rush but, comes with a process.
The Minister further revealed that in the four years of office as a Minister of Railways Development, a strong foundation has been laid for a total rehaul of the railway network.
He, however, refuted claims that he is running for President, after H. E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s tenure.
“Let us focus on the Akufo-Addo’s presidency. Listen, Umara Sanda, I told somebody that, in this life, what God decides to happen will happen. So, we pray, we work hard and leave the rest to God.”
