Franklin Cudjoe
President of policy think tank IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe has said that President Nana Akufo-Addo needs about $2 billion to revive the country’s rail sector.
“We need about $2 billion for that sector,” he said on The Big Issue on Saturday.
He explained that Joe Ghartey, the Minister-designate for Railways Development, should try and raise funds for government to achieve that purpose.
Franklin Cudjoe made comment about the announcement of 36 ministerial nominees named by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The president’s decision to create some new ministries and realign others has been criticized by some Ghanaians.
Railway ministry not necessary
According to Franklin Cudjoe, government ought to have merged some of the ministries instead of splitting them, citing the transport, aviation and railways ministries as examples.
“It is not necessarily the number of people you appoint to an office that means that you are quite efficient. Railway, for instance, and aviation and transport and highways, is completely superfluous for a country of this small land size,” he said.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday Franklin Cudjoe said the issue with Ghana’s railway sector is lack of money.
“There is a proposal on the table which we made to the Kufuor administration that instead of seeking public investment to be led by the state and its attendant procurement problems why won’t you allow that whole cartage to be owned by different business groups so that you do a road show and allow mining companies and people who cart heavier goods to understand that they own a part of that whole railway sector because we’ve been at it for too long.”