John-Peter Amewu with management of MORD
MINISTER FOR Railway Development, and Member of Parliament for the Hohoe Constituency, John-Peter Amewu, has disclosed that he had good policies for the Railway Development sector, which would bring to realization the legacy of President Akufo-Addo’s intention of building a modern rail network across the country.
He therefore urged Management and Staff of the Ministry of Railway Development to back his policies, with strategies and programmes that would bring Ghana’s rail transport back to active service.
The Minister made these remarks recently at his maiden meeting in Accra with the Management and staff of the Ministry, to formally interact with them, while discussing the future of the Ministry and the Railway sector as a whole.
According to him, politicians would always come and go with policy directions and guidelines, but that it was prudent for Management to ensure that their staff developed love and strategies to implement such policies.
He added that it was the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to leave a legacy for generations to enjoy, as was done by the late President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with the construction of the Akosombo dam, stressing that although there were a lot of flagship programs, the impact of railways to the economy is evident.
The Sector Minister commended his predecessor and his deputies for establishing a solid foundation for the railway industry, as he recalled that the railway sector had collapsed due to the poor maintenance-culture of Ghanaians.
He indicated that per his observation, he can confidently say that a lot of resources have been invested in the construction of railway lines, giving a 100 percent score for progress of work.
Adding that what was left was the motivating factor and funding, and therefore called for an ‘all hands-on deck’ approach, to move the sector forward. He also he urged Management and Staff to continue to work together for the success of his outfit.
On some pertinent issues affecting the railway sector, Management of the Ministry mentioned land acquisition and encroachment on railway lands, as some of the major challenges which have caused delays in the progress of some on-going railway projects.
The human resource capacity challenge was also mentioned to be affecting the Ministry. For instance, the limited number of engineers makes it difficult for the Ministry to closely perform its role in supervising and monitoring project execution on site.
The Acting Chief Director at the Ministry, Desmond Boateng, and the entire staff assured the Minister of their unflinching support, to help actualize his vision.