Joe Ghartey speaking to the media
The Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, has charged the Ghana Railway Company Limited to complete the rehabilitation works on the Takoradi- Tarkwa rail lines by October this year or risk some staff members being sacked.
“Two years ago, the company said it was going to reach Tarkwa but it hasn’t. If I don’t see very positive signs by September ending that it will reach Tarkwa in October, then I will have to recommend that heads must roll because somebody is not doing his work,” the minister declared.
Mr. Ghartey indicated that the Railway Company had been given the requisite technical and logistical resources including salary increment in order to motivate the company to work assiduously to complete the rehabilitation project.
“Government has so far pumped about GH¢105 million into the Railway Company Limited to buy track tools and slippers, among others, for the project. The company has employed about 300 more people. Their salaries have just been increased by 20 per cent, and so they have no excuse. They have to deliver,” he insisted.
The minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency in the Western Region, gave the warning when he inspected some ongoing projects at the Railway Workshop at ‘Location’ in the constituency.
Mr. Ghartey, though satisfied with progress of work, tasked the company to do its best to ensure that the Takoradi-Tarkwa rail network was ready by October this year.
He bemoaned the fact that the assurances of getting that phase of the Western rail lines completed had to be revised on several occasions on grounds of some technical and logistical challenges.
He disclosed that most of the challenges had been resolved and that there would be no excuse if some substantial work was not done by end of September this year in fulfillment of the October deadline.
Railway Director
Deputy Managing Director in charge of Engineering at the Ghana Railway Company Limited, Michael Adjei Anyatei, in a response to the concerns raised by the minister, said some rigorous work would be pursued to meet the October deadline.
He explained that the delays were as a result of engineering and calibration work that needed to be worked on for the passenger freight. “We need to do a detailed work on the cross levels to make sure that when you sit on the train you can ride comfortably. But I think we need to double up,” Mr. Anyatei stressed.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi