STEERING COMMITTEE FOR WESTERN RAILWAY LINES INAUGURATED (PAGE 35, JAN 24, 2011)

A 20-MEMBER steering committee has been inaugurated in Takoradi for the rehabilitation of the Western Railway Lines to position the lines to play its pivotal role in the provision of transport services towards the economic development of the country.
The committee has a Member of Council of State and Board Member of the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA), Mrs Victoria Addy, as the chairperson and Professor Newman Kusi, a member of GRDA, as her vice.
The committee is to supervise the implementation of the Bonifica Report for the rehabilitation and construction of the Western Railway Line, and to assist the project manager to execute his mandate on the project.
It is also to assist the board to plan, implement and supervise activities towards the sod-cutting for the rehabilitation and construction of the Western Railway Lines.
That is to ensure that the sod-cutting for the Western Lines is executed through planned programmes not later than January 27, 2011.
The committee is to submit weekly reports on the sod-cutting programme and monthly report on the progress of the implementation of the rehabilitation to the board, and ensure that the time lines and quantities approved by the board on the project are adhered to.
Furthermore, the committee is to supervise the re-decoration of the facilities of the new Railway and Petroleum Institute.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the outgoing Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, said a Road Transport Authority would be established to ensure that rules and regulations were enforced.
He stated that if the rules and regulations of the road transport sector were not enforced, it would be difficult to reduce carnage on the roads.
He said the railway sector was the driving force for accelerated and sustained economic growth, and that the rehabilitation of the railway lines would help move exports and imports on the railway to ensure more demands for export.
Mr Hammah said the railway system also played a major role in the marketing chain, adding that the ministry prioritised the railway system and that the Western Railway Line was the backbone of the Ghana Railway Company Limited.
He said in the long term, the government was looking at converting the railway system in the country to a standard gauge of 1,435 millimetres to make the lines wider than the present system which is 1,067 millimetres.
That, he said, would help remove bulk cargo trucks from the roads to help reduce carnage on the roads.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Ms Betty Busumtwi-Sam, stated that the Ghana Railway Company was a major employer in the region.
She said the inactivity of the railway system had brought hardships to many people in the area.
Ms Busumtwi-Sam said the benefits to be derived from the rehabilitation of the railway lines would be enormous.
She therefore urged members of the committee to do all they could to make the rehabilitation a success and not to disappoint the chiefs and people in the region, since people had emotional attachment to the railway system.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Railway Development Authority, Mr Dan Markin, stressed that railway development was so important that all growing economies had effective railway infrastructure.
He said the rehabilitation of the Western Railway Lines would have a positive impact on the country’s economy, since it would help cart cocoa, manganese, cement, bauxite and other bulky goods to the ports.
The Omanhen of the Essikadu Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, said nobody could take away the emotional attachment the chiefs and people in the region had for the railway system.
He said there were many Ghanaians from different parts of the country living in Sekondi/Takoradi as a result of the railways.
According to him, the people were disappointed about the way the railway situation had been handled and attributed it to lack of political will.
Nana Nketsia recalled that revenue from the railways was used to build most of the institutions in Accra.
He stated that people who were manning the Black Star Line were from the Ghana Railway Company.
The Chairman of the steering committee, Mrs Victoria Addy, said people had encroached on lands belonging to the GRC, warning that the lands would be claimed during the rehabilitation.