The Railway Development Minister John-Peter Amewu has disclosed plans to pursue vigorous policies that would lead to total transformation of the Railway Sector of the country.

According to him, he will do whatever it takes to ensure that this vision to build a modern rail network across the country is realised, as one of the legacies left behind by President Akufo-Addo.

He was certain that the Management and Staff of the Ministry of Railway Development will give in their best to support the government to implement strategies and programmes set out to make the rail transport industry once again vibrant than never before.

 The Minister made these remarks during his maiden meeting with Management and Staff of the Ministry last Wednesday, 17^th March 2021 in Accra.

The meeting forms part of his familiarisation and formal interaction with management and staff on how to address the sector shortcomings and work to improve it.

Mr Amewu rehashed the President Akufo-Addo’s vision to leave a legacy for today’s generation and those yet unborn.

He said just as Dr Kwame Nkrumah constructed the Akosombo dam and had remained useful to this today, so the current administration is working hard to turn around the railway industry, which had almost collapsed into a vibrant socio-economic sector.

The Minister commended his predecessor Joe Ghartey and his deputies for the excellent job done to lay a solid foundation for the development of the railway industry, which for many years had been neglected and allowed to collapse.

Per his observation so far, a lot of investments had been made towards revamping the railway sector, hence the leadership and staff of the sector deserve lots of commendations for the progress made.

He added that what he thinks is outstanding is the motivating factor or the financial resources to accelerate the slow pace of development.

Mr Amewu called for ‘all hands-on deck’ approach to move the sector forward. He urged employees to continue to demonstrate the spirit of team work and dedication in the execution of their duties to enable the Ministry succeed.

The Staff on the other mentioned that the biggest challenge facing the sector is land acquisition as well as encroachment on railway, stressing that these are creating undue delays to the progress of some on-going projects.

Other issues mentioned including human resource capacity, as limited number of engineers in the sector is making things difficult for the Ministry to closely perform its role in supervising and monitoring of project execution on site.

Mr. Amewu gave the assurance that regular Management meetings would be held to come out with appropriate solutions to address issues bothering on the Ministry which are hindering the construction of the railway lines.

The Acting Chief Director at the Ministry, Mr. Desmond Boateng and the entire management team, assured the Minister of their unwavering support, commitment and cooperation to assist the Minister to achieve the mandate of the Ministry towards the realization of the vision of President Akufo-Addo.

Akutu Dede Adimer