Ghana Railways Crisis Worsens

The Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, has directed management of the Ghana Railway Company (GRC), to use its internally-generated funds to pay its workers.

In a letter sent to the GRC management, the Minister made it clear that his ministry could no more pay the salaries of the workers.

The government, through the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways, is reported to have spent almost $950,000 in paying the salaries and expenses of the company. Ameyaw Akumfi's ministry has also spent a chunk of its budgetary allocation on the GRC, ever since the crisis which has engulfed the company began.

This, the ministry thinks, it can no more continue to do, and has therefore directed the management of the company to start paying its staff from their internally-generated funds.

"The Ministry and government has had to approach the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to seek approval for the release of GH¢680.000 from the Contingency Fund to pay your salaries for the months of April and May 2008.

"I wish to advise that this trend cannot continue, so you (referring to GRC) should put in place prudent measures which will enable you generate enough revenue to pay your staff from now on, in view of the fact that the Ministry can no longer approach government for the release of funds to pay your staff.

"This however requires the concerted efforts of the Management and Workers of the company. It is our expectation, therefore, that in the months ahead, you would make progress in your efforts at resolving the challenge of the payment of salaries for workers," Ameyaw Akumfi's letter stated.

The Chronicle gathered that the directives from the Minister had put the management of the struggling company in a tight corner, because the company virtually has no source of income to pay the workers.

This reporter gathered from sources within the company, that the contract for the haulage of Manganese and Bauxite, which was the main source of revenue for the company, had been cancelled following the prolong strike action embarked upon by the workers of the company.

Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi confirmed, in a telephone interview with this reporter, that he had asked the GRC management to pay its staff from internally-generated funds, and that his ministry could no more afford to source money to pay the workers.

A management staff of the company also stated, "We are not solidly on the ground at the moment, and we have to double our stand."