Government should leverage rail transport to create jobs - Mike Offei

A retired diplomat and economist, Mr. Michael Yaw Offei, has called on the government to strategically invest in rail transportation to catalyze the economy and open up an untapped avenue for job creation.

In an exclusive interview with journalists at his residence in Tema recently, Mr. Michael Yaw Offei pointed out that rail transportation forms the pulse of the economies of advanced countries worldwide for good reasons.

“The reason why rail transportation is so popular in advanced economies is because they are very cost-effective compared to road networks, which cost higher amounts of money to construct,” Mr. Mike Offei, a lawn tennis player who just returned from the United States of America, said.

Explaining, he said rail networks tend to have a higher lifespan and are maintenance-friendly as well.

“Because they inherently cut down traffic, they ultimately constitute very attractive transportation options for the majority of people. Ultimately, the cost that builds into the prices of goods and services due to high transportation costs is prevented with rail transportation,” he said.

Mr. Michael Yaw Offei is a respected economist who has worked with the IMF and the World Bank. He is also a respected former diplomat and a close friend of the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

Ghana’s total rail network is estimated to be 953 km (570 mi). For a country with a population of more than 30 million, experts say the mileage is too limited for the existing rail network to be very impactful.

Consequently, experts have often urged the authorities to invest more in rail transportation instead of the current focus on roads.

According to Mr. Michael Yaw Offei, another benefit that investment in rail transportation has to offer is jobs for the youth.

“In the rail industry, there are several job titles that come packaged with it; these include crew members, conductors, train engineers, and even cooks,” the retired economist, who is a patron of the Tema Premier Tennis Club and an admirer of the Rt. Hon. Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin for his brilliant performance, said.

He added that there are also jobs like utility clerks, yard managers, dispatchers, welders, diesel mechanics, signal maintainers, and carmen.

“And these jobs just scratch the surface of the employment potential of rail industries because we are not even looking at the possible industrial manufacture or assembling of componentry like coaches,” he added.

Mr. Michael Yaw Offei also pointed out that rail lines naturally generate markets and boost the local economies of towns, cities, and villages that rail lines snake through.