Railway development to create local employment : Joe Ghartey

The Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, has told Parliament that the development of the railway sector will create local jobs, especially for the people living in the constituencies the rail lines would pass through.

The Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, has told Parliament that the development of the railway sector will create local jobs, especially for the people living in the constituencies the rail lines would pass through.

Mr Ghartey was speaking on the floor of the House yesterday to impress on the MPs to approve an amount of GHC518, 426,135 as an estimate for his Ministry for the 2017 financial year.

‘’When the construction of the lines begin, the youth at the constituencies where the rail will pass are the very people who would be employed to carry out the works. This will certainly create local jobs,’’ he said.

The Minister told the House that there were several investors who had expressed interest in the development of the railway.

He expressed the view that investment of this magnitude required a private sector drive, adding that government would carefully look into those avenues to make the railway industry a vibrant one.

The Minister revealed that his ministry was looking at the UK system of rail transport which is one of the most efficient and effective mode of transportation to make Ghana rail transportation a good one.

‘”The UK system of railways is the one that has the development sector standing on its own and the infrastructure sector standing on its own, mainly to see to the development of that sector,’’ the Minister noted.

He assured the House that the amount of money allocated to the ministry was a clear indication that there was serious business that the sector was going to undertake.

He revealed that the ministry was about to launch a railway development project that would see to the recruitment of persons from communities where the rail would be passing.

He added that the construction of the rail line to Paga had received excitement in the neighbouring Burkina Faso due to the commercial benefits the country would get in terms of trade.

Mr Ghartey said workers of the railway sector were delighted at the effort his ministry was making in bringing the sector back into life.

He warned that one area that is very crucial in the development of the rail system is the issue of galamsey and encroachment of lands around the lines.

He assured the House that his ministry would use dialogue to address all the issues.