Claim: Technical Advisor at the Office of the Vice President, Dr Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, says that the National Democratic Congress, between 2012 and 2016, failed to undertake projects aimed at increasing the country’s railway network.
Verdict: DUBAWA Ghana has found the claim to be false. In November 2016, the erstwhile administration commissioned the Sekondi/Takoradi-Kojokrom suburban railway line. The project added about 15km to the country’s railway network.
Full Text
Officials of the ruling New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress continue to debate over who has delivered more infrastructural development in the country.
Whilst the ruling government insists that its dedication to infrastructural development is unprecedented, the opposition National Democratic Congress has always begged to differ on the argument.
Advancing such conversation on Good Morning Ghana, a socio-political television program that airs on Accra-based Metro TV on Weekdays, Dr Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, a technical advisor at the Office of the Vice President, accused the erstwhile John Mahama administration of failing to invest in the country’s railway sector.
He made the statement when he was reacting to a declaration by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a former Deputy Communications Minister during the erstwhile administration, that the railway work was the only major infrastructural work being undertaken by the current administration.
“When you go into this arena, and you say the Tema-Mpakadan railway is the only thing that is being done, of course, but what did you do? Not even a single kilometre of rail was added to our rail network under John Mahama,” Dr Kabiru Mahama said on the Feb 9, 2023, edition of the show.
The show was streamed live on Facebook, and Dr Kabiru Mahama’s statement can be found between minutes 1:45:20 and 1:45:50.
Verification
Prior to the 2016 elections, the National Democratic Congress published what it called the “Green Book.” The book documents some of the achievements of President John Mahama during his time in office between 2012 to 2016.
Page 86/87 of the book, details of the government’s work in improving the railway sector were highlighted.
“Work on the Sekondi-Takoradi via Kojokrom railway line has been completed,” the government touted in the book.
“In addition, a modern train station is almost complete at Sekondi. Work is also ongoing on the Takoradi and Butuah Train Stations,” they continued.
We found various media publications, including one by State media, Graphic.com.gh, that corroborate the completion of the Sekondi/Takoradi-Kojokrom railway line.
President John Mahama last Saturday inaugurated the newly constructed Sekondi-Takoradi-Kojokrom suburban railway line. It declared that “This marks the beginning of the transformation of the railway network in Ghana,” the 2016 publication by Graphic.com.gh reads.
Other 2016 publications about Mahama inaugurating the project can be found here, here and here.
Referring to the 2016 budget statement (Page 118), the government mentioned the Sekondi-Takoradi-Kojokrom railway project and said that it would be completed by the end of 2016.
“Mr Speaker, the Ghana Railway Development Authority is reconstructing the Sekondi-Takoradi via the Kojokrom section of the Western Line to provide sub-urban passenger rail transport service between the twin cities of Sekondi-Takoradi. The work is about 50 per cent complete and will be completed by the end of 2016.”
In that same budget (Page 34), it was reported that an “amount of GH¢41.8 million was spent on transport infrastructure in respect of the redevelopment and construction of railway lines, railway stations, and the supply of rolling stock.”
In the budget statements for 2014 (Page 125) and 2015 (Page 101), we found that various updates on the Sekondi-Takoradi-Kojokrom suburban railway project were given.
In the 2017 Budget statement of the Ministry of Railways Development, the Sekondi-Takoradi via Kojokram railway project was mentioned among the key performance of the Ministry in 2016.
“Under the Rail Sector, reconstruction of the Sekondi-Takoradi via Kojokrom Suburban railway line is 95% complete,” the report said.
DUBAWA Ghana found no central data point for railway network development in Ghana across the years.
Conclusion
At least the erstwhile administration added 15km to Ghana’s rail network through the Sekondi-Takoradi-Kojokrom suburban railway project inaugurated in November 2016.
