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A former Minister for Education under the erstwhile John Agyekum Kufour Administration, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has attributed the slow development of the railway sector to its unattractiveness to investors.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart explained that returns are usually not forthcoming in the sector, hence discussions around investment in railway development tend to disinterest investors.
“Investors quickly analyse and question how they will get back what they have invested,” Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi added on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofoↄ morning show, Friday, May 13, 2022.
He continued: “When you consider passenger rail the world over, it is subsidized, so it is not relied on for profits”.
The onetime Member of Parliament for Techiman North Constituency also mentioned that the railways may be used for freight as has been the practice in the past when volumes of timber and cocoa were transported, “but that too does not tally when you analyse it [the revenues]”.
Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi who is vying for the position of National Chairman of the NPP therefore argued that government relying on borrowing to fund the railway projects in the country was most favourable because other options available have shortcomings.
According to him, transporting minerals resources via railways was ideal for investment, however, minerals such manganese and iron ore have both lost values in recent times hence could not meet expectations.
“We can find iron ore from Yendi. When you travel from Western all the way to Hamley, the scarp in the terrain is full of manganese. So if we extract these minerals and transport them via rail, that is where we are going to get money. That is where the investor is interested in.
Unfortunately, the price of manganese has fallen. We have good quality of iron ore in Sheni 4.2%, but its expiration has not been finalised, so the only option available is for government to borrow to construct the railways.”
