Mr Speaker, I beg to
support the Motion as moved by the
Hon Minister and seconded by the
Chairman of the Committee, and to
add few words of my own.
Mr Speaker, on page 6 of the
Report, the Ministry gave the
indication that, finally, the Tema-
Mpakadan Railway Line (Standard
Gauge) would be completed. Few
weeks ago, the President visited the
site to inspect work and he sought to
create the impression or wish away
the role played by the National
Democratic Congress (NDC). Article
35(7) of the 1992 Constitution
requests the State to continue projects
that were started by the previous
Government. Indeed, I moved the
Motion for the approval of the loan
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
for the Tema-Mpakadan project here
in this House. It is difficult for me to
understand why President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
consistently ignores the role played
by the NDC in projects he inherited.
Mr Speaker, if that is the case, the
Bui Dam was an initiation by
President Kwame Nkrumah but it
was President John Agyekum Kufuor
who actually got the loan for its
construction. The actual construction
of the Bui Dam largely took place
under the regime of the NDC but
never has the NDC taken advantage
and pretended that we were the ones
who built the Bui Dam. So, what is it
that President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo cannot fathom by
giving credit where there should be
credit? It is just not right, especially
when we are doing “Nkabom
Budget”. When the President
basically goes to site to inspect work,
he must say that this is a project that
was approved by the NDC
Government and he led his Side to
approve this loan. They should give
credit. They should not pretend that it
was started by the previous NPP
Government. That does not lead us
into nkabom as a country.
Mr Speaker, more importantly on
this, as the Hon Chairman of the
Committee has said, this Project was
approved in November 2016. The
intention is that by the time the
project is completed, we would have
found a way of either building a port
facility at the edge of the river, create
a navigable tunnel in the Volta Lake
and take the goods to either Buipe or
Yapei, or continue the railway project
all the way to the north. We are about
completing this project. If we take the
goods from Tema to Mpakadan, what
are we going to do with them since
there is no facility there? Who is
going to take his container to
Mpakadan? What is he going to do
with it? I urge the Hon Minister for
Railways Development to
significantly consider this. The day
the contractor hands over this Project,
that would be a US$440 million spent
but the result would not be anything
that would inure to the benefit of the
people of this country. So, I would
like the Hon Minister to pay attention
to this.
Mr Speaker, indeed, this House, in
this current Parliament, has approved
a number of railway projects; €500
million for Amandi Construction and
others. These Projects are on-going
but we expect that these Projects are
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
completed in time to close the loop
because currently, some of these
railway projects are not in a proper
loop. We start from somewhere and
we end somewhere.
Mr Speaker, a serious issue came
up at the Committee level. It would
shock you to know that as we build
railways, some of our compatriots in
this country are digging galamsey
right under the railway. Imagine if
these railways become operational
and someone is digging galamsey and
he gets knocked down, the Member
of Parliament of the area would read
a Statement here that we should
sympathise with those people
because it is a life lost. Yes, I agree it
is life lost, which should not have
happened but while we have the
opportunity now, let us educate
people that railways are built to carry
rails. I do not understand why
anybody should find it necessary to
dig galamsey under a railway.
Mr Speaker, we have also seen
that on the completed sections of the
Tema-Mpakadan railway, there are
sections that the communities on both
sides needed to commute. They drive
their vehicles right across the
railway. The Ministry needs to take
steps to introduce safe level crossing
with signal so that when the trains are
coming, the public is warned and they
stay off for the trains to pass before
they cross the railway. It is currently
not part of this project, so I encourage
the Hon Minister to consider safe
crossings along the length of the
completed section and elsewhere in
the country.
Mr Speaker, the other issues about
compensation — We are aware that
the Ministry did well by paying the
bulk of the compensation to those
who are affected but there are few
outstanding ones that need to be
handled, and we encourage our
Colleague, the Hon Minister, to do
well to complete those ones so that
everybody would be rightly
compensated. Again, we need to
educate people as to why they should
stay away from the railway if it is
operational in order to save lives and
then we can encourage people to do
that safely.
Mr Speaker, with these few words,
I encourage my Hon Colleagues to
support this Motion for the approval
of the estimates.
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna
Iddrisu): Mr Speaker, I thank you for
the opportunity to contribute to the
Motion and to emphasise that Ghana
as a country must prioritise its
railway development and ensure that
adequate resources are allocated for
railway development in order for us
to improve the general transportation
of persons and goods, in particular,
across the country.
Mr Speaker, it is my view that this
annual budget funding amount that
Parliament allocates every year, this
House should take a position and
allocate US$200 million for the next
five years for anybody who wants to
build railway from Sewfi to Wa or
Bolgatanga. Then we would know
that every other year, US$200 million
of our Annual Budget Funding
Amount (ABFA) is used in building
durable infrastructure, other than
using it for consumption purposes.
Mr Speaker, we cannot be using
the returns from our oil resources for
consumption related expenditure. So,
it is my view that when Government
is prioritising, per the Petroleum
Revenue Management Act, 2011
(Act 815), moneys meant for the
ABFA, Government should prioritise
railway.
Mr Speaker, Government can
bring in a Korean or Japanese group
and just dedicate US$1 billion for
them to build an efficient rail system
from Wa to Takoradi, and we know
that every other year US$200 million
of the money is used to service it.
Mr Speaker, let me now refer to
page 9 of your Committee's Report. I would read from the second line. If
something is missing there, the
Chairman of the Committee may
want to answer.
Mr Speaker, it is stated that
GH₵618,238,688 is for the Ministry of Railways Development; then the
Report says there is an increase from
GH₵18,238,688 and that is described as 16.5 per cent. So, between
GH₵618 million and GH₵18 million, I do not understand the
percentage of 16.5 per cent. The Hon
Chairman of the Committee should
go to page 9. What was he seeking to
explain? I do not see the relationship
between GH₵618,238,688 and GH₵18,238,688 and the percentage increase of 16.5 per cent increase in
allocation. Maybe, there is a figure
there that is not being quoted rightly.
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
Mr Speaker, then, I would refer to
page 8 of your Committee's Report
and the Committee must account for
that. In Table 2: 2023 Budgetary
Allocations by Economic Classification
and Source of Funding, the internally
generated fund (IGF) anticipated by
the Ministry is GH₵5.1 billion and
they want to allocate GH₵4.1 billion
of their IGF to goods and services.
Where is the authorisation?
Mr Speaker, we know that
normally, it is between 10-20 per cent
of IGF that is allowed to be spent. But
if GH₵4.1 billion of GH₵5.1 billion
is taken, then 70 per cent of IGF has
been exceeded. Is that what the Hon
Minister for Finance has approved for
the purpose of IGF? Unless, I do not
understand the table.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry must
come with a warrant from the Hon
Minister for Finance approving that
they can spend that IGF on their
goods and services.
Mr Speaker, this weekend, I was
somewhere with the Hon Minister in
Adidome, around Mafi-Kumasi.
Driving through the railway line, we
did not see contractors at site. I
observed at every stage I passed,
particularly, Frankadua, from Mr
Thomas Nyarko Ampem's
Constituency. I noticed that at a
particular lane there, the work is
uncompleted even as one drives
through that particular structure.
Such a deplorable state of the road.
We only saw the police standing
there and inspecting motor vehicles.
What is the state of it? Then when we
turned on the Motorway to the right,
I did not see enough activity on it.
Mr Speaker, finally, while I speak
in support of the Motion, I conclude
with what you may be interested in
and I quote from paragraph 10.6 of
the Report:
“The Committee urges the Ministry for Railways Development
to collaborate with the Ministry of
Transport to ensure that the
Boankra Integrated Logistic
Terminal functions optimally”.
How does the Committee expect
the terminal to function optimally
when the construction has not yet
been completed? The Committee
must stop using word — When they
say “function optimally”, is there a
Boankra integrated logistic terminal?
And if there is no such terminal, then
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
why should the Committee use words
to say that it should function
optimally. The Committee must
ensure that it is done and done
properly; that works on it are
completed and the structure is in
place. The Committee should not put
this in their Report.
Mr Speaker, I would arguably ask
that the Hon Chairman expunges this
from the Report. Is there a Boankra
integrated logistics terminal which
should function optimally? Has the
Chairman of the Committee driven
there recently to see the state of work
there and thinks it would function
optimally?
Mr Speaker, if we accept this, the
Committee is misleading this House.
However, wholeheartedly, I support
the development of the Boankra
Inland Port but the Committee should
come to us with accurate information
on the status of it.
Mr Speaker, with this, I support
the Motion.
Majority Chief Whip (Mr Frank
Annoh-Dompreh): Mr Speaker, I
rise to speak in support of the Motion.
Mr Speaker, from the outset, I
want to support the Hon Minority
Leader on the call for a departure
from what we are used to, where this
drops in the ocean, in terms of the
investment to the railway sector in
our country. It is not the best.
Mr Speaker, I think that we have
to look at the financial model and
come to some conclusion that the
approach would not yield the
necessary dividend that, ultimately,
we are seeking to achieve. It would
not hence, we need to amend our
ways.
Mr Speaker, I drove from Accra to
Akosombo and with the Tema-
Mpakadan railway line, credit has to
be given to the Hon Minister and the
Government. I heard Mr Kwame
Governs Agbodza clearly when he
said that the President failed to
acknowledge what had been done
previously. Well, he may be justified
in saying what he said in support of
the Directive Principle Of State
Policy as the 1992 Constitution
espouses. However, the Hon Member
must also accept that eight years that
we sat in the Minority Side, there was
little activity on the Tema-Mpakadan
Kindly listen, Hon Member. There
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
was little activity. The real activity
took effect when this Administration
took over. That is a fact. —
[Interruption.] Well, maybe, the
Minority Side did the paper works;
we commend them highly. We
commend them for all the paper work
but the real practical translation of the
works started in the era of the New
Patriotic Party's (NPP) time. That is
a fact. — [Interruption.] So, when the
Minority Side is criticising, they have
to be fair.
Mr Speaker, I would like to
commend the Hon Minister. The Hon
Minister, in his other world, when he
was the Hon Minister for Lands and
Natural Resources, we all witnessed
what he did. He is doing well but I
think there is more room for
improvement. We want to pride
ourselves with a developed railway
line. That can be done. The matter of
Boankra needs not be over-
emphasised and the ambition is that it
would connect Tema to Boankra and
all the way to the northern part of the
country. That is the ultimate goal and
we would urge the Hon Minister to
focus on it. However, I must
emphasise that if we go the
traditional approach where we just
make some miniscule allocation to
the Ministry, we would not achieve
what we want to achieve.
Mr Speaker, elsewhere in Africa,
people have developed their railway
sector. What is the problem with us?
If it is funding, as the Report has
rightly captured. We cannot, entirely,
rely on the Government, so let us
look for a more audacious way, for
want of a better word, to raise the
necessary oxygen which is the
funding and develop our railway
sector. We know the importance of
railway to our economy. Therefore, I
hope that next year, when we are
passing the next Budget Statement,
we would not repeat these concerns
as a basic concern. Rather, we would
be talking about something else.
Mr Speaker, having said this, I
want to commend the Hon Minister
highly. One cannot help it, if they ply
the Tema-Mpakadan line -- The massive work that has been done
across the Volta River. For a long
time, we did not have that. So, at
least, let us commend the Hon
Minister while we are criticising him
to do more. We need to commend and
observe the good things that his
Ministry is doing while urging him to
Annual Estimates, 2023 — Ministry of Railway Development
do more. Thumps up to the Hon
Minister; we urge him to do more.
Mr Speaker, with these words, I
support the Motion and I urge the
House to adopt the Report of the
Committee.
