Railway workers have called on the government to reconsider its position on the use of haulage trucks to transport bauxite and other minerals from the mine to the ports.
According to them, such activity has contributed largely to the decline of the operations of the railway sector.
[contextly_sidebar id=”S43th6Gf4A1inlCl2OL8ZEFXX2YFPIvs”]Secretary of the Ghana Railways Workers Union Godwil Ntarmah speaking to Citi News at a National Executive Council meeting held in Takoradi lamented that “the reason why the railway sector has not been revamped is the trucks that are hauling bauxite and manganese.”
“If they are competing with us do you think anybody will invest in the railway which is declining every day? He questioned.
Adding up to why the use of these truck should be terminated Mr. Ntarmah, indicated that apart from the competition these trucks present to the ailing railway sector the “government will also have to consider whether it will continue to borrow to construct and repair roads to be destroyed by these haulage trucks when the railway has been there from centuries gone”.
“The government is pumping so much money into the road sector to construct road only for it to be destroyed by these trucks in no time,” he added.
Mr. Ntarmah indicated that the only suitable means of transporting minerals is the railway and so “if government will succeed in revamping the railway sector, the government’s policy on the use of roads will have to be reconsidered.”
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By Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana