Minister of Railway Development, John-Peter Amewu, says the government will soon arrest and punish individuals stealing components for fittings of the tracks on the Tema-Mpakadan railway.
This follows the observation that about 250 bolts and nuts have been stolen by unknown persons on the Tema Harbour-Afienya stretch of the 97-kilometer railway project prior to completion.
“Let me sound this warning to Ghanaians living along railway properties and the general public that this behaviour of stealing properties and equipment for projects is shameful and untoward. It should stop now,” Mr Amewu said.
He told the Ghana News Agency that with the installation of anti-theft devices on the railway and the kind of community and stakeholder engagement done, the thieves would soon be caught and dealt with according to law.
“The law will catch on any single citizen that makes an attempt to steal materials for the construction of rail lines. It’s so unfortunate they were not caught but any attempt further, the law will definitely catch on them,” the Minister said.
“We’ve done a lot of stakeholder engagement, particularly with the citizens…the contractor is installing the anti-theft systems on the tracks, which would make it difficult for the bolts and nuts to be removed,” he added.
Mr Amewu appealed to all Ghanaians to protect State properties and said: “Let’s be our own keepers and protectors of property that belong to Government…we should accept it as our own property and take good care of it.”
Despite not meeting several deadlines for the project, the sector minister was confident that with the progress made and assurance from the contractor, all works on the 97km Tema-Mpakadan railway would be completed by December 2022.
The project, which commenced in 2017 missed its July 2020 completion deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some technical challenges. It also missed the March 2022 completion date and is expected to be done by December this year.