Members of Parliament yesterday put the Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, on her toes for the delay in rehabilitating the Accra-Nsawam railway line which she promised last year it would be done by the end of this year.
The transport minister was summoned to the House after New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, had filed a question to find out from her what her outfit was doing currently to revamp the Accra-Nsawam railway line.
The Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP in November last year, filed the same question for the minister to answer but the MP was compelled to ask the same question yesterday when he claimed that nothing had been done on that railway line.
Ms Dzifa Attivor told parliament that the government had spent GH¢65,285 to replace 1,195 wooden sleepers and 200 steel ones on the line.
According to her, basic maintenance works continued to be carried out by the Ghana Railway Company Limited to ensure safety of operations on the line and that the ministry had engaged Team Engineering as consultant to do the front end engineering design for the Accra-Nsawam line.
This, she said, would allow detailed design of the line and accordingly prepare it for construction when funds are made available.
She also said that the ministry had engaged Pricewaterhouse Coopers to advise government on private-public partnership and to assist in engaging a private sector investor to partner government.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh challenged the minister to go round with him to inspect the line since nothing had been done as she was claiming.
According to him, he had gone along the lines on three occasions in the company of media practitioners since he first asked the question last year and that most of the metal sleepers and railings had been stolen.
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