The Police in the Ashanti region has arrested a number of suspects for allegedly stealing railway line tracks after at Konongo, Juaso, Kumasi, Ejusu and Nkwakwa in the Eastern region.
Some of the suspects according to the police have been sentenced to jail while other suspects are still in court facing the law.
The Deputy Minister in charge of railways, Kwaku Asante Boateng, who is concerned about the development wants Ghanaians to help the government protect the railway lines as the government intensify its commitment in reviving the sector.
In 2017 President Nana Akufo Addo announced his commitment towards reviving the collapsing railways’ sector which was nonexistent in the Ashanti region for over a decade.
So far millions of dollars have been invested into the restructuring of the sector associated with the construction of new railway lines among others.
Despite the government struggle to bring back the railway sector into full operation in the region, some unpatriotic individuals are busy removing the railway lines metal panel for sale as scraps which often end in Tema for melting into other metal products at the expense of the country.
However, through the vigilance of police in Ejisu, Juaso, Obuasi and Konongo some suspects were arrested for stealing the state property.
On Thursday 26th August 2021 the deputy minister in charge of railways led a team from the ministry to inspect stolen railway line metal panels confiscated by the police in the Ashanti region kept at the Locomotive Workshop, Ejusu, Juaso and Konogo police stations.
The Ministry of Railways Development expressed concern about the continuous stealing of railway tracks, which is causing the country to lose money.
According to the Ministry, it costs the nation millions of cedis to construct a kilometre of a rail line, and that the continuous theft of the lines is hampering efforts at reviving the sector.
Deputy Minister for Railways Development, Kwaku Asante Boateng, who inspected the stolen railway lines called for public support to halt the trend.
Addressing the media, the Konongo Divisional police commander Chief Superintendent Shaibu Abubakar Sadique-Osei said, three suspects, are still in their custody facing prosecution while some have been jailed for over three years for stealing railway track metals.
