Accra: The Minister of Transport, Joseph Nikpe Bukari, has disclosed that his Ministry has initiated a probe into the alleged misuse of GHS40 million released in 2024 for the rehabilitation of the Accra-Achimota-Nsawam railway line.
According to Ghana Web, the minister said his Ministry became aware of the issue after being informed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Development Authority. The report added that steps have since been initiated to determine what happened to the funds.
During an engagement with the media, Nikpe assured the public that whatever the outcome of the investigation may be, the findings will be made public. "This has come to my notice through the Chief Executive of the Railway Development Authority, and those were issues that happened in 2024," he said.
Concerns were raised after it emerged that although GHS40 million had been released for the rehabilitation works, the project was not carried out. "They actually raised these issues that in 2024, an amount of GHS 40 million was released for the rehabilitation of the Accra-Achimota-Nsawam rail line, but it wasn't done, and it is a matter of investigation," he was quoted to have said.
The minister stated that the investigation and its findings would determine what happened to the funds and whether there was any embezzlement or misapplication of the money. "We are hoping that when the investigations are concluded, we will know the truth about the matter, about who embezzled what or what happened," the minister added.
The probe follows calls by the General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, Benjamin Essuman, on government to conduct a full-scale investigation into the incident. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA), Frederick Appoh, had alleged that the funds, which were released to the Ghana Railway Company Limited for maintenance works, were instead used to purchase wooden railway sleepers that have reportedly deteriorated.