The Paramount Chief of the Essikado Traditional Area in the Western region, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, has called for urgent national focus on Ghana’s railway sector, describing it as the nation’s surest path to sustainable development and economic independence.

Speaking at the German Embassy–JoyNews Climate Talks on the theme “Sustainable Mobility for Ghana: Unlocking the Potential of Railway Transport,” Nana Nketsia V, who is also an honorary member of the Railway Union, lamented Ghana’s continued reliance on foreign loans for infrastructure projects while neglecting its railway potential.

“I still believe that our only salvation as a country lies in the railways. However we develop it, we can. Some countries have developed railways without foreign investment. No foreigner is going to come and develop the railways for you,” he said.

The chief criticised Ghana’s development priorities, describing them as misplaced and unsustainable. He recounted a meeting where a road project funded through a foreign loan was approved, only for the road to serve as a route for exporting the country’s raw materials.

“I was sitting down feeling like laughing and crying,” he said. “That road we were taking a loan to construct and pay interest on was going to an area to be used to cart our resources out. They were building it for Europe, but we take it as development because we’ll drive on it for the next 10 years. Meanwhile, we could have built a railway in that section.”

Nana Nketsia V argued that investing in rail infrastructure would not only improve domestic mobility but also strengthen local industries, reduce dependence on imported fuels, and drive sustainable national growth.