President John Dramani Mahama has signalled that the government is considering absorbing the reconstruction of the Western Rail Line under its flagship Big Push infrastructure programme, a move he said would unlock mineral wealth in the Western Corridor and ease the movement of cocoa to Ghana’s ports.
The President made the announcement on Friday, May 1, during his address at the 2026 National May Day parade at Jackson Park in Koforidua, in response to calls from organised labour for expanded infrastructure investment.
“We are considering absorbing the Western Rail Line under the Big Push programme,” Mahama said, adding that the completed rail link would open up bauxite and manganese concessions in the Western Corridor and reduce the cost of moving cocoa beans from farms to export points.
The announcement was framed as part of a broader effort to revive state assets and build industrial capacity. Mahama told workers that the Tema Oil Refinery was back in operation, and that the government had recapitalised the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the National Investment Bank (NIB). He added that the Tema Shipyard was also recovering and that other state-owned enterprises were running more efficiently.
The President used the occasion to challenge the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and organised labour to take an active role in holding state enterprise management accountable, arguing that workers bear the heaviest cost when institutions fail. “And so when you see things going wrong, don’t sit aloof. Point it out and make sure corrections are done,” he said.
TUC Secretary-General Joshua Ansah, responding from the podium, welcomed the government’s infrastructure commitments but stressed that state-led efforts alone could not resolve Ghana’s employment crisis. “While government-led job creation is welcome, sustainable employment must be driven by a supported and competitive private sector,” Ansah said. He also called on the government to bring down high lending rates and consider capping the spread between lending and deposit rates to encourage investment and job creation.
