Some workers of the Ghana Railway Company Limited in the Western Region are enraged after learning that machinery at the renovated workshop in Essikado, has been scrapped.
Other administrative and technical offices, including the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s office, have also been ransacked. Workers who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed disapproval of Management’s decision to auction the machinery, arguing that the equipment was functional and could be used for maintenance work on the Western Rail line.
In the last quarter of 2025, the government authorized private scrap dealers to scrap tonnes of metal belonging to the Ghana Railway Company in the Western Region.
The General Secretary of the Ghana Railway Workers Union, Benjamin Essuman, clarified at the time that the decision was to allow the government to raise funds to pay outstanding salaries of workers that had been in arrears for over a year.
According to the General Secretary, these private scrap dealers were to scavenge old narrow-gauge rail lines, wagons, and other obsolete and broken equipment of the company located within the Western Rail Line.
But that has not been the case. A workshop in Essikado that was renovated in 2018 under the then Ministry of Railway Development has not been spared.
Heavy-duty equipment used in railway maintenance has been scrapped. Every piece of metal at this workshop, except for the cranes and a few equipment, has been removed. Offices at the enclave have also been ransacked. The development has heightened tension among workers, with many fearing the company is being dismantled.
“The main workshop, and even a portion of the wagon section, were dismantled. We’ve heard the structure itself was auctioned for scrap to two contractors. Our workshop contained a great deal of machinery, not all of which was obsolete or faulty. They have taken even the functional equipment as scrap. As we speak, neither Kumasi, Accra, Nsuta, Tarkwa, Location, nor Takoradi has any useful equipment remaining,” one worker of the company narrated.
Another worried worker said, “Before the contractor could formally hand over the site to the Railways Company, individuals broke into our offices and stole company property.”
“Recently, we pursued a young man who attempted to loot from the office; his father works here. Due to the rising burglary, the contractor has had to install new locks. They have essentially destroyed everything,” he added.
As there isn’t much clarity in terms of the scope of work for these private scrap dealers, workers fear the superstructure of the renovated workshop and the remaining materials may soon be scrapped. Operations via the Western Rail Line have stalled for some time now, with a mounting wage bill yet to be cleared.
What seems to alarm these workers is the pending retrenchment of workers on the company’s most productive line. Though contractors are working on a new standard-gauge line towards Awaso, the workers wish to know where their fate lies in all these developments.
