President Mahama Transfers Over 100 Railway Workers to Tema to Support Expanded Rail Operations
President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the redeployment of more than one hundred railway workers from the Western Region to the Tema administrative region, in a strategic move designed to strengthen operational capacity for the country’s upgraded rail infrastructure. The directive, announced on 20 October 2025, coincides with his instructions to extend the rail line from Tema Port to the Dawa Industrial Enclave, part of Ghana’s broader transport modernisation agenda.
During a meeting with organised labour officials led by the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah, President Mahama explained that the reassignment of staff is linked to preparations for the newly established Tema-Mpakadan rail corridor and the forthcoming extension to Dawa. The port-to-industrial-enclave railway is expected to boost cargo movement and worker mobility between Tema and the Ashaiman–Dawa area.
The transfer covers a variety of railway staff, including those with operational, maintenance and logistical duties currently stationed in the Western Region. Under the new assignment they will be posted to Tema to help manage the rail line’s transition into full operational mode. Retired workers in the Western Region have also been assured compensation.
President Mahama noted that while awaiting the full completion of the Tema–Mpakadan Inland Port on the Volta Lake, the Tema–Port to Dawa line must be prioritised and delivered without further delay. He described the strategic importance of the rail link: “This route will not only ease freight from the Port to the Industrial enclave but enable commuting for workers from Ashaiman.”
He also addressed salary arrears in the railway sector, stating that the Minister of Finance will be briefed to release allocations for outstanding payments. The meeting emphasised that railway infrastructure upgrades and staff reforms must be carried out hand-in-hand.
The transfer comes on the back of recent tensions between the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) and the Railway Workers’ Union, which has threatened to resist operations until salary issues are resolved. Observers interpret President Mahama’s move as part of a broader effort to re-energise rail operations and assure staff of their crucial role in the sector’s transformation.
For Ghana’s rail sector the redeployment is highly significant. The 97 km standard gauge Tema–Mpakadan line, commissioned in late 2024, is a flagship infrastructure project meant to link Tema Port with inland logistics platforms. By assigning experienced workers to Tema, the government aims to ensure the line achieves efficient, sustainable operations as it shifts from construction to full service delivery.
Transport analysts say the redeployment may also signal the government validating Tema as a central rail hub for both freight and commuter traffic. The planned extension to Dawa, a key industrial zone near Accra, adds to that logic. The closer placement of railway talent at Tema means quicker maintenance response, better coordination of cargo flows and more reliable daily operations.
However, the transfer also raises questions for the Western Region, which will lose a significant number of railway personnel. Local unions and community leaders there may press for assurances that staff displacements are managed with transparency and that services in the region will not be disrupted.
From a labour-relations perspective, the move can be read as a handshake between government and organized labour: redeployment to a key service corridor in exchange for progress on outstanding salary and working-condition issues. The presence of the TUC and railway unions in the meeting suggests that dialogue is still in motion, and the redeployment is being framed as development rather than unilateral direction.
Ultimately, President Mahama’s directive underscores the government’s commitment to modernising Ghana’s transport backbone. By strengthening the human resources component – deploying qualified railway workers to the front-line location of Tema – the administration aims to make Ghana’s rail network more robust and its operations more efficient.
What happens next hinges on the receiving systems at Tema: how well the new staff settle, how smoothly assets are reallocated from other regions, and whether the redeployment helps bolster readiness for full rail service expansion.
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