The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Railways Development Authority, Yaw Owusu says Ghana will not bear the cost of repairing the newly acquired train that was involved in an accident on the Tema-Mpakadan Railway line.
This is after the Prosecution in the accident case told the court that damage to the train is valued at valued at $2,138,466.86.
It follows an examination conducted on the train by its manufacturers.
Speaking to Starr News, the CEO of the Ghana Railways Development Authority, Yaw Owusu said the manufacturer will pay for the cost of repair work on the train as it had not been officially handed over to the government of Ghana at the time the crash occurred.
“At the point of the accident, the train had not been officially handed over to the government of Ghana. Also, the train was fully insured by the supplier and the manufacturer. Government of Ghana will not pay for repair works.
“Yes, $2 million is quiet huge amount of money but as i said, the train was fully insured by the supplier and Manufacturer. Therefore, government is not responsible for any of the 2 million dollars repair works.”
Abel Dzidotor, a 41-year-old truck driver who abandoned his vehicle on the Tema-Mpakadan rail lines causing the train accident is currently serving six months imprisonment after he was jailed by the Juapong Circuit Court.
This was after he pleaded guilty to three out of four charges namely – careless and inconsiderate driving, unauthorized stopping and causing harm.
He was convicted on his own plea.
*Brief facts*
According to Detective Chief Inspector Abel Anane, the prosecutor in the case, the complainants, Engineer Dr. Divine Olitey and Kwabena Bonsu, are both consultants of Ghana Railways Authority residing in Tema.
They reported that the accused person, 41-year-old Dzidotor Abel, was the driver in charge of a Hyundai truck with registration number GS 9018-20.
The Prosecutor said, on Thursday, April 18, 2024, between 0900 and 1300 hours, the complainants, together with their Polish counterparts, embarked on a site acceptance test of the new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 from Tema to Mpakadan.
He told tue Court that, during the testing of the train, upon reaching Abortia, a suburb of Juapong, the train collided with the aforementioned unmanned truck, which was stuck across the railway line at an unapproved area.
He said, the accused abandoned the truck without due care to other road users.
Detective Abel said, the truck sustained irreparable damage, while the train suffered some degree of damage.
The prosecutor stated that the accused driver went into hiding at Tagadzi, where he was arrested and arraigned before the court.
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
