Author: Administrator

By Daniel Nii Okine

A viral video circulating across social media has forced the nation to confront a tragedy so jarring, so senseless, that it demands immediate national outrage. Along the Takoradi to Nsuta corridor in the Western Region, railway lines built with public funds now dangle in mid‑air, suspended above deep, dangerous pits carved out by illegal miners. The earth beneath these tracks has been eaten away, leaving behind stagnant pools of polluted water and a landscape scarred by reckless excavation.

What should be a thriving transport artery for hauling manganese to the Takoradi port or goods has been reduced to a grotesque symbol of state paralysis. The video’s contrast between a modern train and the mutilated rail line beneath it is a painful metaphor for Ghana’s condition: we speak of modernization, yet allow the foundations of our development to be destroyed in broad daylight.

If this sight does not provoke anger, then silence becomes complicity in national decay.

A Legacy of Political Evasion: NPP and NDC’s Shared Failure

How does a functioning nation permit the destruction of active, high‑value infrastructure under the watch of its security apparatus? The answer lies in the bipartisan negligence of Ghana’s political leadership. Both the NPP and the NDC have treated galamsey as a political bargaining chip rather than an existential threat.

When one party governs, the other exploits illegal mining communities for electoral gain. When power shifts, the roles reverse. The result is a cycle of political theatre, empty press briefings, and selective enforcement that emboldens illegal miners.

Ghana has a Ministry of Railways Development, a Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, regional security councils, police commands, military units, and national security operatives. Yet illegal miners, armed with excavators and high‑pressure hoses, operate freely on a public railway right‑of‑way. This is not a failure of capacity; it is a failure of courage.

The estimated cost of repairing the Takoradi–Nsuta line exceeds $18 million. That bill will be paid by ordinary citizens, not the political actors who allowed this destruction to fester.

A Global Contrast: Why This Would Be Impossible in China or Dubai

Imagine illegal miners digging beneath a railway line in China as the presented rhetorically asked. It would be treated as a national security breach, triggering immediate and uncompromising enforcement. In Dubai, no individual could set up an illegal operation beneath a metro track without swift intervention within minutes.

These nations understand a basic truth: infrastructure is sovereignty. To destroy a transport corridor is to sabotage the nation’s economic future.

Yet in Ghana, illegal miners dismantle sovereign assets with impunity, while millions of citizens are left to shoulder the cost of their greed.

The Price of National Silence

The narrator of the viral video states plainly that silence in the face of this destruction is an endorsement of national ruin. When rail lines collapse, manganese haulage stops. When haulage stops, state revenue collapses. When revenue collapses, government borrowing increases, taxes rise, and citizens pay for repairs that should never have been necessary.

We are financing the consequences of a criminal enterprise that benefits a reckless minority.

A Call for Immediate National Action

If Ghana wishes to prove that it is not a territory governed by illegal mining syndicates, decisive action is required now:

• Permanent Security Deployment — Station military units along major infrastructure corridors, including railways, river basins, and high‑tension lines, with full authority to dismantle illegal operations immediately.
• Prosecution of Local Enablers — Investigate and prosecute political actors, local authorities, and security officers who have shielded or profited from illegal mining.
• Bipartisan Protection of National Assets — Declare critical infrastructure as non‑negotiable national security zones, removing political cover for offenders.

A nation unable to protect its railway tracks cannot claim readiness for modernization. Ghana must abandon political rhetoric, enforce the law without fear or favor, and reclaim its steel arteries from the grip of destruction.

If a nation can watch its railway lines collapse into the pits of galamsey and still pretend to have leadership, then we are not merely failing, we are surrendering our future to national saboteurs in broad daylight.

By Amofa Baffoe, Republic of Ireland

The 24-Hour Economy does not mean every Ghanaian must work 24 hours, nor does it mean every business must remain open throughout the night.

It is an economic policy intended to enable and incentivise businesses and public services that can operate beyond the traditional 8am–5pm period to work multiple shifts, where economically viable.

In practical terms:

• A factory currently operating one 8-hour shift could be supported to operate two or three shifts, increasing production and creating additional jobs.
• Ports, logistics, transport, manufacturing, agro-processing, healthcare, hospitality, security, digital services and selected government services can operate for extended hours or continuously, depending on demand.
• The objective is to make better use of Ghana’s existing infrastructure and productive assets. A factory, port, processing plant or other expensive asset sitting idle for 16 hours every day represents unused productive capacity.
• It is also intended to encourage new investment and production, particularly in agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, tourism, logistics and other export-oriented industries.
• Government’s role is to create the enabling environment- including reliable energy, security, transport, financing/investment incentives, technology and appropriate labour arrangements- to make extended operations commercially viable.
• Most importantly, the programme is intended to create jobs by expanding productive activity, particularly opportunities for young people, while increasing exports and foreign-exchange earnings.

So the 24-Hour Economy should not be reduced to “shops opening at midnight” or people working 24 hours without rest.

Think of it this way: Ghana has 24 hours available every day, but much of our productive economy traditionally uses only about eight of them. The policy seeks to organise investment, infrastructure and labour so that appropriate sectors can productively use more of those hours through shifts.

We can certainly debate whether government is implementing it effectively, how many jobs it has actually created and whether the promised investment will materialise. Those are legitimate questions.
But first, we should distinguish the concept from its implementation.

By; Harry Hammond I gozaro007@gmail.com / 0244658466 / 0207698171

In the shadows of Ghana’s justice system, there’s a group of individuals who show up every day to manage the chaos, the conflicts, and the complexities that come with keeping society safe from those who’ve broken its rules. They are the prison officers; the backbone of a system that often doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

A Job That Builds Patience, Not Just Muscles. 

Prison work is not for the faint-hearted. While some careers build physical strength, this one build something far tougher: patience. Day in, day out, officers navigate a world where tensions run high, resources are scarce, and the stakes are personal. They are tasked with keeping order in environments where unpredictability is the only constant.

Those who don’t understand the job often assume it’s about locking doors and throwing away keys. But anyone who’s ever set foot inside a prison knows it’s far more complicated. It’s about balance — restraint and firmness, empathy and authority. It’s about reading unspoken cues, diffusing rage before it erupts, and making split-second decisions that could mean the difference between safety and catastrophe.

“Those Nobody Wants to See”

The public rarely thinks about prisons until something goes wrong. But someone has to do the hard work of keeping those who’ve broken the law contained, rehabilitated (if possible), and away from the rest of us. Prison officers are the ones who do it, often with minimal resources and maximum scrutiny.

They deal with individuals that society doesn’t want to think about, the violent, the troubled, the marginalized who ended up on the wrong side of the law. And they do it without the luxury of walking away at 5 PM. Theirs is a 24/7 responsibility, where “shift work” includes nights, weekends, and holidays.

“Handle with Guts, Not Just Hands”

Some people think prison officers should be cold, unfeeling enforcers. But the reality is that raw guts and intelligence are what get them through the day. They don’t just “manage criminals” they manage people. Broken people, angry people, sick people, desperate people.

They do it in facilities that are often overcrowded, underfunded, and overlooked. They do it knowing that public sympathy is usually with the inmate, not the officer. And still, they show up. They separate feuding gangs, talk down suicidal inmates, and stand between violence and victims (both inside and outside the walls).

A Call for Respect and Resources.

To every prison officer doing this thankless job: Respect. Not just because of what you do, but because of how you do it often with professionalism and humanity, despite the system’s shortcomings. You are the thin line that ensures prisons don’t become breeding grounds for more chaos.

But respect isn’t enough. Ghana’s prison officers need better resources, better training, and better conditions to do their jobs safely and effectively. They need society to recognize that rehabilitation is part of their mandate, and that they’re not just jailers they’re part of a system meant to reduce recidivism and restore lives.

A System That Needs Reform, Too. 

This isn’t a call to romanticize prison work. The system itself needs urgent reform overcrowding, lack of rehabilitation programs, and inadequate healthcare are ticking time bombs.

But reform starts with acknowledging the people on the front lines. The officers who, despite it all, get the job done. Who keeps the peace. Who help inmates take steps toward redemption.

To them: Thank you. Your work is seen. Your patience is heroic. And your contribution to society is greater than many realize.