Hopes for Accra’s futuristic SkyTrain project continue to dim as legal proceedings involving two top former officials of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) face yet another delay, intensifying public concern over accountability for stalled infrastructure projects.
On Tuesday, May 20, an Accra High Court adjourned the criminal case involving Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, the former Board Chairman of GIIF, and Solomon Asamoah, the Fund’s former Chief Executive Officer, to Monday, May 26. The adjournment followed reports that Ameyaw-Ekumfi, who was expected to take his plea, had been rushed to the University of Ghana Medical Centre due to ill health.
This case has become emblematic of a broader issue—how Ghana’s ambitious infrastructure projects often fall victim to weak oversight and questionable financial management.
At the heart of the trial is a contentious $2 million payment made in 2019 to Africa Investor Holdings Limited in Mauritius, purportedly for feasibility studies related to the Accra SkyTrain project—an elevated light rail transit system that never saw the light of day.
The project, envisioned to transform urban mobility in the capital and reduce congestion, was to be developed under a $2.6 billion build-operate-transfer agreement with a South African consortium. It promised to carry 10,000 passengers per hour per direction across 194 kilometers, utilizing advanced, automated Aeromovel technology. But despite flashy announcements and signing ceremonies, the tracks were never laid.
According to the State, the $2 million was disbursed without the requisite approval of the GIIF board, violating due process. The funds, investigators claim, were transferred at the direction of the former CEO with the former Board Chair’s endorsement—neither of whom has accounted for the expenditure to date.
While the accused await trial, the former CEO, Solomon Asamoah, remains in custody after failing to meet stringent bail terms that include a GH¢15 million bond and two justifiable sureties. He was also required to surrender both his Ghanaian and UK passports and report to the police three times weekly.
The charges—willfully causing financial loss to the State, intentional dissipation of public funds, and conspiracy to commit crime—are being prosecuted under Sections 23(1) and 179A(3)(a) of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Critics argue that the SkyTrain saga is more than a failed project—it is a symbol of how visionary infrastructure plans can be derailed by poor governance and lack of accountability. “What was marketed as a transport revolution has turned into a courtroom drama,” said a transport policy analyst. “The loss is not just financial—it’s social, economic, and reputational.”
As the public awaits the outcome of the case, questions continue to mount: How was such a large payment authorized without board oversight? What safeguards exist to prevent future financial missteps? And perhaps most crucially—will Ghanaians ever see the SkyTrain take off?
