Osudoku youth petition Mahama over seven development challenges

The Osudoku Youth Association (OYA) has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama over seven critical development challenges it says are affecting livelihoods, agriculture and infrastructure in the Osudoku Traditional Area of the Greater Accra Region.

The association, which said it was acting on behalf of chiefs, elders, women’s groups, farmers’ associations and residents of Osudoku, presented the petition on September 16, 2026, after a peaceful demonstration, calling for urgent government intervention.

Among the concerns raised are the lack of a market for locally produced rice, the poor state of roads, the abandonment of Phase 2 of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme rehabilitation project and the stalled Asutsuare Market project.

The association is also demanding consideration of the splitting of the Shai-Osudoku Constituency, the distribution of government-subsidised fertiliser to farmers under the Kpong Irrigation Scheme and the completion of abandoned toilet facilities constructed under the Ghana First initiative.

On rice production, the OYA said farmers in the area had produced in abundance since 2025 but were struggling to find buyers, resulting in large quantities of locally produced rice remaining in warehouses.

It attributed the situation to what it described as the flooding of the Ghanaian market with cheap and heavily subsidised foreign rice imports.

The association appealed to the government to introduce measures to regulate and reduce foreign rice imports and direct the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to purchase the stock of locally produced rice in Osudoku.

It said such an intervention would help prevent farmers who had taken loans from suffering further financial losses.

Poor road network

The association also drew attention to what it described as the deplorable condition of roads in the area, particularly during the rainy season.

It listed the Asutsuare-Akuse Road, Asutsuare-Asutsuare Junction Road, Osuwem-Tsopoli Road and inner roads in Volivo and Asutsuare among those requiring urgent attention.

According to the petition, some of the roads were awarded on contract more than three years ago, but some contractors had allegedly failed to return to site while others had undertaken work described by the association as substandard before leaving.

The OYA called on the Ministry of Roads and Highways to investigate the abandoned contracts, compel contractors to return to site and, where necessary, re-award the projects to competent contractors.



Kpong Irrigation Scheme

The association further raised concerns over the alleged abandonment of Phase 2 of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme rehabilitation project.

It said the project had been unattended to for about two years, affecting more than 300 farmers with over 600 hectares of developed farmland.

The association claimed that the affected farmers were unable to cultivate their farms as a result and appealed to President Mahama to direct the Ministry of Finance to release funds to enable the contractor to return to site and complete the project.

It said it had previously engaged the Ministers for Food and Agriculture and Finance, as well as the Greater Accra Regional Minister, but had yet to see what it considered positive action.

Asutsuare Market

The petition also highlighted the alleged abandonment of the Asutsuare Market project for more than two years.

The OYA said the project was intended to provide a modern trading facility but had been left incomplete, while traders continued to operate in exposed conditions.

It called for the contractor to be compelled to return to site and complete the project, and proposed that the facility could, if possible, be incorporated into the government's 24-hour market initiative.

Constituency split

On political representation, the association called for the Shai-Osudoku Constituency to be split into separate Shai and Osudoku constituencies.

It argued that the constituency covers two distinct traditional areas with different developmental needs and is geographically dispersed, making effective representation and equitable distribution of development difficult.

The association said President Mahama had promised during his campaign to consider splitting the constituency and urged him to initiate the necessary constitutional and administrative processes.

Fertiliser shortage

The OYA also claimed that more than 2,400 farmers cultivating over 4,000 hectares under the Kpong Irrigation Scheme had not received government-sponsored fertiliser for the current farming season.

It said the farmers had completed the required registration and follow-ups with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture but had yet to receive the inputs.

The association warned that a lack of fertiliser could reduce yields and affect food security, and therefore called for the immediate release and distribution of the subsidised fertiliser to the affected farmers.

Abandoned toilet facilities

The seventh concern raised in the petition was the alleged abandonment of toilet facilities constructed under the Ghana First initiative in communities including Asutsuare, Volivo, Osuwem and Akuse.

The association said several of the facilities had remained incomplete for years and had allegedly become hideouts for miscreants and reptiles.

It further claimed that the situation posed health and security risks while some residents continued to practise open defecation.

The OYA said it had approached the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly to seek clearance for beneficiary communities to mobilise resources to complete the facilities and establish a sustainable operational model.

It therefore appealed to President Mahama to intervene and support the communities and the Assembly to complete and operationalise the facilities.

The association said its demonstration was peaceful and constitutionally mandated, citing Article 21(1)(d) of the 1992 Constitution.

It described itself as law-abiding and said the action was intended to draw urgent attention to the development concerns rather than cause disruption.

The petition was copied to the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief of Staff, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, the Minister for Roads and Highways, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, the District Chief Executive of the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly and the Osudoku Traditional Council.