Amenfi Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Joana Gyan Cudjoe, has outlined a long-term 13–20-year development roadmap aimed at addressing the constituency’s infrastructure, education, healthcare, employment, agriculture, energy, sanitation and other development challenges.
The MP made the disclosure during a meeting with NDC communication officers, branch executives, party members and representatives from communities across Amenfi Central, where she presented an account of projects and interventions undertaken before and since assuming office.
According to the MP, the engagement was intended to ensure that party communicators and executives had a comprehensive understanding of the development interventions already undertaken, projects currently in progress, challenges confronting communities and the issues being pursued through lobbying with government agencies and other stakeholders.
She said the meeting also provided an opportunity for participants to openly discuss the realities confronting the constituency and agree on a realistic long-term development strategy.
Mrs. Cudjoe listed more than 60 interventions and forms of support provided to individuals and communities in Amenfi Central and beyond.
Among them are four-year scholarships for 120 basic-school pupils, 60 percent academic-fee support for 47 university students, and GH¢91,000 in part-payment of academic fees for 182 tertiary students.
She also cited separate full university-fee support for more than 200 students across Ghana, assistance with university admission fees, support for community teachers and the provision of school furniture and construction materials.
Other educational interventions include support for classroom renovations, teachers’ bungalow projects, the purchase of land for a school project and the initiation and sponsorship of the Amenfi Central Tertiary Students Symposium.
The MP also highlighted GH¢100,000 support provided to a Level 400 GIMPA student to help transform a catfish business plan into a functioning enterprise.
On healthcare, Mrs. Cudjoe said more than GH¢3 million had been provided towards surgeries, medical treatment and other healthcare needs for people in Amenfi Central and other parts of the country.
She said her office had also supported CHPS compounds and health facilities with laboratory and medical equipment, while free health screenings and medication had been provided to residents.
More than 2,000 people, she said, were screened at Agona Amenfi, alongside the distribution of thousands of sanitary pads.
The MP also mentioned food, clothing and other humanitarian assistance provided to vulnerable residents and families requiring urgent support.
According to Mrs. Cudjoe, more than 300 jobs have been created for graduates and non-graduates, including employment opportunities for young people from Amenfi Central through her companies and businesses.
She also said loans had been provided to 78 businesses, while a block factory at Agona Amenfi was creating more than 30 jobs.
She further cited block factories established in three regions, each providing employment opportunities for more than 20 workers, as well as additional jobs created through her mining and other businesses.
Women’s groups in several communities, including Kwamang, Manukrom, Ankasie, Kyeikrom, Ajakamanso, Samfifre, Kwabikrom, Anomatewa, Nantiedi, Tuntum-Samfifre, Kwakubuah and Donkorkrom, have also received seed funding and other forms of support, she said.
Farmers have similarly benefited from approximately GH¢100,000 worth of farming equipment, including cutlasses, long boots and spraying machines.
Other livelihood interventions include support for youth businesses, entrepreneurship, sewing machines and livelihood activities.
Mrs. Cudjoe also listed support for five mechanised boreholes and maintenance of 32 water systems.
She said interventions had also been made to facilitate and fund transformer replacements at Kyeikrom and Wuratrem Domeabra, alongside support for streetlights, electricity meters, electricity poles and other power-related needs.
Bridges, community infrastructure, schools, CHPS compounds, durbar and community centres and self-help projects have also received various forms of support, including cement, iron rods, roofing sheets, cash and other materials.
The MP also disclosed that GH¢60,000 worth of food items was donated to the Muslim community during Ramadan in 2024, with an additional GH¢20,000 in cash support.
Support had also been extended to Hiawa Prisons, while assistance to students, women, farmers, traders, young people, vulnerable families and persons requiring urgent medical attention continues.
The MP identified nine development projects currently at various stages of implementation.
They include:
– A CHPS compound at Hiawa;
– A CHPS compound at Adidase;
– A CHPS compound at Jedua Kesse;
– A CHPS compound at Ankasie;
– A six-unit classroom block at Kramokrom;
– A three-unit classroom block at Bonsie;
– An ultra-modern KG block and office at Agona Camp;
– A six-unit classroom block at Atta Ne Atta; and
– Completion of an abandoned CHPS compound at Ankwaso.
She stressed that lobbying and engagement would continue for additional projects in other communities.
A major outcome of the meeting was the identification and documentation of 200 development challenges and needs across Amenfi Central.
The issues span virtually every major sector of the constituency’s development.
The MP said the constituency continues to face challenges including poor road networks, inadequate feeder and farm-to-market roads, bad community roads, inadequate bridges and culverts, poor drainage and high transportation costs.
These challenges, she noted, affect the movement of cocoa and other farm produce, access to healthcare, school attendance and the ability of businesses to operate effectively.
The meeting also identified unreliable electricity supply, inadequate and overloaded transformers, electricity-extension needs, meter problems, inadequate poles and insufficient streetlighting.
Poor mobile network coverage, weak mobile data, unreliable internet and inadequate telecommunications infrastructure were also identified as major challenges, particularly for remote communities.
According to the MP, poor connectivity affects students, teachers, businesses and residents seeking to access online government and financial services.
Healthcare needs identified include additional CHPS compounds, better-equipped health centres, stronger hospital services, medical equipment, laboratories, diagnostic services, ambulances, more health professionals and specialist services.
Maternal and child healthcare, access to medicines, emergency care, preventive screening and the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals were also highlighted.
In education, the constituency requires additional classroom blocks, KG facilities, furniture, teaching materials, laboratories, ICT facilities, libraries and stronger STEM, technical and vocational education.
The MP also identified the need for more teachers and better facilities for them, increased tertiary opportunities and, in the long term, a university or major tertiary institution in Amenfi Central.
Youth unemployment, graduate unemployment and underemployment were identified among the constituency’s pressing challenges.
Mrs. Cudjoe said there was a need for skills-training centres and apprenticeships in areas such as construction, electrical work, welding and fabrication, plumbing, carpentry, automotive mechanics, agriculture, mining-related technical skills, ICT, coding and entrepreneurship.
She also stressed the need for start-up capital, business-management training and sustainable local employment opportunities.
The MP said farmers require better access to mechanisation, modern farming equipment, inputs, extension services, storage facilities, warehouses, irrigation and markets.
The development of livestock and poultry farming, farmer cooperatives, agricultural processing and stronger value chains were also identified as priorities.
The constituency also needs modern markets, commercial centres, improved market sanitation and storage facilities, as well as stronger support for market women, traders and small businesses.
Mrs. Cudjoe said the absence of key government agencies and offices in the constituency was another challenge.
She called for stronger public-service infrastructure, a government administrative complex, better logistics and vehicles for government agencies, as well as motorbikes for officers serving remote communities.
The meeting also identified the need for stronger police presence and infrastructure, security vehicles, improved fire-service capacity, emergency-response services and disaster-management systems.
Access to clean drinking water, additional mechanised boreholes and sustainable maintenance of water systems were highlighted as key priorities.
Sanitation challenges include inadequate public toilets, poor waste disposal, indiscriminate dumping, insufficient waste collection and drainage problems.
Environmental concerns include pollution of rivers and water bodies, land degradation, irresponsible and illegal mining, the need for land reclamation, forest and farmland protection and stronger environmental monitoring.
The MP said responsible and sustainable mining, alongside climate-resilient infrastructure, must form part of the constituency’s long-term development strategy.
Mrs. Cudjoe said the extensive list of challenges demonstrates why she believes Amenfi Central needs a long-term development master plan rather than short-term promises.
She noted that many of the problems had accumulated over approximately 32 years and could not realistically be resolved within a single year or parliamentary term.
“I did not create these problems in one year. But I see them. I have identified them. I have documented them. And I accept the responsibility to work, lobby and push for solutions step by step,” she said.
She explained that many of the identified needs had already been presented to relevant ministries, departments, agencies and government offices, with lobbying and follow-ups continuing.
According to her, development requires planning, budgeting, approvals, procurement, funding, engineering, implementation and sustained monitoring.
The MP emphasised that the proposed 13–20-year period should not be interpreted as a promise that residents must wait two decades before seeing development.
She said the roadmap is intended to provide a framework for solving problems according to their urgency, complexity and available resources.
“If we can solve something today, we push to solve it today. If we can solve it this year, we push to solve it this year. If it requires several years, we start the process now,” she said.
She added that the objective is to achieve as much as possible before the end of the roadmap.
Mrs. Cudjoe said every year should produce measurable improvements in the constituency.
She listed improved roads, better electricity supply, stronger healthcare, additional school infrastructure, clean water, improved telecommunications, jobs, skills training, business support, opportunities for women, agricultural assistance, government services and new investments as some of the indicators.
She proposed an annual assessment based on five key questions: what was inherited, what was solved, what was completed, what was started and what remains to be addressed.
She also said the constituency must continuously identify the next priorities and sustain lobbying efforts.
The MP acknowledged that the scale of the challenges makes it unrealistic to promise an immediate solution to every problem.
“I cannot promise that problems accumulated over decades will disappear overnight,” she said.
Instead, she pledged to pursue realistic development, proper planning, hard work, strong lobbying, persistent follow-up, responsible partnerships, innovative approaches, accountability and measurable progress.
She said she would allow the work, projects, beneficiaries, communities and results to demonstrate the impact of her efforts.
Mrs. Cudjoe said the development of Amenfi Central could not be achieved by the MP alone.
She called for collaboration among government, the District Assembly, traditional authorities, communities, businesses, investors and legitimate development partners.
The ultimate objective, she said, is to establish a coordinated development framework capable of addressing the constituency’s needs “problem by problem, project by project, and community by community.”
She reiterated that the proposed roadmap is not about waiting for 20 years but about working continuously and measuring progress along the way.
“We are not waiting 20 years — we are working now,” she stated.
The MP urged NDC communication officers and executives to return to their communities and communicate both the achievements and the challenges honestly, while explaining the ongoing projects, lobbying efforts and long-term development plans.
By 1960news.com
