The farming community of Mepe-Avetakpo in the Ho West District of the Volta Region has expressed deep frustration with their Member of Parliament, Honourable Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, and the Ho West District Chief Executive (DCE) over persistent neglect and lack of development.
The residents have threatened to withdraw from the Ho West constituency and seek realignment with their traditional mother constituency, North Tongu, if urgent attention is not given to their dire social and infrastructure needs.
Mepe-Avetakpo, situated on land belonging to the Abutia Traditional Area but settled predominantly by natives of Mepe from North Tongu, claims to have been abandoned by both the MP and the District Assembly. Despite repeated appeals, the community says it has been left without basic amenities such as potable water, electricity, healthcare facilities, good roads, and telecommunication networks.
Residents accuse Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah and the Ho West DCE of sidelining the community due to its settlers’ traditional ties to North Tongu, resulting in systemic exclusion from social and infrastructural development projects. This perceived discrimination, they say, has led to years of neglect and worsening living conditions.
“We only see our MP during election campaigns. Once he secures our votes, he disappears until the next political season,” lamented community leaders. The community reports that promised projects, including a CHPS compound and electricity installations, have either stalled or been abandoned for years.
A recent visit by journalists confirmed the deplorable state of infrastructure: half-built electricity poles, poor road networks flooded during rains, and a collapsed primary school with no functioning teachers. While the U.S. Embassy helped fund new classrooms after a devastating storm, the Ghana Education Service under the Ho West District has refused to staff the school adequately, leaving many children out of school.
Health services are equally dismal. The community’s CHPS compound, initiated by the MP over a decade ago, remains unused and overgrown. During recent disease outbreaks, locals were told to purchase their own medications as no assistance was forthcoming from district health authorities.
The residents also disclosed that attempts to engage the MP and district officials have been met with silence. They fear the neglect is a calculated effort to force them to abandon their land and return to North Tongu.
“Our calls for development fall on deaf ears because of political and traditional biases. This is not just neglect; it is selective discrimination,” they declared, threatening to boycott the 2028 elections and formally request boundary changes to join North Tongu Constituency.
The community’s grievances paint a grim picture of governance failure at the local level, with residents appealing directly to President John Dramani Mahama’s government to intervene and ensure equitable development and service delivery.
