Krobo Residents Protest Deplorable Somanya-Odumase-Kpong Road, Issue 60-Day Ultimatum to President
Frustrated residents from the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo municipalities in Ghana’s Eastern Region staged a demonstration on October 14, 2025, to protest the dire state of the 24-kilometer Somanya–Odumase–Kpong road, demanding urgent government intervention or face escalated civil action.
The protest, led by a coalition of Krobo civic groups including Kloma Hengme and Dangme Youth for Development, culminated in the presentation of a petition to President John Dramani Mahama via the Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assemblies. Demonstrators decried the road’s “daily affliction” of deep potholes, choking dust, and hazardous conditions that have plagued the route since construction halted in early 2025.
Reconstruction began in 2016 but stalled after the 2017 government change, with re-awarding in 2024 leading to another abandonment post-2025 elections. The petition, signed by Kloma Hengme Chairman Isaac Tamatey Otu and Dangme Youth President Simon Teye, blames the neglect for respiratory illnesses, soaring vehicle repair costs, and business collapses, with ambulances struggling to reach patients.
The groups issued a 60-day ultimatum for the contractor’s return, using durable materials for heavy limestone trucks, and interim fixes like dust suppression, grading, and barriers near schools and health centers. “The patience of the Krobo people has been stretched beyond endurance,” the petition warned, threatening further action if unmet.
Assembly Member Francis Appiah, who received the petition, assured relay to the President, while coalition spokesperson Kofi Asare highlighted economic sabotage
