This year has been declared the implementation year for the government’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, six months after its launch and preparatory works.
A staff member at the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, Dr Frank Agyire-Tetteh, said having put in place the structures for take-off last year, the government was ready to fully implement the policy this year to reap the needed economic dividends.
Dr Agyire-Tetteh, who represented the Presidential Advisor on the policy, Augustus Goosie Tanoh, in a panel discussion during the 77th Annual New Year School by the University of Ghana on Tuesday (January 6), said some lands had already been acquired along the Volta Corridor for the implementation of the policy. The panel discussion was on the topic, “Building a resilient economy for national growth and prosperity.”
Context
President John Mahama launched the 24-hour economy on July 2, 2025, as a policy initiative aimed at extending economic activities beyond the traditional daytime hours, allowing businesses to operate round the clock.
The concept is envisioned to boost productivity, create employment opportunities and enhance Ghana’s competitiveness on a global scale. It also seeks to leverage existing infrastructure and create new frameworks to support continuous operation across various sectors, including manufacturing, services and entertainment.
Economic resilience
Dr Agyire-Tetteh observed that when the 24-hour Economy Policy was effectively implemented, it had a huge potential to build economic resilience and growth in the long run. However, he said, for the policy to thrive, there must first be microeconomic stability to ensure integrated production along the value chain.
“The 24-hour Economy policy is a great initiative, but we cannot achieve it through mere slogans. There will have to be investment in human resources,” the Senior Lecturer of Economics at the University of Ghana said.
Dr Agyire-Tetteh said a stable economy was the cardinal challenge that would have to be overcome for the 24-hour Economy policy to thrive. He explained that since Ghana’s economy was import-driven, it required a stable local currency to work well.
Again, he said, since small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) imported raw materials, there was a need to have a strong exchange rate regime because a weak local currency against the dollar would lead to a high cost of production and affect economic growth.
Additionally, he stressed that there was a need for stronger political will to implement the 24-hour Economy policy to the fullest.
“Politicians should not be overthinking about winning votes to the extent that they put projects or factories in places that are not economically viable. We need discipline to ensure that the right things are done,” he said.
Support systems
Dr Agyire-Tetteh also stressed the critical role of the private sector in ensuring the success of the 24-hour Economy policy. He said the necessary enabling environment and support systems, including reliable power supply, would be put in place for the private sector to leverage for increased production.
For instance, he noted that the government had engaged security agencies at all levels to provide adequate security for companies and organisations operating under the 24-hour Economy.
Human resource
For her part, the Director of Human Resources at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Sedinam Charity Mammara, said that, much as access to reliable energy was a key requirement for the 24-hour Economy policy to be effective, the right kind of human resources was also critical to drive the policy.
“Without the right calibre of human resource, the policy cannot be successful,” she said.
She stressed that organisations needed to align their human capital development strategies with the larger objective of the 24-hour Economy and also make deliberate investment in skills development to help deliver on the policy.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh