Analysis of the 24-hour economy policy proposal

This is Q1, and the answer is in the policy proposal of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

"What is the 24-hour economy about? The 24-hour economy will be a deliberate policy intervention by the next NDC/Mahama government to encourage and support certain businesses and companies to operate 24/7, preferably in a three-shift system of hours each, by creating an enabling environment that promotes productivity, competitiveness, and well-paying jobs."

According to the NDC policy proposal's above response, there is no clear policy direction on how they will develop the companies and businesses. It is merely their belief that since the companies and businesses are already seated in the NDC office, they can just assist them in operating around the clock, which is absurd.

Take note: The New Patriotic Party/Nana Akuffo government has a clear policy to get factories across every district; therefore, a policy of one district, one factory. It is a clear indication that the NPP government is currently running 24-hour economy.
Thoughthe idea of a 24-hour economy is commendable, no nations in history not even the two largest economies in the world, the United States and China has a 24-hour economy in both the public and private sectors. 24 hours exist in some industries and businesses, and Ghana has some factories running 24 hours a day.

However, the NDC's concept of the "24-hour economy policy," which aims to equalize the NPP-free SHS proposal for the 2016 election, which Ghanaians accepted overwhelmingly, but the NDC's 24-hour economy is without policy direction; therefore, I conclude it is already a fail policy, and I shall explain further why it is a fail policy.

The 24-hour economy as indicated by the opposition party NDC is just a slogan without operational direction, and I have read, listened, and watched economic experts, including lectures, endorsing the 24-hour economy of the NDC by saying it will be a game changer without any empirical analysis of how it will be a game changer. I find it very sad and worrying when experts ignorantly endorse the NDC's current slogan of 24 hours a day as a game changer.

I am ready to challenge or debate with any expert to prove to Ghanaians that the NDC 24-hour economy is just a slogan with no policy direction.

In the NDC policy document these sectors was sated as areas that will create 24hr jobs

Q3 Which industries will the 24-hour Economy focus on?

“The 24-hour economy will primarily, but not exclusively, focus on:
1. 24-hour Agro-processing
2. 24-hour Pharmaceutical industry
3. 24-hour Manufacturing industry
4. 24-hour Construction
5. 24-hour Extractive industry (mining and quarrying)
6. 24-hour Sanitation and waste management
7. 24-hour Leisure and hospitality industry
8. 24-hour Digital start-ups and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).”

The above answers has once again expose NDC and rather highlighted NPP policies that fits into their 24hour economy, from the list we already have many business operating 24hrs from number one to number 8.

In agriculture, NDC stated they are going to design a policy that will allow farmers and agroprocessing factories to work 24 hours a day. Interestingly, they don’t have a clear direction on how they will do that, for example, how to get the agroprocessing industries. This is interesting because they don’t have any policy direction on how and when they are going to build the factories or how these factories will get raw materials to feed the factories.

As you can all remember, even Komenda Sugar Factory, NDC, did not have a clear plan, so the factory has become a ghost factory. So NDC has already failed in the area of agriculture, both farming to provide raw materials and agro processing industry.

The NPP has a clear direction in the agriculture sector and has designed and implemented a clear policy that will enable farmers to work 24 hours a day on their farms. The government has designed a policy of 1 dam, 1 village.

This is a clear policy that will make irrigation water available for farmers to farm all year round. So farmers can farm during the day, and during the night they can work on harvesting crops and processing the agricultural harvest. So with NPP 1 village 1 dam, water will be available for all year round farming to enable farmer’s farm and sell their product to feed the agroprocess industries, leading to government designing another policy for industrial development, the 1 district 1 factory policy.

So NDC do not have a clear policy as compared to the NPP, NPP have a clear policy on industrialization. They have designed and implemented a policy on industrialization: one district, one factory. Some of these factories are already in operation; they have also helped some existing factories expand, therefore creating a 24-hour economy.

NDC also claimed that with 24 hours, the port can work 24 hours with 3 shifts. But the problem of employing more staff is not the shift but the salary payment. So NDC did not state clearly how it would generate enough revenue to pay the additional shift when the government already has limited revenue to pay additional wages.

In the public sector NDC stated that they will implement 3 shifts at the port 24hrs for each shift but they did not indicate how they are going to generate money to pay workers. As we no government cannot employ because government cannot generate enough money to pay public sector workers. So clearly the NDC has ones again failed to explain the 24hr policy in the public sector.

As compared to the NPP policy in the public sectors, with digitalization, you can work 24 hours a day, and this will help the government generate revenue without paying extra salaries. Therefore, additional money generated government will invest into the one district and one factory that will need labour since production will take Ghana to industrialization, and when a country is industrialized, it is in the path of a industrialize economy. With this basic analysis, it is clear that the NDC do not understand the 24-hour economy, and therefore they don’t have a policy direction to operationalize the 24-hour economy policy.

While the NPP has a clear vision and has already implemented the 24-hour economy in all the sectors that, are already creating 24hr solutions and jobs, in Ghana, the government will only need to review some of the policies and readjust to successfully achieve the 24hr economy.

Now to expert if they have anything to say on the 24 hour economy they should rather say it in support of NPP policies already operating 24 hours.

Digitisation you can do transaction 24hr
1Dam 1village you can farm 24 hours
1District 1Factory factories are already working 24 hours


Ajene Abongo Mashood
Assistant Lecture Tver State University
Director Africa Russia Reseach Centre Ghana
Email abongomashood@yahoo.com