Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana, Godfred Bokpin, has said that there is an attempt to move Ghana’s economy to value addition through the 24-hour economy policy.
He says the intentions are clear. However, intentions are not just enough.
“Clearly, there is an attempt to move the economy from deformity to value addition,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 5.
Prof Godfred Bokpin further advised against establishing a special organisation with the status of an authority to implement the 24-hour economy policy launched by the government.
He contended that doing so would be costly for the country.
“We don’t need to create an authority to implement the 24-hour economy,” he said.
His comment was in reaction to a statement by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Edudzi Tameklo, that an authority may be created to ensure the successful implementation of the policy while speaking on the same programme.
Prof Bokpin said, “There are many existing institutions that can help with monitoring the implementation of this policy, the Ministry of Finance can help with monitoring the fiscal aspect. We rather need to strengthen the ownership through periodic updates on progress of work.
Touching on the estimated $4 billion cost of the policy, Prof Bokpin said, “Let’s reduce the cost of the policy.”
Meanwhile, Edudzi Tameklo, has refuted claims that stakeholders were not consulted on the 24- Hour Economy initiative before being implemented.
“Civil Society Organisations and businesses were all consulted by the secretariat before the launch was done by the President,” he said.
“President Maham reached out to experts and CSOs on how to roll out the policy,” he added.
Edudzi said this in response to comments by a Political Science lecturer, Dr Joshua Zaato that the policy as launched by the government is not nationalistic in nature and, hence risked being jettisoned when there is a change of government.
“Ghana Beyond Aid was a partisan initiative by Akufo-Addo. 24 Hour Economy is a partisan initiative by John Dramani Mahama Mahama, the policy risks being jettisoned when there is a change of government,” he also said on TV3’s KeyPoints on July 5.
Dr Zaato noted that it is therefore important for such policies to be introduced based on consensus by all interested parties.
For his part, Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, urged the government to accept criticisms from people who will point out the challenges in the implementation of the 24-hour programme.
He noted that the feedback will help the government to fine-tune the initiative.
“The criticisms are good, they serve as feedback,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, July 5.
He has further asked the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat to provide periodic updates on the progress of work.
He says this will help Ghanaians track the effectiveness of the programme and also provide feedback.
“Maybe every six months, we should get an update from the 24-hour secretariat to see the progress of work and give feedback,” he said.
Kpebu also described the programme, especially the ‘no import duty’ on renewable energy supplies, as stellar.
“It is a masterstroke,” he said. “The incentives for the policy are classic,” he added.
He further stated that “we have no option but to reduce our consumption of oil and up consumption of renewable energy.”
President Mahama officially launched the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a transformative economic policy to revive Ghana’s economy.
Delivering a speech at the launch of the 24-hour policy on Wednesday, July 2, the President noted that the initiative is more than a mere policy.
He noted that the Programme is a carefully drafted policy to reset the nation and unlock Ghana’s full productive potential.
“This is more than a policy initiative, it is a national reset, a bold strategic shift to unlock our country’s full productive potential.
“Today, we reclaim our founder’s vision of a self-reliant, industrious and inclusive African nation that works with its creativity and ensures prosperity for all,” he stated.
President Mahama explained that the policy is a bold and coherent approach needed to dismantle the silos of past policies.
“The 24-hour plus programme is that collective answer. And so we have moved from to slogan to strategy today.
“This launch is not the end but the beginning of a national mobilisation,” he stated.
He emphasised that the 24-hour programme is not only about extending working hours but an opportunity to unleash productivity, accelerate exports through well-structured multi-sectoral and inclusive interventions.
The programme, a flagship initiative of President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, seeks to re-engineer the country’s productivity architecture by extending economic activity beyond conventional hours and integrating key sectors into a seamless value chain.
With a projected cost of $4 billion, the government is committing between $300 million and $400 million as seed capital to bridge viability gaps and catalyse private sector investment.
The 24H+ programme is positioned as a nationwide economic agenda, with the goal of creating 1.7 million quality jobs within four years.
It targets strategic value chains in agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, infrastructure, and logistics.
The initiative is designed to harness the potential of every Ghanaian, every hour of the day, and reduce reliance on imports while boosting exports.
The programme is presented as nine individual documents: a “Full” report and eight subprogramme reports. The “Full Report” covers the content of the other eight. Each of the remaining eight documents focuses on a specific subprogramme (Grow24, Make24, Build24, Show24, Connect24, Fund24, Aspire24, and Go24).
