Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Shaibu Mahama, has dismissed claims of inadequate consultation on the proposed 24-Hour Economy Bill, insisting that both Majority and Minority members were actively involved in shaping the legislation.
Speaking on the committee’s deliberations in an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues, Mr. Mahama stressed that parliamentary committee work is structured to ensure representation from both sides of the House.
“Minority and Majority views are all taken when we go into committee meetings. With a parliamentary committee, you are looking at the numbers — what ratio do you have for Majority and Minority? I think currently it is 3:1, so if you have a 17-member committee, you will see 13 Majority members there, but you still have quite a sizeable number of Minority members there,” he explained.
According to him, despite the Majority’s numerical advantage, deliberations at the committee level are inclusive and participatory, allowing all members to contribute meaningfully to discussions.
“Everybody’s view was taken at the Committee level. So, there has been great consultation. The Minority has been present throughout as far as the deliberations on this 24-Hour Economy Bill are concerned, and they have inputted into the very clauses that we have today,” Mr. Mahama stated.
He added that the final committee report reflects concerns raised by both sides of Parliament, underscoring the collaborative nature of the legislative process.
Parliament has officially passed the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill, 2025, a flagship policy of the John Mahama administration.
The bill was passed after extensive deliberations and debate between the Majority and Minority caucuses on the floor of the House on Friday, February 6, 2026.
The objective of the Bill is to establish the 24-Hour Economy Authority to implement the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme.
The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme seeks to address longstanding structural issues within the productive economy of the country.
It further seeks to reduce the dependence of the country on exporting relatively low-value raw materials and reliance on costly imported finished and intermediate goods.
The Authority is expected to ensure the integrated, sustainable transformation of national systems for economic production, supply chain, marketing and labour power development.
The bill, which was laid before Parliament in late 2025, is designed to transform Ghana’s economy into a 24-hour operational system. It provides for the establishment of a 24-Hour Economy authority to serve as the central coordinating body responsible for implementing the policy nationwide.
