The 24-hour Economy is a deliberate policy intervention to stimulate economic growth – Mahama

Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama, has said that his proposed 24-hour Economy policy is a deliberate intervention to stimulate economic growth by creating an enabling environment for businesses and public institutions to operate 24/7, in three shifts of eight hours each.

He said this innovative policy represents an integrated framework designed to support businesses operating around the clock.

It is a comprehensive, multi-sectoral, import-substitution, export-led and industrialisation agenda to transform the Ghanaian economy and create decent, sustainable, well-paying jobs, Mr Mahama said.

He added that it promises increased employment opportunities, productivity, production, revenue, and enhanced access to public services. Implementing the 24- hour Economy Policy will be supported by strategic investments in infrastructure, security, and energy, among other things.

“To complement the existing labour law, an Employment Act that sets up a regulatory framework for a 24-hour economy will be passed in consultation with organised labour, AGI, and other stakeholders. We shall promote a good work ethic to ensure efficiency in the already existing 8-hour work schedule and new additional work shifts in public organisations.

“An Accelerated Export Development Authority (AEDA) chaired by the President will be established to promote exports under the 24-hour Economy strategy,” he said in a statement on is official website “ManifestoJohnMahama.org”

Key Sectors of the 24-hour Economy Policy

The 24-hour Economy will focus on selected public institutions with significant customer traffic, such as Ports and Harbours, Customs, the Passport Office, the DVLA, and others. It will also focus primarily, but not exclusively, on:

• Agro-Processing

• Manufacturing

• Pharmaceuticals

• Construction

• Financial Services

• Extractive industries

• Sanitation and Waste Management

• Hospitality Industry

• Retail Centres

• Transportation Services

• Health Services

• Security Services

Support Package for Businesses

Through a ‘Made in Ghana Agenda,’ the next NDC government will deliberately use its spending power to stimulate demand by patronising made-in-Ghana goods under the 24-hour Economy policy.

We will create an enabling environment for businesses to be able to operate 24/7 by providing:

1. An atmosphere of security through a public/private security architecture.

2. Cheaper and reliable electricity for participating businesses based on a Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff system.

3. Tax incentives for participating businesses to reduce their cost of operation and enhance their competitiveness.

4. Financing support through the Ghana Exim Bank for strategic agroprocessing factories and manufacturing companies to boost production for import substitution and export.

5. Support for viable SMEs operating below capacity in priority value chains with catalytic investments to grow, generate jobs and propel growth.