The major plank of President John Dramani Mahama’s 2024 presidential electioneering campaign, the 24-Hour Economy Policy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, has taken off.
“We have moved from slogan to strategy today. In 2020 and again in 2024, the idea of a 24-hour economy captured national attention. It became a slogan of hope, a symbol that change was necessary and that it was possible.
“Our task now is to move from vision to implementation. And from aspiration to action. This launch is not the end, but it is the beginning of a massive national mobilisation,” the President said at the official launch of the policy in Accra yesterday.
Also referred to as 24H+, the policy envisions the transformation of Ghana into a self-reliant, industrially competitive, and export-driven economy that works around the clock beyond conventional hours.
It seeks to build a Ghana where value chains are fully integrated, production systems are efficient and inclusive, and human capital is globally competitive.
Estimated to cost US$4 billion with government committing between US$300 million and US$400 million as seed capital, the 24H+ programme is envisaged to create 1.7 million jobs in four years.
To President Mahama, the module where the country exports cocoa, gold, timber, oil and other raw materials abroad only to repurchase them as finished products at a far greater cost has never served the Ghanaian interest.
“This module generates foreign jobs, fuels foreign economies, and fund foreign health care and education whiles our youth remain unemployed, industries stagnate, and leaves imports balloon,” he noted.
President Mahama said the programme comprises synergistic sub programmes in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism, logistics, financing, skills development and civic and government alignment.
“This structure ensures depth and focus. We are not attempting to fix everything everywhere at once. We are targeting high impact, job-rich and export-oriented sectors with strong forward and backward linkages.”
According to the President, the programme is not simply about extending working hours. “It is about unleashing productivity, expanding opportunities, accelerating exports through well-structured multi sectorial and inclusive interventions”.
While the 24H+ is national in scope, President Mahama said the Volta Lake economic corridor would be the flagship intervention to unlock the economic and environmental potential of the lake and its surrounding lands.
Over two million hectares of land, he said would be irrigated, agro industrial parks established, and tourism clusters developed along the lake whilst turning it into a central transport corridor that connects the north to the south and the east to west.
Extensive engagements, President Mahama said have gone on in the background with stakeholders including entrepreneurs, organised labour, cooperatives, farmers, traders, traditional rulers and religious bodies, diaspora groups, security agencies, and scientists amongst others to make the programme a national one which would transcend his government.
“This policy is made for Ghana and the future. So when I say report to the President, I don’t mean only me. It will include the next president and other subsequent presidents.
“We are under no illusion. The path is going to be challenging. But we’ll succeed with discipline, coordination and shared purpose. Ghana belongs to all of us and the work of transformation must be the task of all of us,” he rallied.
On his part, the Special Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy Initiative, Goosie Tanoh, stated that the policy was a dynamic and evolving one, guided by science and anchored in strong social democratic principles.
“We at the secretariat are confident that we will continue to receive constructive criticism and suggestions for further improvement. Criticism is always welcome. We see the 24-hour programme as a living programme, rooted in science and firm social democratic principles, but flexible enough to respond tactically to a changing environment,” he said.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
