The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-Hour Economy policy, which aims to create employment opportunities and foster a business-friendly environment.
According to the Effutu MP, rather than helping businesses thrive, the initiative is instead leading to their collapse.
Speaking at a press conference in response to Mahama’s account of his first 120 days in office, Afenyo-Markin argued that the Mahama-led administration should have continued the One District, One Factory (1D1F) policy introduced by the NPP government.
Instead, he claimed the current administration abandoned it in favor of the 24-Hour Economy policy.
“The president pledged in January to implement a 24-Hour Economy to stimulate local industries and attract investments. But, instead of building upon the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative – a bold, pragmatic program that used tax incentives to drive industrialization — the government of President Mahama has shelved it.
“The government has discarded, abandoned and killed it. Factories that were planned under the previous administration now sit idle; investment plans have stalled. The message to investors is loud and clear: ‘You are not safe here anymore,'” he said.
Afenyo-Markin once again expressed shock that the government failed to include the 24-Hour Economy initiative in the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered in Parliament.
He criticised the administration’s “resetting agenda,” arguing that instead of benefiting Ghanaians, it is suffocating the people.
He further questioned the president, demanding to know the whereabouts of the promised 24-Hour Economy.
He said; “Mr President, your reset is not a lifeline for the economy; it is a suffocating lockdown on production. You are not creating jobs — you are killing them. Now, it is rich to hear the president tell us in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the flagship 24-Hour Economy program also known as ‘1-3-3’ (one job, three shifts) would find space in the 2025 budget.
“That is what the president assured us that his finance minister, Dr Ato Forson, would formally introduce the policy. But what did we hear when Dr Forson appeared before Parliament with the budget statement? No mention was made of the 24-Hour Economy — their own famous flagship program.”
He added that; “Eeeeiii President Mahama, where is the 24-Hour Economy? You promised to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. This should find space in your first-year budget if you truly meant business,” Afenyo-Markin asserted.
Watch Afenyo-Markin’s comments on GhanaWeb TV below:
VKB/AE
