Can you think of a Ghana where the hum of industry never ceases, the digital marketplaces are always open, and the pursuit of prosperity extends far beyond the traditional 9-to-5? This is the audacious vision at the heart of President John Dramani Mahama’s “24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme,” 24H+. Ghana is embarking on a profound transformation, shifting from isolated efforts to coordinated systems, from dependency to self-reliance.
The 24H+ Programme is “more than just a policy; it’s a catalyst for industrialisation, export promotion, and job creation. It’s about building an economy that works for everyone, every hour of the day.”
His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama
But as the nation embraces this relentless pursuit of productivity, a critical question emerges: What happens to the soul of a country when it truly never rests?
The Unyielding Promise of a Relentless Nation
Ghana has an exciting plan to increase productivity through 24H+. Grow24 aims to achieve agricultural self-sufficiency, ensure food security, and build climate resilience, making the Volta Basin West Africa’s main food source. Make24 plans to establish 50 industrial parks to transform Ghana into a manufacturing hub. Build24 will create the necessary transport infrastructure, while Connect24 will improve logistics to reduce post-harvest losses and enhance supply chains. Fund24 will help small businesses and producers with financing, and ASPIRE24 will equip Ghanaians with essential digital skills. These initiatives, including Show24 for culture and GO24 for civic engagement, aim to create a more productive and prosperous Ghana for all.
The Shadows of Perpetual Motion
However, the relentless hum of a nation that never sleeps carries inherent challenges that demand a vigilant eye on potential adverse consequences. Operating around the clock will place immense, continuous strain on existing infrastructure, which will require not just development but sustained, reliable maintenance of power, water, and transport systems to prevent systemic failures that could cripple productivity. Also, the ambitious “24-hour productivity” goal raises significant questions about workforce readiness and welfare. Beyond just skills training, adapting to night shifts and extended hours demands profound societal shifts, potentially impacting family structures, social cohesion, and workers’ mental and physical health.
While GO24 aims to revise regulatory frameworks, the practical complexities of ensuring fair labour practices, adequate safety measures, and consistent quality control across a continuously operating economy are immense and demand robust enforcement to prevent exploitation. Moreover, the financial sustainability of such a large-scale transformation, reliant on catalysing private investment and new levies, will be a perpetual watch out. Ensuring capital genuinely reaches all intended beneficiaries without creating new inequalities, particularly among SMEs and cooperatives, presents a considerable challenge.
Safeguarding the Unsleeping Nation
Addressing these potential pitfalls necessitates a proactive and adaptive strategy. The infrastructure rollout under Build24 must be phased and robust. Thus, redundancy and proactive maintenance must be prioritized to mitigate inevitable strains from 24-hour operation. Regulatory frameworks under GO24 must not be static. To evolve with real-world challenges, they must be dynamically adaptive, with continuous review mechanisms and transparent feedback loops involving industry and labor. Furthermore, while Fund24 is crucial, diversifying funding sources beyond levies, perhaps through innovative green bonds for sustainable initiatives or public-private risk-sharing models that encourage long-term commitment, would enhance financial resilience and ensure equitable access to capital for all.
Furthermore, as Ghana embraces continuous digital trade platforms, a parallel 24/7 digital governance and robust cybersecurity framework is necessary. Government agencies handling business registration, customs, and regulatory compliance must operate seamlessly online, backed by impenetrable cybersecurity measures to protect a constantly active digital economy. Finally, to truly nurture social cohesion in a society with diverse working hours, the policy could proactively foster what I termed “rest-economy” innovation. Thus, Ghana can create a more balanced and holistic ecosystem that supports its working populace by explicitly incentivizing new businesses that cater to non-traditional hours, such as flexible childcare services, late-night leisure facilities, or adapted educational programs.
The Unfolding Horizon
Ghana’s 24H+ Programme is an audacious stride into a future where the nation’s economic pulse never ceases. It is a bold promise of self-reliance, abundant employment, and equitable growth. While the journey will undoubtedly present formidable challenges, a meticulous, adaptive approach that builds infrastructure and refines skills, holistically nurtures the social fabric, and addresses the human cost of perpetual motion will be crucial. If Ghana can successfully navigate these complexities, its grand experiment could redefine national development to secure a prosperous future for all and cement its place as a truly resilient, globally competitive nation.
Article by
Benjamin Cobbinah
He has an MPhil from KNUST in Ghana, with research interests in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Energies in the Global South. His work has been published in the Journal of Business Research. He advocates for Liberty and is a volunteer policy scholar at the YAFO Institute.
