24-Hour Economy must go beyond slogans – AGI President demands concrete action

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has welcomed government’s 24-Hour Economy policy, saying its successful implementation could significantly transform Ghana’s industrial sector. AGI President Seth Twum Akwaboah, speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, said the business community was more interested in the policy’s substance than in the slogan attached to it. “For me, I don’t bother so much about the clichés you create, whether it’s 24-Hour Economy or 1D1F; that’s not really the issue for me.

It is more of what you do within those policies,” he said. According to him, the effectiveness of the policy will depend largely on how it is designed and implemented, particularly the extent to which industry players are consulted. “You can come up with any policy, but then, when you develop the policy, what has gone into the policy development?

What are the key policies or activities within the policy that you are trying to implement to change the status quo?” he asked. Mr Twum Akwaboah said the 24-Hour Economy concept was initially unclear to businesses, but engagements with government have helped provide greater clarity on its intended direction. He cautioned against expectations that the policy would immediately transform economic activity across the country.

“When you hear a cliché, when you hear a mention of something like that, sometimes the expectation is that overnight things will change and everything will be a 24-hour economy. It doesn’t happen like that,” he said. He drew a parallel with the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, saying its announcement did not mean every district would immediately have an industrial facility.

“The same thing I said is that when we had the 1D1F. All of a sudden, you think that every district is going to have an industry? How do we work towards it?” he said.

He said the same principle should guide the 24-Hour Economy, with government identifying specific activities, policies and programmes required to achieve its objectives. “The same thing applies to the 24-hour economy. So I’m not expecting that things will change overnight like that.