New Juaben South Member of Parliament (MP), Michael Okyere Baafi, has raised concerns about the planning and implementation of the government’s 24-hour economy programme, warning that weaknesses in its execution could undermine its objectives.
Mr Baafi, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, questioned whether the government had adequately defined how the policy would be implemented across the economy.
Speaking on AsaasePa Radio’s Atumpan programme, he said the initiative had a sound underlying concept but criticised what he described as dysfunction in its implementation structure.
“Even though the concept of 24-hour activity across all sectors is good, the government itself is struggling to define the programme and deploy an effective way of implementing it,” he said.
Mr Baafi also questioned the distinctiveness of the initiative, arguing that aspects of the 24-hour economy appeared similar to existing industrial programmes, including the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
He further criticised the decision to place Presidential Adviser on the 24-hour economy, Goosie Tanoh, at the centre of an initiative which, in his view, lacked sufficient clarity and coordination.
Mr Baafi said poor planning could ultimately prevent the programme from achieving its intended objectives and predicted that it would “never materialise” if the identified challenges were not addressed.
His comments come as the government moves the 24-hour economy from policy formulation into implementation.
The 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme is officially described by government as a production-led programme aimed at transforming Ghana’s economy by increasing productivity, promoting industrialisation, expanding exports and creating jobs.
The programme is intended to support extended or multiple-shift operations in economically viable sectors, with government offering incentives to businesses that operate additional shifts. Under the stated incentive framework, businesses operating three shifts can qualify for corporate tax reductions as well as priority access to electricity, water and expedited regulatory services.
Government has also said the programme is expected to create 1.7 million productive jobs by 2028. Goosie Tanoh has cited projects in areas including solar power, oil palm, bioenergy, transport, pharmaceuticals and garments as part of the broader programme.
The programme has also moved into institutional implementation, with President John Dramani Mahama assenting to the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill in February 2026. The Authority is mandated to coordinate policies, infrastructure readiness and institutional collaboration required to support continuous production and service delivery in priority sectors.
Mr Baafi’s criticism therefore centres on whether the structures and implementation arrangements can translate the government’s broad objectives into measurable economic outcomes.
The government, however, maintains that the programme is designed to go beyond isolated projects by connecting production to processing, logistics, markets, finance, skills and technology as part of a wider restructuring of the productive economy.
