President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-hour financial system is greater than a coverage—it’s a litmus check for his presidency. It embodies the hope of a Ghana that by no means sleeps, the place alternative doesn’t finish at nightfall and youth aren’t left to languish. However hope alone received’t energy factories or gentle streets. The pitfalls are actual: a frail financial system, a cautious populace, and a legacy of unmet guarantees. Feasibility hangs on execution—on turning grand concepts into gritty, tangible progress.
As Ghana navigates a turbulent financial panorama, Mahama has staked his administration’s imaginative and prescient on an bold thought: the 24-hour financial system. Touted as a game-changer throughout his 2024 marketing campaign and reiterated in his 7 January 2025 inaugural deal with, this coverage guarantees to remodel Ghana right into a round the clock hub of productiveness, job creation, and alternative. By encouraging companies and public establishments to function in three eight-hour shifts, Mahama goals to deal with unemployment, increase industrial output, and align Ghana with world financial tendencies. But, beneath the daring rhetoric lie vital challenges—structural, cultural, and logistical—that increase questions on its feasibility and the timeline for its realisation.
The Imaginative and prescient: A 24-Hour Ghana
At its core, Mahama’s 24-hour economy seeks to maximise Ghana’s human and financial potential. The coverage envisions factories buzzing by the night time, ports clearing cargo 24/7, and public providers like passport places of work and customs desks serving residents across the clock. Incentives equivalent to tax breaks, cheaper electrical energy tariffs throughout off-peak hours, and monetary assist for agro-processing and manufacturing are designed to lure companies into this new rhythm. Mahama has framed it as a voluntary initiative, not a mandate, emphasising collaboration with the non-public sector to create “sustainable, well-paying jobs” and scale back the 14.7% unemployment charge reported in 2023 by the Ghana Statistical Service.
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The enchantment is plain. In a rustic the place youth unemployment fuels frustration and emigration, the promise of three-shift workdays—morning, afternoon, and night time—gives hope. Globally, cities like London and New York thrive on night time economies, producing billions and using hundreds of thousands. Mahama’s supporters argue that Ghana, with its rising city centres and untapped industrial capability, may observe swimsuit, chopping reliance on imports and strengthening its cedi. However turning this imaginative and prescient into actuality requires confronting a number of entrenched points.
Present Points: Ghana’s Financial and Social Actuality
Ghana’s economy is fragile. The 2022 debt default, a $13 billion restructuring, and an ongoing IMF bailout have left scars—30% poverty charges, 23.8% inflation in December 2024, and a battered non-public sector. Companies face excessive working prices, unreliable energy, and stifling forms, whereas the Ghana Income Authority’s aggressive tax audits have pushed some companies to relocate to neighbouring nations. The banking sector clean-up beneath the earlier administration worn out jobs, and main tasks stalled as lenders pulled funding post-default. In opposition to this backdrop, Mahama inherits a nation struggling to regain fiscal footing, not to mention leap right into a 24-hour paradigm.
Culturally, Ghana isn’t primed for round the clock exercise. Not like Singapore or Dubai, the place 24-hour economies mirror a long time of infrastructure funding and shopper demand, Ghana’s workforce and life-style lean in direction of conventional 9-to-5 patterns. Evening-time exercise is proscribed past city hotspots like Accra, and even there, safety issues and poor transportation dampen the urge for food for late-hour operations. The casual sector—using over 8 million in weak jobs—operates on razor-thin margins, missing the capital or incentive to increase hours with out assured returns.
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Then there’s the vitality query. A 24-hour financial system calls for secure, reasonably priced electrical energy, but Ghana’s energy sector is tormented by inefficiencies and debt. Unbiased energy producers have threatened outages over unpaid payments, and the “dumsor” blackouts of Mahama’s first time period (2012–2017) stay a political Achilles’ heel. Critics on platforms like X have already dubbed his plan “24-hour dumsor.”
Public Reception: Hope, Skepticism, and Social Media Buzz
Since Mahama’s re-election in December 2024, the 24-hour economy idea has ignited fierce debate throughout Ghana. Supporters, significantly among the many youth and concrete working class, see it as a lifeline—an opportunity to interrupt the cycle of joblessness and underemployment. In cities like Kumasi and Takoradi, the place industrial potential lies dormant, small enterprise house owners specific cautious optimism, hoping prolonged hours may revive native markets. The Nationwide Democratic Congress (NDC) trustworthy have rallied behind the thought, framing it as proof of Mahama’s modern management after years of financial stagnation beneath the New Patriotic Social gathering (NPP).
But, scepticism abounds. On social media platforms like X, hashtags like #24HourEconomy and #MahamaVision pattern alongside biting critiques. Detractors—some nonetheless smarting from the 2024 election loss—mock it as a recycled gimmick, pointing to Mahama’s first-term struggles with energy and financial administration. “A 24-hour financial system with no lights? We’ve seen this film earlier than,” one consumer quipped, reflecting a sentiment that previous failures forged an extended shadow. Others query its inclusivity: will rural farmers, who dominate Ghana’s workforce, profit, or is that this one other urban-centric coverage leaving the hinterlands behind?
The divide underscores a broader problem: Mahama should promote this imaginative and prescient to a polarised populace. Successful over doubters would require tangible wins—pilot successes, seen job positive factors, and a story that bridges urban-rural divides. Public buy-in isn’t simply political; it’s sensible. A 24-hour financial system wants staff prepared to adapt and shoppers able to spend at odd hours, neither of which is assured with out belief.
Financial Impacts: Increase or Bust?
If realised, the 24-hour economy may ripple by Ghana’s GDP in profound methods. The Ghana Employers’ Affiliation estimates {that a} 10% enhance in operational hours throughout key sectors—manufacturing, logistics, and providers—may generate as much as 200,000 direct jobs inside two years, with oblique positive factors in transport, hospitality, and retail. Exports, a lifeline for the cedi, may surge if ports like Tema and Takoradi clear items quicker, chopping the $3 billion commerce deficit Mahama has vowed to shrink. Agro-processing, a cornerstone of his plan, may flip cocoa, cashew, and shea into value-added merchandise, lowering reliance on uncooked materials exports.
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The flip aspect is much less rosy. Scaling up operations means increased prices—wages for night time shifts, safety, and vitality—that cash-strapped companies could balk at with out fast returns. The casual sector, which employs 80% of Ghanaians, operates on flexibility, not fastened schedules; forcing it right into a 24-hour mould may backfire, pushing staff into much more precarious situations. Inflation, already at 23.8% in late 2024, may spike if demand outpaces provide or if subsidies pressure the price range. And with out export markets materialising, prolonged manufacturing may flood native markets with items nobody buys.
The Path Ahead: A Roadmap for Success
Realising the 24-hour financial system calls for a multi-pronged technique, mixing short-term wins with structural reform. First, Mahama should prioritise vitality. Clearing the $1.5 billion debt to energy producers and fast-tracking renewable tasks—just like the 100 MW photo voltaic plant promised within the north—may stabilise the grid by mid-2026. Cheaper night-time tariffs, a key incentive, should be locked in, not simply promised.
Second, infrastructure upgrades are non-negotiable. Ports want trendy gear and streamlined processes, whereas city transport—assume night time buses or tro-tros—should assist staff’ new schedules. Rural areas, typically sidelined, may be part of the fold with focused investments in agro-processing hubs, linking farmers to 24-hour provide chains.
Conclusion: Time to Ship
Ghana deserves a future that matches its potential, and Mahama has 4 years to show he can ship it. The 24-hour clock is ticking—not only for his administration, however for a technology watching to see if this time, change is greater than a dream. Let’s stay awake on it.
