President John Dramani Mahama says his administration has begun implementing the much touted 24-hour economy policy.
In a televised address to update the country on his first 120 days in office, President Mahama said “the programme roll has commenced in earnest”.
According to him, some state institutions have already began operating 24-hour a day while steps are being taken to ensure a full rollout of the policy.
President Mahama touted the success of the policy so far, stating, “The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre has launched 24-hour premium services to eliminate processing delays for investors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a 24-hour passport service with the passport application headquarters, operating 24/7. The DVLA used a 24-hour service to clear a long-standing 18-month backlog of licences and will soon commission a new 24-hour service office at Adenta in Accra”.
He added, “The Ghana Publishing Company Limited has also begun 24-hour printing operations”.
The 24-hour economy policy was a major campaign pledge by the then opposition National Democratic and its leader John Dramani Mahama ahead of the 2024 elections.
The proposal, Mr. Mahama and his party had explained, would increase the country’s productivity and create opportunities for the unemployed population.
Since assuming power, the government has taken a number of steps including setting up a committee and appointing a Presidential Advisor, it said, is aimed at commencing the policy implementation.
As part of the preparatory works for the full take-off of the policy, President Mahama, in his address, said “the 24-hour Secretariat is collaborating with the Development Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund to operationalize financing pillars for this program”.
He indicated that, “already several businesses are lining up to sign onto this policy” adding that his administration is undertaking legislative reforms, beefing up security and introducing incentives to create an enabling environment for its implementation and attract more businesses to subscribe to it.
