AGI chief calls for clear action to turn Ghana’s 24-hour economy into reality | Ghanaguardian. com
The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum Akwaboah, has urged Ghana’s government to move beyond the slogan of a “24-Hour Economy” and set out the practical policies required to deliver it. Mr Akwaboah said the success of the flagship initiative should be judged by the measures introduced to change the country’s
The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum Akwaboah, has urged Ghana’s government to move beyond the slogan of a “24-Hour Economy” and set out the practical policies required to deliver it. Mr Akwaboah said the success of the flagship initiative should be judged by the measures introduced to change the country’s economic structure, rather than by the popularity of its name. “For me, I don’t bother so much about the cliches you create, whether it is 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 on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday. The government is continuing work to operationalise the policy, which is intended to extend economic activity beyond traditional working hours and create more opportunities for businesses and workers. Mr Akwaboah said particular attention must be paid to the way policies are designed and put into practice. He said consultation with businesses and other stakeholders would be essential if the initiative was to have a meaningful impact. “You can come up with any policy, but then, when you develop the policy, what has gone into the policy development? How consultative was its nature? What are the key policies or activities within the policy that you are trying to implement to change the status quo?” he asked. The AGI President acknowledged that the 24-Hour Economy was initially unclear, prompting questions from the business community and other interested groups. However, he said discussions with government had helped to clarify the initiative and its intended direction. “I think we are making good progress because now it’s coming clearer. Government is defining,” he said. Mr Akwaboah also warned against assuming the policy would transform Ghana’s economy immediately or mean that all businesses would operate around the clock from the outset. “When you hear a cliche, 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 explained. He drew a comparison with the former government’s One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, saying that the announcement of a policy did not automatically mean its full objectives would be achieved at once. “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? Government has mentioned it. It’s an intention. It’s a vision. How do we work towards it?” he said. He said the next stage should be to identify the precise activities, interventions and policies needed to make the 24-hour economy operational. “But then we need to define the specific activities and policies and programs we are going to do to make that happen,” he said. Mr Akwaboah said the launch of a blueprint for the initiative represented progress. In his view, the document included ideas that could significantly alter economic activity if they were implemented as intended. “And gradually they are coming to that point where now they’ve launched a blueprint, and then in it there are a lot of interesting ideas. If we’re able to implement it to the letter, I’m sure it will help change a lot of things,” he said. The AGI has backed the policy and is already working with the 24-hour economy secretariat on its implementation. “So for me, I embrace it just as we embraced the 1D1F, AGI embraces the 24-hour economy, and we are working with government,” he said. “We are working with the 24-hour economy secretariat to implement some of the things they said they will implement. If we’re able to do it, it will be a game changer,” he added.