24-Hour Economy: columnist questions delivery as minister backs agribusiness push

Pinned summary · as of 04:20

Two reports published a month apart show the government's 24-Hour Economy being framed around production, industry and employment rather than longer shop hours alone. A columnist questions whether delivery matches that framing, and a deputy trade minister set out the agribusiness side of it at an agricultural show in Accra on Tuesday, 29 September.

What we know

• Both Newswatch GH and Opemsuo 104.7 describe the government's 24-Hour Economy as a route to industrialisation, production and job creation, with an emphasis on adding value to what Ghana produces.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Godfried Kudzo Akpanya, a social worker in community and youth development, argued in an opinion column that the programme risks shrinking into a market-building exercise. He asked where the three-shift factories are and how many jobs they have added. The column is one person's opinion and the government's response is not in the facts.
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  Mr Akpanya cited a recent government indication that 33 manufacturers have begun running more than one shift. He wrote that the scale must match the programme's ambition. The number comes only through his column.
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  The columnist proposed planned 24-hour economic zones outside crowded cities, linked to transport routes, farming areas and industrial parks, and urged revival of viable factories and completion of abandoned industrial projects. These are his proposals, not government plans.
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  Mr Akpanya also cautioned that a focus on trading hours could raise consumption while Ghana keeps importing much of what is sold. He said success should be judged by working factories, output, value addition, exports and quality jobs, and described his questions as meant for national reflection rather than opposition to the government.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 reports that Deputy Minister Sampson Ahi, who handles trade, agribusiness and industry, represented President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday when the 2nd West Africa Agri Show opened in Accra alongside the 3rd Annual National Livestock Day. He said the government is building conditions to draw investment into agriculture, including tax incentives on agro-processing machinery and financing schemes to lower investor risk. Only one publication has reported this.
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  According to Opemsuo 104.7, Mr Ahi described Ghana as an entry point to the African Continental Free Trade Area market of 1.3 billion people. He cited a projection that Africa's food and agriculture market will reach US$1 trillion by 2030, and warned that the continent still relies heavily on imported food.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 says Indian High Commissioner Surinder Bhagat offered deeper cooperation with Ghana on farming, livestock and agro-processing, naming animal health, dairy, poultry, post-harvest handling, machinery and irrigation as openings. The two-day show is run by Azalix Business Media, working with the national farmers and fishermen association. This rests on a single report.

Why it matters for Ghana

The 24-Hour Economy is promoted as a source of jobs, and the columnist notes that many trained professionals in education and health are without work. Farmers who lose produce after harvest and consumers who buy imported processed food could feel the difference if processing and factories grow. Whether that happens is the test the column sets for the policy.