South Dayi Member of Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has described the 24-hour economy idea as forward-looking.
He called for support for this idea in order to grow the economy under a John Mahama administration.
“It's only Witches who will oppose this forward-looking 24-hour Economy novel idea. People come join the John Mahama and NDC to turn around things in Ghana,” he tweeted.
Former President John Dramani Mahama who proposed the idea said that the 24-hour economy was well thought-through.
He says if he becomes president again, his administration will provide incentives for businesses to operate 24 hours to employ more youths.
Addressing a gathering on Tuesday, November 21 to start his two-day tour of the Ahafo Region, he said “When I talked about the 24-hour economy many people were saying it is not a well-thought-through programme and that people were doing 24-hour economy already.
“If one pharmacy is doing 24 hours, if one factory is doing 24 hours, that is not what I am talking about, everybody should be encouraged to be able to do a 24-hour shift, because we have the harvest season now, and factories that are processing agricultural products should be able to run two shifts . So that they are able to process as much of the agricultural produce as possible.
“What we are saying is that we will give incentives for everybody who wants to run a 24-shift system to be able to do that, so that more young people will be employed.”
Mr Mahama earlier outlined the benefits that businesses will enjoy under the 24-hour economy idea that he proposed to implement if he is elected as president again.
He said that businesses will, among other things, be given tax incentives for signing up to the policy. He added that the policy is not going to be compulsory.
“I envision a 24-hour economy where hospital facilities, filling stations, manufacturers, construction companies, garbage collection companies, mining and extractive industries, agro-processing, harbors and ports, financial services, digital start-ups will operate a three-shift system 24/7 in an atmosphere of safety and security.
“This 24 hour economy I propose will be voluntary, it will not be imposed. Businesses will be encouraged to sign up with tax incentives provided for them and enhanced security and lower electricity tariffs after peak hours. Special meters will be deployed to provide what is known as time-of-use tariffs to deliver cheaper power to such businesses during the hours of especially 10 AM and 6AM,” he said while speaking to Catholic Bishops in Sunyani on Saturday, November 18.
He further said that the 24-hour economy is meant to create jobs for all Ghanaians.
“The 24-hour economy I proposed is for jobs and more jobs,” the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stressed.
Mr Mahama proposed the '24hr Economy ‘ project when he met with officials of the country's mother workers union on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at the start of his engagement with key stakeholders in a quest to return to power.
Dubbed ‘Building Ghana Tour', the interactions with the stakeholders is to apprise them of the policies the next NDC administration will implement to transform the economy.
He said “NDC was left alone as the solitary voice seeking to hold the government accountable and speaking up for the voiceless Ghanaian and we were often cast out as spoilt brats who were ranting just because we have lost power.
“Today, the chickens have come home to roost and we are all affected.”
Earlier, he promised to build a cashew processing factory in Wenchi.
Addressing a gathering in Wenchi on Friday, he noted, “Currently, cashews are harvested and exported to India for processing before distribution to other countries. The Indians profit more from cashews that we have struggled to plant and harvest.”
“My leadership aims to introduce machinery in the Bono Region dedicated to cashew processing, designed for the efficient processing and packaging of cashews for export. This initiative is to retain any profits from cashews in the country,” he added.
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