Gap Between Promise and Practice: Academic Questions Ghana's 24-Hour Economy Implementation

Ghana's much-vaunted 24-hour economy initiative is falling short of its own ambitions, according to a senior academic who has conducted a detailed review of the government's flagship policy framework. Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana and Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, has raised serious concerns about the gap between what the government's comprehensive 287-page policy document proposes and what is actually being implemented on the ground.

The 24-hour economy is intended as a transformative initiative that would keep major economic sectors operating around the clock, supported by substantial government investment. However, Dr Sarkodie's analysis suggests the rollout has become disconnected from the policy's core objectives.

Policy Document vs. Ground Reality

Whilst acknowledging that the government's policy document is well-researched and contains sound ideas, Dr Sarkodie pointed out a fundamental inconsistency: the government's heavily publicised "1-3-3" economic transformation agenda—which aims to shift the economy's structure—receives minimal attention in the actual policy text. The cornerstone initiative appears just once in the 287-page document, on page 18, despite being central to government messaging.

"What you see in that document are brilliant ideas," Dr Sarkodie said in his assessment. "But where is the implementation?" This mismatch between policy design and execution raises questions about the government's strategic clarity and commitment to the framework it has promoted.

Production Must Precede Markets

A more fundamental criticism concerns the government's construction of 24-hour economy markets. Dr Sarkodie argues this approach reverses the logical economic sequence. Rather than building markets first, Ghana should strengthen domestic production capacity before expanding retail and commercial spaces.

"When you build markets, and you have not transformed and produced, what you are going to sell there are still imported commodities," he explained. This observation highlights a critical flaw: without corresponding increases in local manufacturing and agricultural output, 24-hour markets would primarily distribute foreign goods, failing to drive the domestic economic transformation the policy claims to target.

Dr Sarkodie emphasised that economic transformation should be treated as a process leading to the 1-3-3 destination—not the reverse. The current approach, he suggests, puts the cart before the horse by focusing on infrastructure (markets) before achieving the productive capacity they are meant to serve.

Why It Matters for Ghana

This critique strikes at a persistent challenge in Ghana's development efforts: the gap between policy formulation and execution. The 24-hour economy is a complex, ambitious agenda that requires coordinated action across multiple sectors. If implementation diverges significantly from the policy document—which Dr Sarkodie describes as genuinely well-researched—then resources may be misallocated and objectives missed.

For ordinary Ghanaians, the implications are substantial. A properly implemented 24-hour economy could create jobs, boost local production, and reduce reliance on imports. But if the current trajectory continues, the initiative risks becoming another costly infrastructure project that fails to deliver structural economic transformation. Government credibility in economic policy also hangs in the balance when the distance between promise and delivery becomes too visible.

Dr Sarkodie has called on the government to realign its implementation strategy with the document's own objectives and recommendations. "What is being promised, what is contained in the document, and what is being done are completely different things," he concluded.