The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has criticised the Mahama administration over what he describes as the sluggish and ineffective implementation of its flagship 24-hour economy policy, nearly a year after taking office.
Speaking during parliamentary debates on the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill on Thursday, February 5, Mr Jinapor argued that the policy’s promised three-shift, eight-hour working system has failed to materialise across state institutions and has not delivered the expected employment opportunities for unemployed youth.
According to him, the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is the only public institution operating any form of shift system—and even that, he stressed, does not function on a full 24-hour basis.
“Eleven months into the NDC administration, their flagship programme of a 24-hour economy, with the three-shift system for unemployed Ghanaian youth, is yet to take effect. The only place working some form of shifts today is the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, and even that is not a full 24-hour operation,” he stated.
Mr Jinapor also rejected proposals to establish a new authority to oversee the policy, insisting that existing institutions are already capable of supporting job creation under a 24-hour economic framework. He cited the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) as an example of an agency whose mandate already aligns with export-led growth.
“You do not need another authority to promote exports and thereby create a 24-hour economy. We already have the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, whose sole mandate is to promote exports,” he said.
The Damongo MP further described the bill as a move that would mainly benefit political appointees rather than tackle the broader challenge of youth unemployment.
“This is another gimmick. It is meant to buy time and give false hope to the unemployed youth. This authority will only create jobs for a few another CEO, deputy CEOs and managers while suffering youth from Bolgatanga to Keta, Bosome Freho and across the length and breadth of the country remain without jobs,” he argued.
Mr Jinapor concluded by warning that public frustration is mounting over what he characterised as repeated promises without tangible action.
“Ghanaians are tired of hope; they want action. Nearly a year on, instead of implementing the 24-hour economy, the government is asking us to create another layer of bureaucracy,” he added.
