Ghana would have been a full-fledged 24-hour economy if NDC hadn’t fecklessly sold Dr Nkrumah’s factories

There is no gainsaying that the chivalrous Kwame Nkrumah estimably built hundreds of factories with the sole objective of joining the Industrial Revolution but only for the visionless politicians to dispose of over three hundred factories to friends and family for pittance.

Isn’t it laughable that the same people who disgustingly sold most of Dr Nkrumah’s industries, which were built purposely to augment Ghana’s economic growth, would turn around and push for a 24-hour economy?

My dear reader, it was the NDC tradition that perfunctorily adopted a disastrous Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) under the auspices of the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and disposed of most of the purposely built

factories.

Needless to say, the vast majority of tangible national assets, including the state-owned enterprises were capriciously sold to friends and families for pittance.

The fact remains that Dr Nkruma’s purposeful factories inadvertently resulted in a 24-hour economy back then.

It is against such backdrop that some of us have thrown our wavering support behind the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration’s advantageous One District One Factory programme.

Make no mistake, my dear reader, One District One Factory is a laudable programme that will go a long way in solving Ghana’s import dependency and eventually turning the country into a full-fledged 24-hour economy.

The fact of the matter, however, is that John Dramani Mahama and NDC cannot legislate, coerce business owners, or have total control over a 24-hour economy.

Suffice it to say, a 24-hour economy is more or less a free market economy that draws its strength from the all-important supply and demand, with minimal or no government interference.

Apparently, with the evolving global economy and the advent of AI and digital

transformation, the 24-hour economy has taken a new dimension.

Somehow, some industries and businesses are operating around the clock without requiring any human interface.

Unbeknownst to some Ghanaians, with the advent of Bawumia’s all-important digital transformation, some businesses are engaging in a 24-hour economy.

Indeed, the introduction of a programme such as mobile money interoperability has ensured a 24-hour banking service in Ghana.

You may believe it or not, my dear reader. I am a living witness. Even though I am in the United Kingdom, I can transact business around the clock, and transfer money anytime from my MTN mobile money account to my bank account and vice versa.

In a nutshell, some industries and businesses are already engaging in a 24-hour economy in Ghana.

That notwithstanding, the idea of legislating or spreading the 24-hour economy to cover every business is virtually impossible, as a matter of fact.

Honestly, the 24-hour economy is not a policy, it is an economic system already being practised in most free market economies, including Ghana.

Besides, it is not entirely correct when the so-called experts with little or no expertise assert somewhat incoherently and impetuously that the demand side is not a big deal in Mahama’s much-publicised 24-hour economy.

In fact, it would make no business sense if my friends and family members opened their stores during the night hours without the needed demand.

We cannot also lose sight of the fact that a 24-hour economy can only survive in a conducive environment replete with adequate infrastructure and/or provision of vital amenities such as electricity.

It is for this reason that I have been advising my friends and family members not to jump for joy over Mahama’s seemingly tentative 24-hour economy proposal.

After all, Mahama cannot compel my friends and family members to open their stores 24/7 without the needed demand for the products.

More so, where is the guarantee that there would be no erratic electricity supply(dumsor)?

Mind you, apart from the all-important supply and demand challenges, my friends and family members face other insurmountable hurdles, most notably, dumsor(erratic electricity supply).

Needless to say, businesses and industries did not flourish in the midst of the irritating dumsor during the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Given the level of devastation of the irritating dumsor on industries and businesses under his watch, we can understand how and why some concerned Ghanaians are extremely doubtful over former President Mahama’s much-trumpeting 24-hour economy.