Mr Mahama, Ghanaians need uninterrupted or 24-hour electricity, not 24-hour economy!

I would like to believe that the topmost priority of every political party is to work studiously to win power and form a government with a view to putting pragmatic policies and programmes in place to impact the lives of the masses.

We can, therefore, draw the inference that a political party must have a sense of purpose and direction in order to be taken seriously in its pursuit of winning political power.

In theory, therefore, a political party should have a philosophy, or a set of ideas and values, to serve as a guide in the delivery of its political mandate.

In his consuming desire to return to the presidency after being rejected massively in two consecutive elections in 2016 and 2020, the NDC’s 2024 flagbearer, former President John Dramani Mahama, is desperately giving a tall list of richly interesting promises, except the all-important uninterrupted 24-hour electricity supply.

My dear reader, of all the miseries I yet have witnessed in Ghana, it seems to me that the dumsor, which lasted for well over four years, remains the most unfortunate experience in contemporary Ghana.

Given the scale of dumsor under his watch, we can understand how and why some concerned Ghanaians are being pessimistic and openly expressing their disgust over former President John Dramani Mahama’s much-touted 24-hour economy.

Let us be honest, it is extremely nauseating to keep hearing unrealistic promises from the same people every four years with the view of hoodwinking the unsuspecting voting public.

If you may remember, prior to the 2012 general elections, Ex-President Mahama and the NDC gave a tall list of manifesto promises, among other things, a one-time NHIS premium, making dumsor a thing of the past, putting money in Ghanaians' pockets, creating more jobs for the jobless, stabilising the economy, protecting Ghanaians from the menaces of galamsey and Fulani herdsmen, bringing an end to dubious judgment debt payments, and fighting the rampant bribery and corruption.

However, after giving all those richly interesting, albeit unrealistic promises to deceive the voting public for their mandate, the NDC administration, led by former President Mahama, as expected, willfully failed to honour the promises.

Consequently, a total of 55.6% of the electorate rightly voted them out of power in 2016, and 51.2% retired Mahama in 2020.

To be quite honest, there have been numerous NDC’s broken manifesto promises in the past, but the one that will long be stencilled on discerning Ghanaians' mental sheets is the one-time NHIS premium.

Perhaps, and more than anything else, former President Mahama is only trying his level best to hoodwink the unsuspecting voters. If that were not the case, how on earth would Mahama promise a 24-hour economy after puzzlingly sitting on a common dumsor for close to five years?

Interestingly, the 24-hour economy is an economic system in which no government can legislate nor coerce the industry and business owners to partake. It is obviously driven by demand and supply.

It is against such a backdrop that I am extremely perplexed over the so-called experts with little or no expertise's spurious claim that the demand side is not a big deal in Maharashtra’s much-plauded 24-hour economy.

My dear reader, you may take my word for it; I am not trying to be a pathetic doomsayer. Far from it.

But I have indeed lived, schooled, and worked in a 24-hour economy for close to four decades and therefore have tacit knowledge about the system.

The 24-hour economy is not a novel policy; it is someone who aptly conceived and delivered the idea. So what is the big deal in unblushingly copying someone’s idea and making it your own?

Let’s face it, the people who aspire to lead must rather learn to think outside the box and try to be innovative.

I’m afraid the 24-hour economy is already being practiced in some sectors in Ghana. So what is the big deal?

Indeed, the 24-hour economy exists in the media (radio and television), the transport sector, and some selected private businesses, among others.

As usual, the 24-hour economy proposal is a farce, similar to the one-time NHIS premium promised by the erstwhile Mahama Administration, which was destitute of honesty and integrity.

We should not lose sight of the fact that no government can legislate or force business owners to operate within 24 hours.

Besides, businesses and industries need an efficient electricity supply in order to operate effectively.

Truly, no business or industry can thrive in the midst of an erratic electricity supply (dumsor).

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

Some of us, as a matter of principle, are not oblivious to the inexpressible anguish and the negative effects of dumsor, and therefore we are well aware of the apocalypse of Mahama reclaiming the presidency in 2024.