Former President John Mahama emphasized the implementation of a 24-hour economy as a strategic response to the Cedi’s exchange rate volatility, driven largely by excessive imports.
The year-to-date depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar stands at 18.4%, an improvement compared to the 22% depreciation recorded during the same period in 2023.
According to Bloomberg, the Cedi last month plunged to its lowest level in two decades as corporate demand for dollars to import fuel, pharmaceuticals, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) intensified, making it the fourth worst-performing currency globally, after the Egyptian pound, Nigerian naira, and Lebanese pound.
In a media engagement on July 7, 2024, Mr Mahama asserted that the 24hr economy policy would establish a robust foundation for accelerated growth and development, enhancing both production and distribution capabilities within the economy.
The former president outlined the advantages of a 24-hour economy, positing that it would catalyze the replacement of imports with domestically produced goods, thereby invigorating the Ghanaian industrial sector.
He further emphasized the role of targeted stimulus packages to incentivize companies to participate in this round-the-clock economic model, encouraging them to produce import substitutes and fostering a sustainable growth trajectory.
“The 24-hour economy will be the best accelerator or catalyst Ghana could possibly have which will increase the production and distribution of goods and services and accelerate the economic exchanges between people and companies.
“The 24-hour economy is a solid way to replace imports with home-grown production of goods and that will create a solid base for a vibrant Ghanaian industry,” Mahama remarked.
The former president highlighted the potential for Ghanaian firms to forge foreign partnerships, particularly within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Such alliances, he noted, would open up new export markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, positioning Ghana as an export-led economy.
“Many Ghanaian companies will start looking for foreign partners to develop their businesses to take advantage of the new opportunities available to them via this policy. Thanks to the African Continental Free Trade Area, these partnerships will open new foreign markets to Ghanaian companies, and goods produced in Ghana will then be exported to other parts of our continent, to Asia, to Europe, or North America, using the connections of these foreign partners.
It is important to understand that the 24-hour economy will generate a network of foreign markets for Ghanaian entrepreneurs and will transform Ghana into an export-led economy,” he quipped.
Mahama underscored the comprehensive nature of the 24-hour economy policy, describing it as a meticulously planned, data-driven, and evidence-based strategy aimed at expanding critical sectors of the economy.
He projected that this initiative would significantly mitigate unemployment and economic dependence, transforming Ghana’s economic structure through vigorous private sector-led growth.
“This initiative will anchor my determination to change the structure of the Ghanaian economy through the active support of private sector-led growth, and so be assured that the 24-hour economic policy initiative is a well-thought-through, data-driven, evidence-based, and comprehensive policy to expand critical and strategic segments of our economy sustainably, and it will liberate Ghana from the shackles of unemployment and economic dependence,” he remarked.