UG Economist Slams Gov’t: “24-Hour Economy Implementation Far From Reality”

Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana and Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, has delivered a sharp critique of the government’s rollout of its flagship 24-hour economy policy, saying the implementation is “far from reality” and deviates significantly from what the official policy document proposes.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, July 25, 2026, Dr Sarkodie said the government’s 287-page policy document is one of the most well-researched he has encountered — but the execution does not match the depth and clarity of the ideas captured.

“When you read the 24-hour economy document, about 287 pages… what you see in that document are brilliant ideas. In fact, I have not read any government document that is so well-researched,” he said.

“But where is the implementation? And so when you promise 1-3-3, and when you go to the document, 1-3-3 appears only once on page 18, only once out of 287 pages.”

Dr Sarkodie questioned why government is prioritising the construction of 24-hour economy markets when the productive capacity needed to sustain round-the-clock commerce has not yet been built.

“The narration has always been economic transformation… and that the economic transformation is the process and the 1-3-3 shift is a destination. And therefore, we should finish the process before the destination,” he explained.

“But why are you building markets? Because when you build markets, and you have not transformed and produced, what you are going to sell there are still imported commodities.”

He argued that the government must align its implementation with the objectives and recommendations in the policy document, warning that the current disconnect undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the programme.

“What is being promised, what is contained in the document, and what is being done are completely different things. And I don’t think that it is good for us. I think the government should do well,” he said.

— CitiNewsRoom