Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama, has touted his flagship 24-hour economy initiative as the best solution to Ghana’s unemployment and economic challenges.
He said this during his address to Ghanaians through a Facebook live, dubbed the “Mahama Conversations.”
According to him, the country would not have struggled with creating employment opportunities if government had not thrown away the 40-year development plan which included the 24-hour initiative, developed by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) during the time he was president.
He emphasized the initiative’s advantages for the nation, saying it would greatly strengthen the economy.
“If the government had not jettisoned the 40-year national development plan which was developed by the NDPC during my presidency, they would have adopted and implemented my 24-hour economy initiative which was contained in that document and that would have saved Ghanaians from these levels of unprecedented unemployment,” he said.
“The stuck reality is that the current 8-hour working system is inadequate to create the production, productivity and well paying jobs, required for the revival of Ghana’s currently bankrupt economy. It is also inadequate to produce enough goods and services for exports.
“The 24-hour initiative is the answer for now and in the future. It will create an enabling environment with deliberate policies for businesses, companies, and government institutions to operate 24/7 in a three-eight-hour shift system.
“In addition to the traditional 8-hour shift system, the two additional work shifts that my administration will introduce will double and sometimes triple the number of jobs that participate in public and private entities that we currently have.
“This is the 24-hour economy optimization strategy: giving more to society, providing efficient service delivery, and generating decent and well-paying jobs. The benefits of this system will include but not limited to; 24-hour port and harbour services, 24-hour customs services, 24-hour DVLA services, 24-hour agro-processing factories, 24-hour manufacturing industries, 24-hour construction companies and many more.”