24 Hour Economy Will Not Compel Businesses To Expand

24-Hour Economy Will Encourage, Not Compel Businesses to Expand

February 23,2026

Presidential Advisor on the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy, Goosie Tanoh, has clarified that the initiative is intended to incentivise businesses to increase production voluntarily rather than force them to operate around the clock.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation monitored by vistanewsgh, Mr Tanoh explained that the policy will centre on creating favourable economic conditions that enable companies to grow, invest, and employ more workers.

According to him, the effectiveness of the 24-Hour Economy depends on enhanced productivity, expanded industrial capacity, and a supportive investment and incentive regime that makes scaling up operations financially attractive.

He noted that when companies are already operating efficiently and recognise clear economic benefits in expansion, they naturally introduce additional shifts without government compulsion.

“If an economy is operating at full capacity, nobody is going to tell industry to do shifts. It is a function of capacity and the incentive regime that allows companies to take that decision,” he stated.

Mr Tanoh emphasised that businesses make decisions based on marginal cost and marginal revenue, arguing that firms will only expand output and hire more staff if the financial returns justify the additional expense.

“You can’t force anybody to do three shifts. What you need to do is create the incentive and the environment that allows them to do that,” he added.

His remarks follow President John Dramani Mahama’s assent to the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill on February 19, which formally establishes the institutional framework to coordinate the rollout of the policy.

The legislation underpins one of the flagship economic programmes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. Government officials maintain that the initiative will boost productivity, expand exports, and generate employment by encouraging industries, logistics operators, and service providers to extend operations beyond traditional working hours.