Presidential Advisor on the government’s 24-Hour Economy, Goosie Tanoh, has stated that the policy is intended to motivate businesses to expand production willingly rather than compel them to operate continuously.

In an interview with the GBC, Mr Tanoh explained that the government’s strategy centres on creating favourable economic conditions that make expansion attractive to the private sector.

He noted that productivity growth, enhanced industrial capacity and a supportive investment climate will be critical to the policy’s success.

He emphasised that businesses make decisions based on economic logic, not directives.

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

According to him, firms will only increase shifts when the marginal cost of additional production is outweighed by expected revenue.

“Companies operate on the marginal. If the marginal cost of hiring more people and producing the next unit of output is less than the marginal revenue, they are not going to do it. So you can’t force anybody to do 1-3-3. What you need to do is to create an incentive and the environment that allows them to do that,” he added.

His remarks follow the signing of the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill into law by President John Dramani Mahama on February 19.

The new legislation establishes the framework to coordinate implementation of the flagship programme, which the government says will boost productivity, expand exports and generate employment by encouraging industries and service providers to extend operations beyond conventional working hours.