The Chairman of the National Development Planning Committee (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has revealed that the 24-hour economy policy was not conceived under President John Mahama’s second-term administration.

According to him, the policy was originally part of the country’s 48-year development plan and was later adopted by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

“Actually, the 24-hour economy came from the 48 Development Plan. It’s one of the few things that have actually come out of it.”

Dr Thompson said the 48-year development plan was intended to be legislated in its entirety, but this did not happen.

“But the 48 Development Plan, as in its entirety, should have been legislated, but it wasn’t. But the government, the NDC, took that out of the 48 Development Plan," he told Joy News' PM Express.

He said the plan also influenced other government initiatives, including the creation of the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Ghana Agency for Development Cooperation.

“The name of the Ministry of Sports and Recreation came from the 48 Development Plan. We have something known as the Ghana Agency for Development Cooperation, which is currently under development between NDPs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to help form soft power for Ghana and Global Affairs.”

On the implementation of the 24-hour economy, Dr Thompson said those behind the policy had made progress by lining up investments across different sectors.

“Well, I’m pretty sure they can tell you a lot more. But from the perspective of those who came up with the idea, I think they’ve done pretty well.”

He, however, believes the government must place greater emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the next two years.

“You have to understand that they are operating across a spectrum of businesses, from small to large.”

“Usually, it takes the gestation period for big businesses take a while to get, and I think they put a lot of effort into it. They’ve lined up a lot of investments. It will take a while for those to catch on.”

“My expectation is that in the next two years, they will focus more on the SMEs also, so that you cover the whole spectrum. You don’t put all your eggs in the big businesses per se.”

Dr Thompson said this is critical because the committee’s analysis showed that existing businesses account for the majority of new jobs.

“Something like 80% of new jobs are created by existing businesses.”

He said job creation must also go beyond generating new employment to improving the quality of existing jobs.

“The issue of dealing with the quality of existing jobs is one of those legs that I expect them to work on in the next two years.”