The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Atta Issah, has stated that the government deliberately delayed the rollout of its flagship 24-Hour Economy policy to prevent it from being politicised and to allow for broad-based stakeholder consultations.

According to him, the extra time taken was necessary to properly shape the initiative into a sustainable national framework.

The MP, who serves on Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee as well as the Finance Committee, explained that extensive engagements were undertaken across the country before finalising the policy framework.

He noted that government was determined to build consensus and ensure that key players in the private and public sectors contributed to the design of the programme.

Atta Issah further disclosed that the implementation of the 24-Hour Economy would be anchored on regional-specific economic interventions tailored to local strengths and comparative advantages.

He cited examples such as groundnut processing initiatives in the Upper West Region and the development of an Integrated Rice Corridor in the North East Region.

“Since we don’t want the over-politicisation of economic policies, we needed to do a lot of consultations. The Secretariat did a good job; they consulted everybody they needed to consult. If you go region by region, for instance, Upper West will be getting the groundnut processing, that is the millet corridor. North East will be getting the Integrated Rice Corridor and many more.

“The 24-Hour Economy has come to stay. It is going to transform the economic framework of this country and I can bet you, people will smile by the end of 2026.”

Atta Issah made the remarks on Citi FM on Wednesday, February 11, expressing confidence that the long-term economic framework would significantly transform Ghana’s economy once fully implemented.