An independent presidential hopeful, Kofi Koranteng, has challenged the statements made by John Dramani Mahama and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on the feasibility or not of the 24-hour economy proposal by the NDC flagbearer.
According to him, the policy that has been proposed is not understood by the two men, who are the flagbearers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking with Vim Lady on Okay FM, Koranteng shared scepticism about the feasibility of a 24-hour economy in the current Ghanaian context.
“The advanced economy being referenced is not 24 hours. I have been to Dubai in the UAE, Germany, Japan, Singapore - all these countries have incredible economies but they don't run 24 hours,” he stated.
He went on to outline three essential prerequisites for a successful 24-hour economy: connectivity, complexity, and competencies.
According to Koranteng, Ghana currently lacks these fundamental elements.
“First, to even think about the 24-hour economy, as proposed by John Mahama, the three things you need to have available are not there. These three things are connectivity, complexity and competencies.
"If you don't have these three things, you cannot possibly even think of a 24-hour economy. All this tells me is that Mahama doesn’t know what he is talking about. He was coached into saying it and he has also come out to say it,” he said.
The independent candidate hopeful further highlighted the absence of a comprehensive transportation system, proper network connectivity, as foundation for an economy that wants to extend beyond regular working hours.
Koranteng also challenged the approach to legislating a 24-hour economy, stating that the government's role is to provide infrastructure, allowing the private sector to flourish.
“We don't have a transportation system, there is no mass transportation system, yet we want to implement a 24-hour economy.
“Let me make this scenario, a commercial bus driver, popularly known as ‘trotro’, starts work in the morning and closes at 8pm, who is expected to take over his shift. If there is no mass transit system, then this is what the Chinese established before anything else.
“If you want a 24-hour economy, you build roads, connectivity is key. Presently, you don't have roads that connect people, you don't have good data infrastructure and network connectivity for good call making. If you don't have those, you cannot even think of an economy that extends past the normal hours.
He continued: “Again, when we talk about the 24-hour economy, the government cannot legislate a 24-hour economy. What the government does is that you provide infrastructure to the public sector and then the private sector comes in to feed until the sector becomes full.”.
Regarding Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's criticism of the policy, Kofi Koranteng stated that certain essential services, such as hospitals, police, and fire services, do not fall under the private sector and are critical components of any thriving economy.
He argued against the notion that merely having these services operate 24 hours means the economy is running 24-hours around the clock.
“What Bawumia also said about the policy shows he also doesn't understand it. Utilities don't fall under the private sector. For an economy to survive to crawl, there are some agencies of government you have to establish. So, mentioning the hospital, police, fire service and others, they form the base for any economy... So, you cannot say that because they run 24-hours means you have a 24 hour economy, that is not what the concept means,” he added.
What Bawumia said about Mahama's 24-hour economy
“John Mahama says he has a new idea, what is this new idea, he says he wants a 24-hour economy. He doesn’t even understand that promise,"
He listed among others; hospitals, power and fuel service providers and some chop bars, that are already operating 24 hours adding that thanks to digitalization, “you can transfer and receive money 24 hours.”
“He (Mahama) doesn’t understand his own policy, it does not make sense. I want you to note in 2024 we are having a new vision. I will bring new policy and we will transform this country. John Mahama is the past, Dr. Bawumia is the future.”
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