Retired Specialist Forensic Psychiatrist John Kuku Dsane has urged the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to appoint a minister or head of an agency responsible for overseeing the 24-hour economy to ensure its successful implementation.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Dsane expressed appreciation to President-elect John Dramani Mahama for introducing the 24-hour economy concept. He emphasized that a dedicated official would foster closer collaboration with countries already implementing the policy.
Dsane highlighted the success of nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, China, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, and Indonesia, which he noted had effectively applied scientific methods to implement their 24-hour economies.
He recommended that the appointed official conduct detailed research into factors that contributed to the UK’s Industrial Revolution in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the Chinese Industrial Revolution.
Dsane also suggested reviewing Ghana’s National Development Planning Commission documents, including Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Seven-Year Development Plan, to guide the country’s 24-hour economy policy.
Furthermore, Dsane proposed obtaining relevant data from institutions such as the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Statistical Service, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as leveraging resources like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support the policy’s implementation.
“Although the challenges in the implementation of the 24-hour economy include low productivity, unemployment, poverty, and hunger, these challenges will be mitigated by increased productivity, and job creation, as a result of the three shifts rotational system and lead to increased consumer spending and economic growth,” Dsane stated.
He said, “Other benefits would be the potential impact on work life, balance and family time for employees, particular focus, attention should be placed on agriculture, manufacturing industry, transport services and tourism sectors of the economy”.
Dsane called for close collaboration, cooperation, and coordination among stakeholders and development partners, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Chinese Government, European Union, and Trade Unions.
He said there was the need for technical support from the World Bank to evaluate the policy, public education at the district, regional, and national levels, improvement in road and rail infrastructure, the establishment of industrial hubs or free zone enclaves, and constant supply of water and electricity, to facilitate the 24-Hour economy.
He appealed to the media to hype the 24-hour economy as a better alternative to creating jobs and advancing the progress of humanity
