The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has criticised the Mahama administration over what he describes as the slow and ineffective implementation of the government’s flagship 24-hour economy policy, after almost one year in office.
Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor raised concerns that, during parliamentary debates on the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill. He argued that the proposed three-shift, eight-hour working system, which was expected to create jobs for unemployed youth, would need to be implemented across state institutions.
According to him, the only public institution operating any form of shift system is the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, and even that, he noted, does not run on a full 24-hour basis.
“Eleven months into the NDC administration, their flagship programme of a 24-hour economy, with the three-shift system for unemployed Ghanaian youth, the only place working some form of shifts today is the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, and even that is not a full 24-hour operation,” Hon. Abu Jinapor told the House.
The Damongo MP also opposed the proposal to establish a new authority to oversee the policy. Argue that existing state institutions are capable of driving job creation under a 24-hour economic framework.
He cited the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) as an example of an institution whose mandate already supports export-led growth, which he said aligns with the objectives of a 24-hour economy.
“You do not need another authority to promote exports and thereby create a 24-hour economy. We already have the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, whose sole mandate is to promote exports,” he said.
He also described the bill as a move that would benefit political appointees rather than unemployed youth, warning that it could create new administrative positions without addressing the broader employment crisis affecting ordinary Ghanaians.
“This is another gimmick. It is meant to buy time and give false hope to the unemployed youth,” he said. “This authority will only create jobs for a few another CEO, deputy CEOs, and managers while the suffering youth from Bolgatanga to Keta, Bosome Freho, and across the country remain without jobs.”
He concluded by pointing to what he described as growing public frustration over repeated policy promises without tangible results, urging the government to focus on implementation rather than expanding bureaucracy.
“Ghanaians are tired of hope; they want action. Nearly a year on, instead of implementing the 24-hour economy, the government is asking us to create another layer of bureaucracy.”
