Hon. Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, has criticized the government’s much-touted 24-hour economy proposal, describing it as an empty promise with no roadmap.
According to him, the policy—which was expected to ease unemployment by splitting one job among three people through a shift system—has not even moved beyond rhetoric.
“Government is only telling us that 24-hour economy, three jobs are going to be, if like one job is going to be given to three people. Today as we speak, ninth month… even in the budget, that 24-hour economy thing they said, please have you seen it working?” he quizzed.
The lawmaker stressed that no tangible steps have been taken to implement the idea, nine months after it was publicly floated.
“Has one job been given to three young people in this country? Are they even having plans to do that?
“And when I say this government is a failure, you think I’m just saying it. It is reality,” he added.
Assafuah dismissed the initiative as a political gimmick, insisting that even with decades, the government cannot execute it.
“You can give them 20 years, they cannot do it. I am not a doomsayer.”
He argued that while he personally believes a 24-hour economy could work if backed by sound policies, it cannot be dictated solely by government pronouncements.
“That is when the government has been able to enable the environment by way of its policies. The government cannot say that I have provided this job, I’m giving it to three people to do.”
For him, the government’s responsibility should be limited to creating a conducive business environment rather than making promises it cannot deliver.
