24H Economy Secretariat is in coma — former finance minister Mohammed Amin

Member of Parliament for Karaga and former Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has indicated that the 24-hour economy policy remains a slogan.

“I have observed a pattern where government is forcing public agencies to operate 24Hrs without increasing staff. A public sector approach to this policy is fundamentally flawed.

‘If anyone was expecting that the government would create jobs through the public sector approach, you must be reviewing your expectations because the government cannot fund it. The wage bill is 30% of the Budget (33% in 2025). Doubling the wage bill will bankrupt the country. Even the most reckless government cannot do this.

‘The policy, if it will survive, should be private sector led, yet the government has failed to provide the incentive package promised in the 2026 Budget to the private sector almost half year of the budget implementation.’

He said 24H Economy Secretariat is in a coma as the government has not been releasing funds from the GHS110 million allocated to it this year. ‘The policy is dead on arrival. It is a scam!

What the government has to do in the public sector is adopt what the previous NPP government was doing.

Under the NPP’s digitalization agenda led by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the government digitized the following public services:

1. Digitization of the passport office and made passport applications online without the need for middlemen or for the payment of bribes to obtain a passport.

2. Digitization of the ports, made it paperless and more efficient with a tremendously improved turnaround time.

3. Digitization of the Driver Licensing and Vehicle Registration related services which ensured that people no longer wait for several months to receive their licenses.

4. Digitization of the Motor Insurance Database to curb the menace of vehicles with fake motor insurance stickers and ensured that the public can also self-check the authenticity of their insurance policy by dialing a USSD code.

5. Digitization of payments for public services, the Ghana.Gov Platform which made it easy to access government services.

6. ⁠Digitization of pharmacies – the digital E-Pharmacy platform which offers the opportunity to everyone through a mobile phone to upload his/her prescriptions and find out which pharmacies near them have the medicines.

7. Integration of government databases – the National ID card database with other databases such as Passports, SSNIT, NHIS, Ghana Revenue Authority, Bank Accounts, DVLA, SIM cards, Mobile money accounts, Controller and Accountant Generals Department, Registrar Generals Department, Births and Deaths Registry and the Police CID, Ghana.Gov etc. to create a centralized integrated database.

A Bawumia government will continue with the digitalization of public institutions and services to ensure the public’s ease of access to government services at all times, improve efficiency and productivity and create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

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