Following the launch of the government’s flagship 24-Hour Economic initiative, policy think tank IMANI Africa has released a thought-provoking critique of the policy, lauding the ambition but not without questions.
IMANI says that without foundational systems in place, Ghana risks attempting to industrialise on paper while continuing to depend on imported raw materials.
This critique was contained in IMANI’s latest Criticality Analysis of Governance & Economic Issues, which argues that the 24-Hour Economy is conceptually sound, adding that it is indeed a significant leap in Ghana’s economic policy thinking.
However, the public policy think tank is raising three critical questions that must be addressed for the policy to work in practice.
“The 24-Hour Economy is right in framing economic transformation as a systems challenge,” the review indicated.
Below are the three core questions IMANI says the government must answer decisively to ensure the 24-Hour Economy doesn’t become another well-intentioned policy with minimal real-world impact.
Do We Have the Right Infrastructure to Scale Raw Material Production Competitively?
At the heart of any industrial revolution is raw material availability. IMANI questions whether Ghana has the land governance systems, irrigation infrastructure, and agro-credit facilities required to sustainably and competitively scale the raw materials needed to power industries that will run around the clock.
The think tank believes that without reliable access to raw materials, industries will either underperform or import their inputs, undermining the whole point of value addition and job creation,” the report warns.
Land tenure issues, erratic irrigation access, and inadequate financing for smallholder farmers remain longstanding bottlenecks in the agro-industrial value chain. IMANI suggests that unless these are fixed, the 24-Hour Economy may end up deepening the country’s dependency on foreign inputs, rather than reversing it.
Can We Align Research, Skills Development, and Financing with the Needs of Strategic Manufacturing Value Chains (SMVs)?
IMANI calls attention to a major structural flaw in Ghana’s economic development efforts which is the disconnect between what industries need and what institutions provide.
The think tank asks whether Ghana’s universities, training centres, and research bodies are being retooled to support the specific sectors identified under the 24-Hour Economy.
In essence, IMANI is questioning whether we know what skills a 24-hour pharmaceutical plant needs, and are our TVETs and universities are producing them. The think tank further asks if we understand the specific financing models required for agro-processing or light manufacturing?”
To build a competitive 24-hour industrial ecosystem, IMANI argues, the government must create strong feedback loops between academia, industry, and financial institutions to align training, research, and capital flows to the realities of modern production.
Do we have the right foundation to implement this vision?
The 24-Hour Economy policy aims to run production, trade, and services in three shifts, non-stop. But that vision hinges on coordinated supply chains, efficient transportation systems, reliable energy, and market access mechanisms that operate seamlessly across time and space.
IMANI is questioning if we can keep the roads lit, trucks moving, markets open, and utilities stable for businesses operating at 2 a.m. It also questions whether Ghana’s ports, warehouses, and distributors can handle this kind of synchronised demand.
Without a robust logistics and utility framework, Ghana risks creating isolated industrial ‘islands’ that are disconnected from domestic and international supply chains, defeating the core aim of the policy.
A Deeper Vision, But Must Be Matched With Action
Despite its probing questions, IMANI praises the 24-Hour Economy policy for what it represents: a shift away from fragmented interventions toward a more integrated economic transformation agenda.
But the think tank insists that vision alone is not enough. Implementation must be grounded in systems thinking, backed by data, and driven by practical reforms across sectors, from agriculture to education to infrastructure.
“Without these pieces, the risk is that Ghana tries to industrialise on paper while continuing to import the raw materials it claims to replace. That’s not transformation, it’s repackaged dependency,” the critique added.
For IMANI, “the 24-Hour Economy Policy reflects a deeper, more mature vision of economic transformation, one that tries to knit production, supply chains, industrial capacity, and human capital into a single loop. That’s a major step forward.”
