‘We cannot yet quantify jobs created’ – 24-hour economy secretariat

The Chief Programme Officer of the 24-hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Secretariat, Abdul-Nasser Suglo Alidu, says he is unable to provide a total figure for jobs created under the government’s flagship policy.

He said the government is working with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to establish a system to accurately measure the policy’s employment impact.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Monday, October 19, he said the Secretariat did not want to announce figures without reliable data.

“Now, first of all, I won’t be able to give you a number in terms of the total number of jobs the 24-hour economy created. We don’t want to throw numbers around,” he said, explaining that structures were being put in place to capture the number of jobs generated across the economy when asked how many jobs has the 24-hour economy has created.

His comments come amid questions about the policy’s progress, particularly its job creation targets.

In 2024, proponents of the policy projected that it would absorb at least 300,000 people entering the workforce annually and reduce unemployment by 120,000 each year.

However, Mr Suglo Alidu acknowledged that the Secretariat could not yet provide a nationwide figure to show how many jobs had been created since implementation began.

He argued that although measures to stimulate job creation were being implemented, the systems needed to track their overall impact were not yet fully in place.

Mr Suglo Alidu also pointed to increased credit to the private sector, citing a Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Committee report, as an indication that businesses were gaining greater access to financing to support their activities and potentially employ more people.

He stressed that the 24-hour economy policy went beyond getting businesses to operate in three shifts, describing it as a broader strategy to transform the economy and build globally competitive companies.

He said, “several state enterprises and private businesses were already operating multiple shifts as part of efforts to extend economic activity beyond conventional working hours.”