24-Hour Economy Without Cheaper Power And Credit Is A Mirage

The CEO of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has warned that the ambitious 24-Hour economy policy will amount to little more than a slogan unless government urgently addresses the structural constraints businesses face.

Mark Badu-Aboagye, particularly, singled out the high cost of power and credit.

“Launching a 24-hour economy will not change the harsh business environment that we are facing now,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, July 7, as he dissected the viability of President John Mahama’s recently launched flagship initiative.

Mr Badu-Aboagye stressed that while recent macroeconomic improvements provide a foundation, they are not enough to anchor a meaningful economic transformation.

“It is a good start, but it’s not enough. Having inflation down to 13.7% is a necessary condition, but not sufficient to change the structure of the economy,” he said.

He argued that lower inflation should lead to reductions in the cost of credit and utilities — two critical components of industrial competitiveness.

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“We want to see how the lower inflation will reduce the cost of credit. We want to see how the lower inflation will reduce the cost of utility, electricity and water. These are key components when it comes to manufacturing.”

Mr Badu-Aboagye painted a stark picture of the manufacturing landscape in Ghana, citing crippling power tariffs.

“In Ghana, the cost per kilowatt hour per manufacturing company, ranging from 12 to 15 cents, is among the highest. In what hour for them is less than five cents,” he said, referring to global competitors.

“If you really want to manufacture more, we need to bring down the cost of utility, and then that of cost of credit.”

He noted that with a policy rate of 28 per cent, businesses are burdened with interest rates of 30 per cent or higher, making it nearly impossible to compete.

“No company would want to manufacture and export and be competitive under this condition,” he said.

Mr Badu-Aboagye made it clear that simply extending business hours is not enough to drive economic growth, especially if the goal is to capture export markets.

“The 24-hour economy is not only for local consumption. If it’s for local consumption, then we don’t need a 24-Hour economy because we can produce much to feed ourselves.”

He explained that the real challenge is not production volume, but competitiveness.

“We want to export. That is why accelerated export is a component of the 24-hour economy. But when you send your product abroad, people will not buy it because it’s coming from Ghana. After all, you have launched a 24-hour economy.”

“They will buy your product because one, it’s competitive; two, it’s of high quality,” he added.

Mr Badu-Aboagye warned that Ghanaian products risk being priced out of key markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) if input costs remain high.

“So when it gets there, you are going to compare your product with a product coming from probably people within AfCFTA — let’s say from North Africa.

Their cost of production is very low. So you produce and you send it there, and you won’t get people to buy because it’s very expensive.”

He concluded by urging policymakers to move beyond headline figures and focus on how current macroeconomic gains, including the cedi’s appreciation and falling inflation, can be translated into real economic relief.

“Let’s look at how the improvements we are seeing now, the lower inflation and the cedi appreciation, will impact on the policy rate.”

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