‘You’re Not Powering An 8-Hour Economy, But Promising 24 Hours?’

Economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin has cast doubt on the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) 24-hour economy proposal, calling it unrealistic in light of ongoing energy challenges.

Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile on Saturday, May 17, he said the country cannot even sustain a reliable 8-hour energy cycle, yet politicians are promising a 24-hour system.

“You are not even getting power for your eight-hour economy cycle that we are running, and you are talking about a 24-hour economy,” he said.

He described the state of Ghana’s energy sector as one of the biggest threats to economic stability.

“Apart from irresponsible mining, including illegal mining, what causes me sleepless nights is the energy sector,” he said.

“We have seen what both major political parties have done. And we are now at a stage where politicisation doesn’t help.”

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According to him, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is recording distribution losses of around 40%, a figure nearly triple the world average.

“That is not sustainable,” he stressed. “Even if you are doing 15%, that is very high. With that level of losses, in economics, you cannot talk about realistic pricing.”

He explained that such losses cannot be passed on to consumers.

“You cannot pass on all those losses to the ultimate consumer. It doesn’t make sense economically or socially.”

He also highlighted collection losses of close to 15%, which he again called “above world average” and “not sustainable.”

Prof. Bokpin painted a bleak picture of power sector management, where key state agencies and sensitive installations do not pay for their electricity.

“You heard the minister saying that it’s about time ministries, departments, and agencies take responsibility for their energy consumption,” he said.

He cited claims from the public about odd electricity use patterns.

“Somebody once reminded me, have I noticed where ice blocks come from in this country for pure water sellers? Somebody said, probably from police stations. I’m not saying this is true, but it tells you what’s going on.”

He said when unpaid bills by ministries, departments, and agencies are combined with technical and collection losses, “there is no way we can see a future in this direction.”

Yet, in the midst of all this, politicians are promising more. “That’s why I don’t understand the upbeat tone from government,” he said.

“Here you have a government talking about a 24-hour economy, and we are struggling to run an 8-hour one.”

He insisted the current model of ECG operations is broken and called for private sector participation in the downstream distribution chain.

“I believe we should all support government in some kind of private sector participation. That doesn’t mean selling ECG. Government can still be the sole shareholder,” he clarified.

“But we should be able to invite the private sector into the distribution of power and collection. That will bring in capital and private sector efficiency.”

He stressed that such reform is already tied to Ghana’s ongoing IMF-supported program. “There are structural reforms under the IMF program. And there are clear indicators government has to meet,” he said.

He added that the Cabinet is expected to decide on ECG’s future and urged open communication.

“The Government must communicate this clearly to Ghanaians,” he said.

Prof. Bokpin concluded that slogans like the 24-hour economy are merely political theatre unless the root problems are addressed.

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