Afenyo-Markin Slams Government: “Where Is the 24-Hour Economy in the 2026 Budget?”
Afenyo-Markin challenges the absence of clear plans for the 24-Hour Economy despite earlier promises.
- Minority Leader says the 2026 Budget gives no clear roadmap for the 24-Hour Economy
- Questions raised over government’s commitment to its flagship job-creation policy
- Afenyo-Markin argues the youth still see no evidence of promised employment opportunities
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has taken a swipe at the government for what he describes as a glaring lack of clarity on its much-publicised 24-Hour Economy initiative in the 2026 Budget Statement.
He argued that although the government previously touted the policy as a major job creation tool, the newly presented budget by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson failed to properly reference or detail the programme.
Dr. Forson, while presenting the 2026 Budget and Economic Policy in Parliament, announced that government is projecting GH¢268.1 billion in total revenue and grants for 2026 — representing an 18.3% rise from the GH¢226.7 billion estimated for 2025. He also disclosed plans to generate about 800,000 new jobs across multiple sectors in the coming year, adding that GH¢110 million has been earmarked for the 24-Hour Economy Programme to spur productivity, exports, and employment.
But Afenyo-Markin questioned the government’s seriousness, stressing that the policy seems invisible in the very budget expected to anchor it.
“When Ghanaians voted for the NDC, they said they were delivering jobs through their flagship 24-Hour Economy — one job operating in three shifts to create three opportunities.
“Go to Ga Mashie and elsewhere; the youth are asking where the jobs are and what has become of the 24-Hour Economy. Yet the budget doesn’t clearly mention it, but MPs continue to praise a policy they cannot even find,” he said.
