A lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Eric K. K. Abavare, has questioned the government’s emphasis on 24-hour markets under its flagship 24-hour economy policy.
In an article titled “Do We Need 24-Hour Markets or 24-Hour Production? A Critical Reflection on Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy Policy,” the KNUST Department of Physics lecturer argued that Ghana’s priority should be expanding production rather than simply extending trading hours.
He said the country’s major economic constraints include inadequate productive capacity, unreliable electricity, weak cold-chain logistics and insufficient post-harvest storage.
Prof. Abavare noted that Ghana already has major markets, including Kejetia, Makola, Kaneshie, Aboabo, Techiman and Tamale Central, which handle substantial volumes of trade.
He therefore questioned the need to prioritise new market infrastructure when several existing facilities remain incomplete or underutilised.
He cited the abandoned Krofrom Market in Kumasi, delays in the redevelopment of the Kotokuraba Market in Cape Coast and the unfinished Kejetia Phase II expansion.
“Ghana is not short of market infrastructure,” he argued, adding that extending trading hours from 16 to 24 hours would not necessarily create additional economic value if production remained unchanged.
He also expressed concern over reports that some functioning markets could be demolished to make way for new 24-hour facilities.
“Demolishing what works to build what is not yet needed is the very definition of misallocated capital,” he stated.
Prof. Abavare said a major concern with a market-focused 24-hour economy was the possibility of increasing the sale of imported goods without strengthening domestic production.
He argued that if markets remained dominated by imported textiles, electronics, household goods and processed foods, longer trading hours could increase foreign-exchange outflows and put further pressure on the cedi and external reserves.
He said Ghana should instead use the 24-hour economy to support factories, agro-processing plants, pharmaceutical facilities and assembly lines operating multiple shifts.
He cited cocoa processing in Suhum, shea-butter refining in Tamale, garment production in the Tema Export Processing Zone and cashew processing in Wenchi as examples of activities that could create jobs and generate export revenue.
“A twenty-four-hour market selling imported second-hand clothing does the opposite,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with industrial centres such as Shenzhen, Ho Chi Minh City and Guangzhou, Prof. Abavare argued that round-the-clock economic activity in those locations is driven largely by manufacturing, logistics and export-oriented production.
“In each case, the 24-hour rhythm is a symptom of a productive economy, not a policy imposed upon a consumptive one,” he stated.
He cautioned that Ghana could adopt the appearance of a 24-hour economy without developing the industrial capacity required to sustain it.
Prof. Abavare also linked the debate to Ghana’s tertiary education system, arguing that business and management programmes have expanded more rapidly than engineering, applied science and technology programmes.
He said developing engineers, scientists, medical researchers and skilled artisans requires greater investment in laboratories, equipment, industrial training and technical education.
According to him, the imbalance has contributed to a workforce with more people trained in selling and marketing than in manufacturing and technological production.
“Twenty-four-hour markets are, in this sense, the macro-economic expression of a whiteboard-and-marker education model,” he stated.
The lecturer further called for greater attention to unfinished health and education infrastructure before embarking on additional large-scale commercial projects.
He cited unfinished Agenda 111 hospitals, the KNUST Teaching Hospital, the proposed replacement facility at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, abandoned E-block projects and schools operating in inadequate facilities.
He argued that hospitals, laboratories and factories operating around the clock would provide greater productive and social value than markets selling imported goods during the early hours of the morning.
“A hospital that treats patients through the night, a laboratory that runs experiments through the night, or a factory that produces goods through the night is a far more defensible use of the twenty-four-hour concept than a market stall selling imported wares at 3 a.m.,” he wrote.
Prof. Abavare proposed five measures to make the 24-hour economy more production-oriented:
1. Complete existing market projects such as Krofrom, Kotokuraba and Kejetia Phase II before undertaking new projects of similar scale.
2. Direct 24-hour incentives such as tax rebates, subsidised power tariffs and security support towards manufacturers, agro-processors and exporters operating multiple shifts.
3. Introduce local-content requirements for publicly funded 24-hour commercial facilities to ensure that Ghanaian-made products occupy a significant share of market space.
4. Prioritise unfinished health and education projects, including Agenda 111 facilities and the KNUST Teaching Hospital.
5. Strengthen engineering, applied science, technology and vocational training through reforms in tertiary education funding.
Prof. Abavare stressed that his position was not against the concept of a round-the-clock economy but against prioritising trading without first strengthening production.
He said Ghana’s economic transformation should focus on activities that create value, generate employment, reduce dependence on imports and earn foreign exchange.
“A ribbon-cutting at a new 24-hour market makes a compelling photograph, but it does not close the trade deficit, it does not stabilise the cedi, it does not employ our engineers, and it does not treat the patients waiting for Agenda 111 hospitals to open,” he stated.
He concluded that Ghana’s competitiveness depends on producing more of what it consumes and exporting more of what it produces.
“We do not primarily need 24-hour markets. We need 24-hour production,” Prof. Abavare stated.
By 1960news.com
