A member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, has stated his support for the 24-Hour Economy initiative launched by President John Dramani Mahama on July 3 2025.

“I am all for it. God knows Ghana needs some economic stimulus besides the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme,” he said in a piece he shared with the Daily Graphic.

He also described the launch of the programme as impressive but expressed concerns about how the initiative will be executed, questioning whether it will face the same fate as past initiatives that failed to deliver.

Dr Kennedy cited initiatives by the previous government, such as the One Village One Dam (1V1D) and Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), that he said failed to deliver.

“My concern, though, is how we launch these initiatives with panache only to let them fizzle out. What happened to the One Village One Dam (1V1D)"? What happened to "Planting

For Food and Jobs"? What benefits did Ghana derive from the development authorities?” he questioned.

Parliamentary oversight

“It would seem to me that we need some accountability for our past initiatives, structures and investments before we boldly pour $4billion into another initiative.

“This kind of review, in my opinion, belongs to Parliament.

It seems that we should move away from the practice of permitting presidents to name the price of initiatives and appropriate funds and disburse them with virtually no executive oversight,” he said.

“While on this inquiry, Parliament might look into why our governments are becoming increasingly fond of new secretariats and authorities, established besides our normal government machineries,” Dr Kennedy said.

He also called for the investigation of underlying causes of failures, such as corruption.

Dr Kennedy called on the government to involve the diaspora in the implementation of the initiative to ensure its success.

He stated that although the plan (24 Hour Economy) looks promising, execution is essential.

"In the end, it is the execution that matters.

It is why Singapore, Malaysia and all our contemporaries have left us behind.

For once, let us execute," he concluded.