Bolgatanga: Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, announced that the Ministry intends to pilot 24-Hour Economy market centres across various Metropolitans, Municipalities, and Districts to strengthen the local economy. The initiative will be executed in collaboration with Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and will include provisions for a Women Development Bank.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Ibrahim shared these plans while delivering a keynote address at a two-day private sector forum focused on investment opportunities and financial access for women and youth entrepreneurs in Bolgatanga. The forum, themed 'Enhancing Social Cohesion and Social Contract Through Empowerment of Women and Youth in Three Northern Regions of Ghana,' was organized by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).
The NDPC has developed an investment strategy toolkit aimed at assisting eight Districts in the Upper East, North East, and Upper West Regions. The toolkit helps districts identify their comparative advantages, enabling them to develop targeted strategies to attract investment and enhance domestic revenue mobilization. A series of private sector investment opportunities will be held in the regional capitals of these regions, focusing on the participating districts, such as Garu, Bawku West, and Bongo in the Upper East Region.
The forums aim to strengthen collaboration among private sector actors, philanthropic organizations, local government authorities, and women and youth groups. This collaboration is intended to unlock investment opportunities and promote local economic development. Mr. Ibrahim emphasized that the 24-Hour Economy initiative, introduced by the Mahama-led government, aims for a continuously productive Ghana through shift systems in factories, extended market hours, and nighttime public services.
He urged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives to prioritize the 24-Hour Economy initiative, highlighting it as a potential game-changer. The Minister further explained that MMDAs would plan city centre markets to operate 24-hour services, including pharmacies, police and fire stations, health posts, and fuel stations. He noted that these market centres would be illuminated by solar-powered energy to facilitate nighttime business activities, thereby boosting the local economy. 'This is what President Mahama is bringing,' he concluded.
