The Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has challenged the government’s claims of job creation under its flagship 24-hour economy programme, accusing it of relying on announcements and projections rather than verifiable employment data.
This comes on the back of claims by the Secretariat of the 24-Hour Economy programme that it has secured $5.5 billion in Joint Development Agreements with co-development partners as of May 2026, while 268 filling stations and 33 manufacturing companies have started operating under the initiative’s multi-shift model.
But Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the government’s reported creation of about 160,000 jobs under the initiative had not been supported by evidence showing that beneficiaries were employed and receiving wages.
Speaking ahead of the Mid-Year Budget Review by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, 2026, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the opposition would be looking beyond government announcements to actual implementation figures.
“The job numbers are audio announcements. They are in the pipeline. They are not on the payroll,” he said.
The former Information Minister said the government had promised about 1.7 million jobs through the 24-hour economy programme but questioned whether the initiative had produced the scale of employment being claimed.
“The 24-hour economy promised about 1.7 million jobs. Its direct 2026 allocation is 110 million Ghana cedis,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah also criticised the government’s use of businesses operating extended hours as evidence of the programme’s success, particularly the inclusion of fuel stations.
“If you look at the detail of the 160,000 jobs that they are claiming out of a number of filling stations that are operating 24 hours, it is laughable,” he said.
“You all know that filling stations were operating in this country before the NDC came to power. So to claim that about 300 or so filling stations are operating 24 hours as evidence of a functioning 24-hour economy programme and 160,000 jobs announced out of it is laughable.”
He said agreements signed with private sector players should not be presented as completed employment outcomes.
“A memorandum of understanding is not a payslip,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah added.
The NPP’s criticism comes as the government prepares to present its Mid-Year Budget Review, where economic performance, public spending and flagship programmes are expected to come under scrutiny.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the party would demand details on actual cash releases and project-level implementation, arguing that budget announcements did not always reflect what was happening on the ground.
“When announcements are made, that’s not what we’ll be looking at. We’ll be looking at the cash releases because they tell two different stories. It is the cash release that tells the truth,” he said.
The 24-hour economy is one of the government’s major policy initiatives aimed at expanding economic activity and creating employment through round-the-clock operations in selected sectors.
