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Opinions of Thursday, 30 November 2023

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

Who says Mahama’s 24-hour economy can thrive in dumsor? - Part II

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama

Given the level of devastation of the squeamishly irritating dumsor on industries and businesses under his watch, we can understand how and why some concerned Ghanaians are being extremely skeptical over former President, Mahama’s much-publicised 24-hour economy.

Of course, business and industry owners need an efficient electricity supply to operate seamlessly.

No business or industry can thrive amid an erratic electricity supply(dumsor).

Unfortunately, businesses and industries did not blossom in the midst of the
unspeakable dumsor during the erstwhile Mahama administration.

The disgustingly annoying and expensive buzzing of generators across the length and breadth of the country, regrettably, went on for well over four years to the utter disgust of the good people of Ghana.

Perhaps, and even more, than anything else, former President, Mahama is only trying his level best to hoodwink the unsuspecting voters.

If that was not the case, how on earth would someone who had puzzlingly sat on a common dumsor for close to five years turn around and promise a 24-hour economy?

Besides, the 24-hour economy is an economic system in which no government can neither legislate nor coerce the industry and business owners to partake. It is obviously driven by demand and supply.

It is against such a backdrop that I am extremely perplexed over the so-called experts with little or no expertise spurious claim that the demand side is not a big deal in Mahama’s much-touted 24-hour economy.

My dear reader, you may take it from me, I am not being boastful, far from it. I have lived, schooled, and worked in a 24-hour economy for close to four decades and therefore I have a tacit knowledge of the system.

You may believe it or not, the fact however remains that the 24-hour economy is not a novel policy, it is someone who aptly conceived and delivered the idea.
So what is the big deal in copying someone’s idea and making it your own?

In the grand scheme of things, the people who aspire to lead must rather learn to think outside the box and try to be innovative.

I’m afraid the 24-hour economy is already being practised in some sectors in Ghana. So what is the big deal?

As usual, the 24-hour economy proposal is a farce, similitude to the one-time NHIS premium promised by the erstwhile Mahama Administration, which was destitute of honesty and integrity.

Given the circumstances, it is not quite right when former President, Mahama asserts that “the NDC is a party that does not tell lies. What we cannot do, we do not say we will do it and whatever we promise to do, truly, we deliver.”

There have been numerous NDC’s broken Manifesto promises in the past, but the one that will long be stenciled on discerning Ghanaians' mental sheets, is the one-time NHIS premium.

I am pretty sure that not all Ghanaians suffer from chronic memory loss and therefore some
of us can vividly recollect the NDC government’s previous unfulfilled Manifesto promises.

I’m afraid, the NDC apparatchiks, who bizarrely take pride in the social democratic ideology, are not in the business of promoting the welfare of the masses, but they are rather on a mission to advance their parochial interests by persistently proselytising and hoodwinking the unsuspecting voters to gain electoral advantage.

Apparently, we have previously heard the NDC’s vague rhetoric and meaningless slogans such as ‘Better Ghana Agenda’, ‘We care for you’, ‘people matter, you matter’, and ‘We are transforming lives’ time and time again.

Suffice it to stress that while the NDC's clamorous communicators were gleefully trumpeting their political gimmicks, Ghanaians were sadly sleeping in darkness and struggling endlessly to pay their utility bills and could not even afford their children's school fees.

Unfortunately, whenever the suffering Ghanaians complained about the economic hardships, former President Mahama and his vociferous communicators would ungraciously chastise the same people who gave them the electoral mandate.