The Secretariat overseeing Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy programme has distanced itself from the proposed round-the-clock markets earmarked for rollout across the country, stating it exercises neither jurisdiction nor operational oversight over the infrastructure.
Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, Goosie Tanoh, made the clarification during an engagement with news editors in Accra on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. He explained that public conflation of the broader economic transformation agenda with the market project has repeatedly drawn the Secretariat into litigation it has no mandate to defend. “Although they use a 24-hour logo, we have no control over the markets. We are not part of deciding where it goes, and so on and so forth,” Mr Tanoh stated.
He noted that responsibility for the markets, projected for two hundred and sixty-two districts, resides with the Ministry of Local Government and district assemblies, with financing anticipated through the District Assemblies Common Fund. The misperception, he said, has resulted in multiple suits naming the Secretariat as a defendant. “We’ve been sued four or five times for something that we have no responsibility for,” he remarked, adding that legal counsel is pursuing the Secretariat’s removal from the proceedings. “Our lawyer is moving a motion in November to get us to be removed from the defendant’s list because we have no jurisdiction. We have no status in the matter.”
Despite the disclaimer, Mr Tanoh acknowledged the potential complementarity of the markets to the government’s productivity agenda. He pointed to the significance of modern infrastructure, particularly cold storage and preservation facilities, in mitigating post-harvest losses that currently erode between thirty and forty percent of agricultural output.
The clarification arrives as the administration advances the 24-Hour Economy policy, designed to stimulate continuous production, expand service delivery and generate employment across strategic sectors. The distinction seeks to delineate policy coordination from implementation, ensuring that the Secretariat focuses on macroeconomic transformation while local authorities manage physical infrastructure.
As the rollout proceeds, inter-agency clarity will be critical to avoid duplication, legal entanglement and public confusion. Anchoring the markets within local government structures, while aligning them with national productivity objectives, may determine the extent to which the initiative delivers on its promise of efficiency and reduced waste in the agricultural value chain.
Call or WhatsApp +233 20 2190 250 and share your story.
Author: Korkor Anumu
