By Sharon Zoe Williams
President John Dramani Mahama in his State of the Nation Address on Friday, February 27, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama officially signaled the transition of his flagship 24-Hour Economy policy from a campaign promise to a legal reality.
Following his recent assent to the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill, the President used the floor of Parliament to declare that the “era of strategy” has ended and the “time for measurable action” has begun.
The heart of this year’s address was the formal introduction of the 24-Hour Economy Authority, a new statutory body tasked with coordinating round-the-clock operations across manufacturing, services, and agribusiness.
President Mahama emphasized that this is not merely about staying open late; it is a structural redesign of Ghana’s economic architecture. By incentivizing businesses to run three shifts, the government aims to unlock nearly 1.7 million jobs and drastically reduce the nation’s reliance on expensive imports.
To support this ambitious rollout, the President announced a package of operational incentives, including tax breaks for electricity consumed during off-peak hours and enhanced security for night-shift workers.
This “BUILD 24” framework is designed to lower the cost of doing business while maximizing the use of existing infrastructure. For the youth watching from the galleries, it was a message of hope, framing the 24-hour cycle as the primary engine for tackling the current unemployment crisis.
As the address concluded, the President made it clear that the success of this initiative rests on private-sector collaboration.
He called on Ghanaian investors and international partners to take advantage of the new legal protections and incentives now in place. For many, today’s address was the final confirmation that the 24-hour clock has officially started ticking for Ghana’s industrial future.
