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24-hour economy policy will make Ghana an export-led economy – Sammy Gyamfi

The Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has said that the party and its flagbearer’s plan to spearhead a 24-hour economy is to among other things transform Ghana into an export-led economy.

Speaking on The Probe on JoyNews, he further explained that the policy will transform Ghana from an import-dependent country into a self-sufficient and export-led economy.

“That is the overarching vision of this 24-hour economy. The 24-hour economy strategy would be the main driver of this strategy. And so, the rationale is simple. We are saying that for us to see the true transformation that delivers prosperity for all, true economic transformation that delivers decent, well-paying jobs for the people of this country, we need to invest in the productive sectors of the economy to achieve self-sufficiency and achieve an export-led economy.”

“That is why President Mahama has said that to achieve this, we are going to prioritize agribusinesses and agro-processing. We are going to prioritize modernization and mechanization of agriculture. We are going to prioritize manufacturing and value addition. We are going to prioritize the provision of the necessary incentives for the private sector to try for them to play their role in this economy.”

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Mr Gyamfi explained that this goal cannot be achieved if the country runs on the traditional eight-hour work system explaining that that is too inadequate to attain the needed level of efficiency, productivity and growth they are aiming for.

“We need to create sustainable jobs and prosperity for the people of this country. God has given us 24 hours, why do we have to waste 16 hours and only work 8 hours when all the advanced economies will create various degrees of 24-hour economies?”

“What we are saying is that under this overarching vision of transforming Ghana, all the interventions and policies we are going to roll out must lead to a situation where businesses, companies and certain public services run 24/7,” he added.

This follows criticisms of NDC flagbearer, John Mahama’s proposal to create a conducive atmosphere for a 24-hour economy to thrive.

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Political opponents have largely criticised the idea saying it is not a novelty, and cannot transform the Ghanaian economy in any way. On the other hand, some have lauded the proposal as one that could be a game-changer for Ghana’s economy.

Many of those against it believe aspects of Ghana’s economy already operate a 24-hour system, whereas others argue the country lacks the right infrastructure to efficiently run such a system.

However, Mr Gyamfi said that the party has measures and incentives, including creating an atmosphere of security and safety that would aid in achieving this proposal.

“This is not a mere political rhetoric. It’s important to make that point, neither is it a mere slogan calculated for votes. It is a well-thought-through strategy which has its roots in the 40-year development plan which was put together under the erstwhile John Mahama government and published in 2018, I believe.”

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“This is going to be a deliberate intervention by the government to create the enabling environment that will make it possible for a lot more companies, businesses and public institutions to operate around the clock.”

 Source: Myjoyonline.com

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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal

Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.


Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.

Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.

Here are the results in Zone Two

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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age

Dr Commeh

 The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Ser­vice (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.

This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature be­fore they become sexually active.

“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the oppor­tunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.

Dr Commeh stated this in an in­terview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.

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According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.

She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”

She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavi­rus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.

“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have elim­inated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.

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Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccina­tion is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.

She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.

She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.

However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunate­ly, there are a few women whose HPV persists.

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Moreover, she noted that the num­bers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of med­ications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”

Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for preven­tion and control.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu

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