Former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-hour economy policy, describing it as a “slogan” and a “scam.”

In a Facebook post, Dr Amin Adam argued that the government was attempting to force public institutions to operate around the clock without increasing staff strength.

According to him, a public sector-led implementation of the policy is unsustainable because of the country’s wage bill pressures.

“The wage bill is 30% of the Budget (33% in 2025). Doubling the wage bill will bankrupt the country. Even the most reckless government cannot do this,” he stated.

He said expectations that the policy would create jobs through the public sector should be reconsidered because government lacks the financial capacity to support such expansion.

The former Finance Minister argued that the policy could only succeed if driven by the private sector. However, he claimed government had failed to deliver incentive packages promised to businesses in the 2026 Budget.

Dr Amin Adam also alleged that the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat had become ineffective because funds allocated to it had not been released.

“The 24H Economy Secretariat is in coma as government has not been releasing funds from the GHS110 million allocated to it this year. The policy is dead on arrival. It is a scam!” he wrote.

He further suggested that government should instead continue the digitisation agenda introduced under the previous New Patriotic Party administration led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

Dr Amin Adam listed initiatives including the digitisation of passport applications, ports operations, DVLA services, motor insurance verification, the Ghana.Gov platform, e-pharmacy services, and the integration of national databases.

According to him, continued digitisation of public services would improve efficiency, increase productivity, and support private sector growth.