What is ‘new economy’? Kwesi Pratt questions status of 24-hour economy promise

Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has criticised the Mahama government’s “New Economy” slogan, demanding to know what it means and whether it signals the quiet abandonment of the 24-Hour Economy promise that brought the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to power.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on November 11, 2026, a day before Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson presents the 2027 Budget, Pratt questioned the sudden rebranding of the government’s economic agenda.

"What he (Ato Forson) is bringing tomorrow is something called the new economy. And I'm wondering, what is that? The new economy, what is that? Is that a departure from the promises which were made before the 2024 elections?" he asked.

Pratt said Ghanaians voted the NDC into power on specific promises, chief among them the 24-Hour Economy, which was presented as a game-changer and the main vehicle for generating employment.

"We want the mandate to establish the 24-hour economy. That was supposed to be the main vehicle for generating employment. We've been in power for two years. These are the things that we have done to make sure that the 24-hour economy promise, which was a game-changer, is on course," he said.

He questioned who had taken the decision to introduce the new agenda and whether it represented a change in the NDC’s programme or was simply a new, catchy slogan introduced ahead of the budget presentation.

He insisted that if the government had realised its campaign promises were no longer achievable, it owed Ghanaians an honest explanation rather than a new catchphrase.

"If at any point the government realises that those promises cannot be fulfilled, government needs to come back to us and say, 'Look, you gave us a mandate to do this.' 'We've been in office, we've seen that the promises we made were not realistic. We are abandoning it and going for something called the new economy,'" he stated.

Pratt argued that after two years in office, the government should use the budget to account for progress on the 24-Hour Economy and outline what remained to be done, rather than unveil a new slogan without explanation.

He maintained that the government’s economic direction must be measured against the commitments made to voters and that any significant change to those commitments required a clear explanation.

"Ghanaians deserved clarity if it represented a fundamental change in policy direction," he said.