The 24-Hour Economy Authority and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to institutionalise 24-hour operations within the downstream petroleum sector.
The agreement, signed in the capital on Tuesday, marks a pivotal step in the government’s drive to shift Ghana toward a day-and-night economic model.
The partnership aims to eliminate energy bottlenecks for businesses operating outside traditional daylight hours.
Under the new framework, the NPA is tasked with developing rigorous operational standards.
These will mandate specific requirements for lighting, staffing protocols, and fire safety. Crucially, the rollout includes the integration of digital fuel monitoring to ensure transparency and efficiency during nocturnal shifts.
The 24-Hour Economy Authority will provide the “enabling environment”, focusing on the deployment of security agencies and cross-government support to protect certified operators and their staff.
The initiative is designed to act as the “fuel” for other pillars of the economic transformation programme, particularly agro-processing, logistics, and manufacturing.
Mr Augustus Goosie Tanoh, Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy, emphasised that the policy is about more than just extended opening hours—it is about creating the demand that makes those hours viable.
“The programme is not only asking operators to stay open longer. We are building the enterprises and industrial capacity that will create growing demand for these services,” Tanoh stated. “To the factory owner in Tema, the trader in Tamale, the transport operator on the Accra-Kumasi corridor, the message is simple: If you are ready to grow, we are building the system to support you.”
For the NPA, the partnership represents an evolution of its regulatory oversight. Mr Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, Esq., Chief Executive of the NPA, noted that the transition would be managed with a strict eye on safety and worker protection.
“This agreement aligns the NPA’s regulatory mandate with the national economic transformation agenda,” Tameklo said. “We will ensure that the standards for 24-hour operations are clear, enforceable, and designed to protect workers, consumers, and critical infrastructure.”
The rollout will begin with a nationwide pilot scheme involving approximately 10 per cent of the downstream sector. Immediate priority has been given to security deployment to build confidence among operators and tanker drivers.
The implementation involves a massive coalition of stakeholders, ranging from the Ghana Police Service and National Security to private sector giants like the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMC) and the Ghana National Tanker Drivers Union (GNTDU).
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
