By Michael Foli Jackidy, GNA
Ho (V/R), May 26, GNA -The proposal to establish 24-Hour Markets across the Volta Region remains one of the most promising aspects of Ghana’s emerging 24-hour economy agenda.
If carefully implemented, the initiative has the potential to create jobs, strengthen local commerce, reduce post-harvest losses and stimulate transport and economic activities across the region.
However, ambitious policies succeed not merely because of good intentions, but because of sound implementation. For the proposed 24-Hour Market initiative, one critical factor will determine its long-term success or failure — location.
Markets are not simply physical structures. They are economic ecosystems sustained by people, movement, transport links and trading habits that evolve over time.
No matter how modern or well-equipped a market facility may be, it is unlikely to function effectively as a true 24-hour market if it is situated far from areas where people naturally live, work, travel and trade.
Even consultants associated with the project, including PPMC, a multidisciplinary consulting firm, have acknowledged that the success of the initiative depends heavily on selecting suitable locations capable of sustaining continuous commercial activity.
A functioning 24-Hour Economy depends on uninterrupted human activity involving traders, transport operators, buyers, food vendors, security personnel and supporting service providers.
These dynamics cannot simply be created overnight through infrastructure development alone. They already exist in busy population centres, transport corridors and active commercial zones.
This explains why development experts often caution against constructing major market facilities in isolated or undeveloped areas with the expectation that economic activity will eventually relocate there.
Across Ghana and many parts of Africa, experience has repeatedly shown that traders naturally gravitate toward locations where customers and transport systems are already established.
Where markets are developed in areas lacking existing commercial activity, operations may function during daytime hours but often become inactive at night due to poor patronage, inadequate transport access, and limited security presence.
Over time, traders frequently return to older and busier trading centres, leaving newly constructed facilities underutilised despite significant public investment.
The example of Abor in the Keta Municipality offers an important lesson in strategic market siting. The town’s location along the ECOWAS highway naturally supports continuous commercial and transport activity well into the night.
In such an environment, extending trading activities into a 24-hour model becomes a logical extension of existing economic patterns rather than an artificial attempt to create activity where little exists.
This practical approach should guide decisions regarding the location of future 24-hour markets across the Volta Region.
Concerns have, however, emerged in some districts regarding the siting of proposed market facilities. In the Ketu North Municipality, for instance, the proposed project location at Kave, situated outside the main Dzodze township, has generated public debate.
Reports indicate that while some traditional leaders supported the Kave location, alternative proposals had been made by the Municipal Chief Executive, Rev Martin Amenaki, and the Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Edem Agbana, for the project to be developed at the existing Dzodze market site where commercial activity is already established.
Rather than attempting to create entirely new trading hubs from scratch, policymakers may achieve greater success by upgrading and modernising existing market centres that already attract substantial daily human traffic.
With improved lighting systems, enhanced sanitation, reliable security, organised transport terminals and modern storage facilities, many existing markets could naturally transition into viable night-time commercial centres.
Such an approach would likely reduce resistance from traders who are often reluctant to relocate, while ensuring immediate patronage and faster economic returns on public investment.
Another example frequently discussed is the proposed site for the Ketu South Municipality at Glidzi in the Klikor Zone. Although the location lies along the ECOWAS highway, concerns have been raised that the area remains relatively isolated even from the main Glidzi township and existing commercial centres.
Some residents and traders argue that despite the highway advantage, the absence of strong surrounding economic activity and population concentration could affect the market’s ability to sustain vibrant 24-hour operations.
However, the Municipal Chief Executive for Ketu South, Mr Nicholas Kwabla Worclachie, has defended the decision, describing the location as strategic for future expansion and long-term generational use.
According to him, the selected site provides sufficient space for future growth and positions with the municipality to accommodate increasing commercial activity and infrastructure development over time.
The differing views highlight the broader debate surrounding the 24-Hour Market initiative, whether priority should be placed on immediate commercial viability based on existing economic activity or on long-term expansion potential and future urban development.
Madam Akutor Yegawoe, a fish seller at the Dzodze Market, said traders initially understood that the existing market would be upgraded into a modern 24-hour economy market but later heard that the location had been changed.
She said traders would be willing to relocate to Kave if customers patronised the new market.
“If people will go there and buy our goods, then we will also go and sell there. But if customers are not coming, we cannot also stay there,” she said.
Another woman, who spoke to the GNA on condition of anonymity, expressed doubt about the viability of the project at night, saying trading activities might only thrive during the daytime.
“I think it can work during the day, but at night I do not think people will leave town and go there to buy something,” she said.
In the Ketu South Municipality, Mr Abraham Hukporti, a resident of Agbozume, also expressed reservations about the proposed market location.
He told the GNA that although he could visit the market during the day, he would not feel comfortable travelling there at night.
A successful 24-Hour Economy begins not with concrete structures, but with a clear understanding of existing patterns of human movement, commerce and community interaction.
If properly planned and strategically implemented, the 24-hour market initiative could significantly transform the Volta Region by creating employment opportunities, improving agricultural trade, strengthening transport businesses and positioning the region as a key trade gateway within Ghana and the wider ECOWAS sub-region.
Well-located markets could also strengthen links between rural producers and urban consumers while helping reduce food losses and improving regional productivity.
Ultimately, the success of the 24-Hour Market policy will not be determined by the number of markets constructed, but by whether those markets are located where economic life already thrives.
Where markets are carefully integrated into active commercial environments, the initiative could become a major driver of regional development. But where they are placed in locations waiting for future activity to emerge, the risk of abandonment and wasted investment becomes significant.
The lesson remains simple but essential: markets flourish where people already are, and any sustainable 24-hour economy must begin by recognising and respecting that reality.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah