By Samira Larbie, GNA
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA – Mr Augustus Tanoh, Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, has said the 24-Hour Economy Authority has no jurisdiction over the 24-hour market programme.
He said the programme, targeting 262 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), was being financed through the District Assemblies Common Fund and implemented by the Ministry of Local Government and the respective assemblies.
Mr Tanoh made the clarification during a media engagement in Accra, explaining that the markets carried the 24-hour economy branding but were outside the jurisdiction of the 24-Hour Economy Authority.
“Although they use the 24-hour logo, we have no jurisdictional control over the markets,” he said.
Mr Tanoh said the market initiative was separate from the direct mandate of the Authority, although the modern infrastructure being provided could contribute to the broader objectives of the 24-hour economy programme.
He said facilities such as cold storage could improve supply-chain efficiency, particularly in the handling of perishable agricultural products.
“If you have cold chain facilities, then your vegetables, your perishables, and so on, have somewhere to be stored, so that we don’t lose, or add to the 30-40 per cent of service losses that we have within the supply chain,” he explained.
Mr Tanoh said the establishment of the markets could strengthen the country’s distribution and supply systems.
He also disclosed that the Authority had been sued “four or five times” in connection with the market programme, despite having no jurisdiction over the establishment or management of the facilities.
“Our lawyer is moving a motion in November, to get us to be removed from the defendants’ list, because we have no jurisdiction, we have no status in the matter,” he said.
Mr Tanoh said the clarification was necessary to distinguish between initiatives carrying the 24-hour economy branding and programmes that fell directly under the Authority’s mandate.
He said the Authority’s role should not be conflated with programmes being implemented by other government institutions under the broader 24-hour economy agenda.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey