Ghana Police Establishes Dedicated Security Unit to Support 24-Hour Economic Plan
Ho, Volta Region, Ghana - 5 July, 2025 - The Ghana Police Service has launched a new 24-Hour Economy Security Secretariat to ensure robust safety measures for the implementation of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s flagship 24-Hour Economy Policy, aimed at transforming Ghana’s economic landscape through round-the-clock productivity.
Announced on Friday, July 4, by the Director General of Private Security Organisation, Commissioner of Police (COP) Daniel Kwame Afriyie, the secretariat will operate from the National Police Headquarters to coordinate security strategies, protecting workers and businesses operating under the new policy.
“In line with its proactive measures, the Police the administration has established a new unit at the Police headquarters known as the 24-hour Economy Security Secretariat to oversee the security coordination of the implementation of the 24-hour Economy”, he said.
The initiative comes as part of a broader effort to support President John Dramani Mahama’s vision, launched on 2 July 2025, to boost employment and economic growth across key sectors.
Speaking at a passing-out ceremony for 238 police recruits at the Regional Police Training School in Ho, COP Afriyie emphasized the police’s readiness to safeguard the policy’s rollout.
He highlighted the secretariat’s role in coordinating operational strategies, intelligence, and personnel deployment to ensure a crime-free environment for businesses and workers operating 24/7.
“The police are up to the task to play their cardinal role in the success of the 24-Hour Economy Policy, protecting workers at all times to go about their legitimate economic and social pursuits without undue hindrances by societal delinquents and avowed agents of violent crimes and lawlessness.” Afriyie stated.
He also noted that the administration has strengthened specialized police units to address emerging security challenges, including cyber-related crimes, violent crimes, and communal conflicts, which demand more diverse and skilled responses from the force.
“The changing phase of security in Ghana, which is characterized by emerging complex and cyber-related crimes, violent crimes, communal conflicts, and changes in the modus operandi of criminals among others, continues to place a huge demand on personnel of the Ghana Police Service to deliver services that are more diverse, complex, skilled, and specialized to deal with these menaces confronting us”, he acknowledged.
The 24-Hour Economy Policy, a cornerstone of the NDC’s 2024 election manifesto, was officially launched by President Mahama in Accra on 2 July 2025. The 283-page policy document outlines a three-shift, 24/7 working model targeting sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, healthcare, transportation, and retail, with an ambition to create 1.7 million jobs over the next four years.
According to the policy’s Presidential Advisor, Goosie Tanoh, the initiative is designed to transform Ghana into a self-reliant, export-driven economy, drawing lessons from past national development plans like Kwame Nkrumah’s Seven-Year Development Plan.
The policy is supported by eight sub-programmes, including initiatives to boost local manufacturing (Make 24), enhance logistics (Connect 24), and promote tourism (Show Ghana).
A national campaign is underway to prepare 5,000 businesses across Ghana’s 16 regions for 24-hour operations, with Parliament set to debate the policy framework in the coming weeks to ensure its institutionalization.
