By Issah Olegor
The NDC government has renamed its 24-hour economy markets programme as District Economy Markets, a move announced shortly after New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia criticised the practicality of the initiative, including the idea of market women selling koobi (salted, dried fish) at midnight.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, October 5, 2026.
Ayariga explained that the decision to change the name was intended to distinguish the market infrastructure programme from the government’s broader 24-hour economy policy.
“You notice I didn’t say 24-hour economy markets. The use of the 24-hour economy markets has tended to create the impression that the whole thing about the government’s flagship programme of 24-hour economy is about markets,” he said.
The redesignation, however, comes against the backdrop of renewed political criticism of the government’s 24-hour economy agenda.
Bawumia questions ‘koobi at midnight’
At the NPP National Delegates Conference in Kumasi on October 3, Dr Bawumia launched a strong attack on the government’s implementation of the 24-hour economy policy.
Among his criticisms was the government’s plan to establish markets associated with the 24-hour economy. Dr Bawumia questioned whether there would be sufficient demand for traditional market activities in the middle of the night, asking why people would wake up at midnight to go to a market to buy koobi.
He argued that the concept, as being implemented in some communities, did not adequately demonstrate how ordinary traders and consumers would benefit from overnight trading.
The former Vice President also criticised the demolition of existing trading structures to make way for some of the new market projects, describing the development as a shift from promised 24-hour economy jobs to what he characterised as “24-hour demolition.”
He further questioned how a fully operational 24-hour economy could be sustained if businesses continued to face challenges associated with electricity supply. The comments generated significant public and political discussion about the government’s market programme.
Government says it is not abandoning the projects
Despite the name change, Ayariga made clear that government is continuing with the market projects.
The initiative is now being presented as a programme to establish a model market in each of 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
The projects are currently at different stages of construction and implementation, according to the Minister.
Government has also re-scoped the programme into two phases as part of efforts to accelerate implementation and establish a more structured financing arrangement.
The first phase will focus on the construction of the core commercial facilities, including market stores, sheds and other trading spaces. The second phase will provide complementary social infrastructure, including police and fire stations.
“We re-scoped it into two phases to enable a more speedy delivery of the market and a more structured financing to achieve 100% completion by 2028,” Ayariga said.
2028 completion target
The government is targeting 100 per cent completion of the programme by 2028, with the ultimate objective of providing modern market infrastructure across all 261 MMDAs.
Ayariga said the second phase would subsequently be financed through future allocations from the District Assemblies Common Fund.
The government maintains that the initiative is intended to improve commercial infrastructure, support traders and strengthen economic activity at the district level.
The renaming therefore does not amount to an abandonment of the market projects. Rather, according to Ayariga, it is intended to clarify that the District Economy Markets constitute one component of the government’s wider 24-hour economy agenda.
