The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is positioning itself as a key driver of President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-hour economy agenda, with Chief Executive Godwin Edudzi Tamaklo (Esq.) leading efforts to operationalise the policy within the downstream petroleum sector.
At the second meeting of the sector’s Steering Committee, held at NPA headquarters in Accra, Tameklo stressed the urgency of implementation, citing employment generation and economic expansion as core objectives.
Tameklo chairs the committee tasked with coordinating the rollout of the initiative, which aims to extend operational hours across the petroleum value chain. The move is expected to stimulate job creation, particularly among youth, and enhance productivity in fuel distribution, retail, and logistics. However, the NPA boss acknowledged that structural and infrastructural bottlenecks remain unresolved, and pledged to lead efforts to address them.
The initiative aligns with Mahama’s broader economic strategy, which seeks to leverage continuous operations in key sectors to drive growth. Tameklo’s remarks suggest that the NPA is under pressure to deliver early results, with political capital tied to the success of the programme.
Security concerns were also addressed at the meeting. Chief Superintendent Benjamin Aniah Esq., Director of the 24-hour Policy Secretariat at the Ghana Police Service, outlined plans to deploy intelligence and technology-based systems to safeguard personnel, infrastructure, and data. The emphasis on cyber and physical security reflects growing awareness of vulnerabilities in extended operational environments.
While the policy remains in its early stages, the NPA’s proactive stance signals a shift toward institutional ownership of the 24-hour economy concept. The challenge will be translating political ambition into operational capacity, particularly in a sector historically constrained by logistics inefficiencies and regulatory inertia.
If successful, the downstream petroleum pilot could serve as a template for other sectors. But insiders caution that without significant investment in infrastructure and inter-agency coordination, the initiative risks stalling before it gains traction.