In an insightful discussion on the Morning Dew Show on AIT TV today, Dr. Emmanuel Acquah-Sam, a senior lecturer and dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences at the Wisconsin International University College, Ghana has urged the government and the opposition parties to work together to implement digitization and 24-hour economy policies, as they are both essential for national development.
Dr. Acquah-Sam explained that digitization and the 24-hour economy are not mutually exclusive, neither are they competing ideas but rather they are complementary policies that can actually help each other and help enhance the productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness of the Ghanaian economy.
“You cannot run a 24-hour economy in this modern era of digitization without pursuing that effort. You cannot also say that you will be glued to the 12-hour economy with the digitization system without exploring the possibility of taking advantage of the 24-hour economy policy in the areas where it can be implemented,” he pointed out, showing how technology and modernizing the economy go hand in hand.
He added that digitization and the 24-hour economy entail a lot of planning, coordination, and investment, and that they should not be seen as mere party policies, but as national policies or integral components of a holistic development agenda that require the involvement of all stakeholders, especially the National Development Commission.
“I see this beyond party policy, it should be a national policy. The National Development Commission should have spearheaded it…….If it must be done, it must be done well,” he asserted, underscoring the urgency of effective implementation.
Dr. Acquah-Sam Sam also called on political parties to prioritize national interests over partisan agendas thus working together as well as educating the public well on the benefits and challenges of digitization and the 24-hour economy, and to adopt a bipartisan approach to their implementation, realizing that their plans can benefit everyone.
“In Parliament, they agree on things whether they fight or not, eventually they approve contracts or projects. If the two leading political parties come to terms with the fact that their policies are complementary development policies and therefore in our modern era the two must be considered together with all the urgency that it deserves, then we can make progress,” he remarked.
He further appealed to the citizens to play a role in national cohesion and to support the generation and implementation of ideas that can develop the nation, regardless of their political affiliation. He stresses on the fact that these changes shouldn’t be about which political party is in charge but about what’s best for the whole country.
“If political parties are coming up with ideas, everybody should allow them to debate on it so that at the end of it they put all together, find the workable ones and whether you belong to that party or not implement it because it is Ghana and it is our resources we are using to run the economy. Whatever that is good for the nation, that is what we must do, not what is good for NPP or NDC or any other political party,” he said.
Dr. Acquah-Sam concluded by saying that the goal of digitization and 24-hour economy is to achieve an expanded economy where people’s lives are better, and that national development does not belong to one political party, but to all Ghanaians.
Featured Story Reported by Akpeleasi Flora on AIT TV
