Government Renames 24-Hour Economy Markets As District Economy Markets

Accra, Oct. 7, 24HourNews – Government has officially renamed its flagship 24-hour economy markets initiative as District Economy Markets.

The announcement was made by the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, during the Government Accountability Series held in Accra on Monday, October 5, 2026.

According to the Minister, the rebranding was necessary to separate the physical market infrastructure projects from the broader political discourse surrounding the government’s 24-hour economy policy.

He explained that the previous name, 24-hour economy markets, had created the impression that government’s flagship 24-hour economy programme was solely about markets.

“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 government’s flagship programme of 24-hour economy is about markets,” Mr Ayariga stated.

He said the programme has now been redesignated as District Economy Markets to better reflect its purpose of providing modern market infrastructure across all districts.

Mr Ayariga disclosed that the initiative is targeting the construction of at least one model market in each of the 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, with projects currently at various stages of construction and implementation nationwide.

To accelerate delivery, government has rescoped the programme into two phases. Phase one will focus on the construction of core commercial facilities including stores, sheds and other essential trading spaces, while phase two will provide complementary infrastructure such as police stations and fire stations.

He said government is targeting 100 per cent completion of phase one by 2028, with phase two to be financed through future allocations from the District Assemblies Common Fund.

The Minister added that a committee has been set up to monitor progress, and warned that contractors who show lack of capacity will have their contracts terminated and reassigned to more competent contractors.