The National First Vice-President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), Mr Patrick Kwame Frimpong, has urged the government to reconsider its approach to the construction of 24-hour economy markets across the country.
He cautioned that without proper consultation, planning and consideration of the economic realities of individual communities, some of the proposed markets could end up being abandoned by traders and become “white elephants”.
Mr Frimpong, who is also the Dean of the Conference of Presiding Members of the Ashanti Region and Presiding Member of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), said there were already several completed and ongoing market projects across the country that had failed to attract traders.
He cited the Kumasi Central Market Phase II, Krofrom Market and Mampongteng Market as examples of projects that had remained uncompleted, while several completed markets in the Ashanti Region were also struggling to attract traders.
Among the completed markets he mentioned were the Adoato-Adumanu Market, Patase Market, Abinkyi Market, Kwadaso Estate Market, Asafo Market, Kropo Market and Asawase Market.
Lack of patronage
Speaking to the New Trust newspaper on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Mr Frimpong expressed concern about what he described as inadequate consultation with key stakeholders before the implementation of market projects by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He said the government should not adopt a blanket approach that required every district to construct or operate a 24-hour market without first determining whether such a facility was economically viable in the particular locality.
“Markets are not like mandatory essential services such as health facilities and schools where people will definitely patronise them. There are districts that do not necessarily need markets,” he said.
Mr Frimpong observed that in some communities, traders continued to operate along roadsides even when there were designated market spaces available.
He said that situation should serve as a warning to policymakers that merely constructing modern market facilities would not automatically guarantee their patronage.
“I can tell you that if care is not taken, the markets will be completed but will not function,” he cautioned.
Consult stakeholders
According to him, the assemblies, assembly members, traders and other relevant stakeholders should have been engaged extensively before decisions were taken on the construction and location of the markets.
He said the failure to undertake adequate consultation could result in situations where huge public resources were invested in infrastructure that did not meet the needs of the people for whom they were intended.
Mr Frimpong further expressed concern that political considerations could sometimes overshadow technical and economic considerations in the planning and execution of development projects.
He stressed that local authorities had an important role to play in determining the type, size, location and operational model of markets within their respective jurisdictions.
Ashanti example
Mr Frimpong said the situation in the Ashanti Region was particularly worrying because the region was noted for its strong trading culture, yet a number of market facilities had struggled to attract traders.
He said efforts by some assemblies to persuade traders to relocate from the streets into designated markets had not always yielded the desired results.
“Kumasi, and for that matter, the Ashanti Region, is known for trading, but many markets have been abandoned by traders who, despite the efforts to get them to patronise the markets, are still on the streets selling,” he said.
He warned that the proposed 24-hour markets could suffer a similar fate if the government failed to learn lessons from existing market projects.
“These 24-hour markets may be completed, but I’m afraid the traders will abandon them just like they are doing to the aforementioned ones, and it will become a white elephant, all because we did not think through it well,” he said.
Not opposed to 24-hour economy
Mr Frimpong stressed that his concerns should not be interpreted as opposition to the government’s 24-hour economy policy.
He acknowledged that the policy had the potential to create jobs, expand economic opportunities, increase productivity and stimulate local economies.
However, he argued that the 24-hour market component should be reviewed and adapted to suit the circumstances of individual districts rather than being implemented through a uniform model across all MMDAs.
“As a local government practitioner, my position is not a rejection of the government’s 24-hour economy policy. Rather, it is a call for the 24-hour market component to be reviewed, localised and implemented according to the circumstances of each district,” he explained.
He said the success of the policy would depend on proper planning, stakeholder consultation, sustainable financing, appropriate infrastructure and a clear understanding of local economic conditions.
Flexible approach
Mr Frimpong said the immediate priority should not simply be to construct and operate uniform-designed markets in all MMDAs in fulfilment of a campaign promise.
Rather, he said, the focus should be on developing markets that were economically viable, safe, accessible, clean, properly managed and capable of generating sustainable economic benefits.
He therefore called on the government to reconsider any blanket directive on the construction of 24-hour markets and work closely with MMDAs, traders and other stakeholders to develop a flexible implementation framework.
He said such an approach would help protect public investments, improve the utilisation of existing market infrastructure and minimise waste.
According to him, the government must first establish the demand for a market in a particular locality, identify the categories of traders who would use it and determine whether there was sufficient economic activity to sustain 24-hour operations before committing public funds to construction.
“Create value for 24 hours”
Mr Frimpong said the success of the 24-hour economy should ultimately be measured not by the number of markets constructed but by the economic value and opportunities they generated for communities.
He summed up his position with the message: “Ghana’s markets must not only operate for 24 hours; they must create value for 24 hours.”
He said the implementation of the policy through the MMDAs should also recognise the statutory and practical responsibilities of local government authorities in the planning, management and development of local markets.
Mr Frimpong maintained that empowering the MMDAs to participate meaningfully in the planning process would make the policy more responsive to local needs and increase the likelihood of successful implementation.
He said a decentralised and evidence-based approach would enable districts with strong commercial potential to adopt appropriate 24-hour market models, while areas with limited demand could explore alternative ways of supporting the 24-hour economy.
He consequently appealed to the government to engage the various stakeholders before proceeding with the projects to ensure that the policy achieved its intended objectives and did not result in another cycle of underutilised or abandoned public infrastructure.
