The case for a 24-hour economy
Palesa Motšoehli
The silence that settles over Maseru between 9pm and 5am is not just a sign of rest, it is the sound of an underutilised economy. We are a nation rich in creativity and ambition, constantly speaking about job creation and a brighter future, yet we overlook one of the most immediate opportunities before us: we only use our economy for half the day.
Lesotho, particularly Maseru’s city centre, operates on what can be described as a sun-bound economy. When daylight fades, multi-million maloti investments, from shopping malls and office buildings to transport networks, lie idle.
At the same time, nearly half of our youth remain unemployed, confined to a system where economic activity is compressed into limited daytime hours. We are effectively investing in 24-hour infrastructure but operating it like small shops that close at dusk.
Every inactive hour represents lost productivity and missed opportunity.
While we rest, more efficient economies continue to produce, trade, and grow. We are starving in the middle of a feast simply because we are too afraid or too broke to keep the lights on after five o’clock.
From an economic perspective, our current daylight model is inefficient and could do literally twice as better. If a heavily relied upon retail outlet such as Shoprite or a local spaza shop expands from an 8-hour operation to a 24-hour cycle, then said business theoretically requires three shifts of workers instead of one.
This is not merely about creating jobs, it is about doubling the demand for labour without needing to lay a single new brick. It is about utility maximisation to combat unemployment.
When we speak of the nightlife, we often limit ourselves to thinking of clubs and entertainment or healthcare and fuel stations. But the real goldmine lies in various other places. Logistics and distribution which can be done by moving heavy freight and restocking to the night hours and in turn eliminating the congestion of Maseru’s daytime traffic, saving millions in fuel and time.
But even simpler than that is our food and manufacturing production. Right now, bakeries, workshops, and processing plants are clogged with daytime bustle. By moving production to the night, we clear the floor. We ensure that when the sun rises, the bread is already baked, the clothes are already finished, and the shelves are already stocked. We stop competing for space during the day and start delivering results while the city sleeps.
The primary argument against a 24-hour economy is safety. It is a harsh truth that our nights are currently governed by fear and crime. However, this is a management failure, not an inherent limitation. By implementing a night-watch certification which channels the energy of unemployed young men into a disciplined, scholarly, and physical security workforce, we turn the source of the danger into the source of the solution.
It is also argued that current labour laws, including requirements for night-shift allowances and complex working-hour compliance, also make 24-hour operations too expensive for small businesses to survive. It appears that the bureaucratic overhead of changing shift patterns will damage the same entrepreneurs we need to encourage.
Ultimately, Lesotho faces a choice. We can continue waiting for large-scale investments to transform the economy, or we can make better use of what we already have. A 24-hour economy is not a silver bullet, but it offers a practical pathway to increase productivity, expand employment, and unlock dormant potential.
The night should no longer be viewed simply as a time of inactivity. It is an untapped resource. Unlocking it requires not just policy shifts, but a change in mindset, one that recognises time itself as a critical economic asset.
Summary
- If a heavily relied upon retail outlet such as Shoprite or a local spaza shop expands from an 8-hour operation to a 24-hour cycle, then said business theoretically requires three shifts of workers instead of one.
- Logistics and distribution which can be done by moving heavy freight and restocking to the night hours and in turn eliminating the congestion of Maseru’s daytime traffic, saving millions in fuel and time.
- By implementing a night-watch certification which channels the energy of unemployed young men into a disciplined, scholarly, and physical security workforce, we turn the source of the danger into the source of the solution.
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