Ambrose Dery
A new Public Holidays Amendment Bill, 2018 has been laid in Parliament by the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery to amend the Public Holiday Act, 2001.
The new amendment bill seeks to quash three public holidays and in their place, introduce two new holidays.
The affected holidays are the Republic Holiday which falls on July 1, African Union (AU) holiday which falls on May 25 and Founder’s Day in honour of the first president, Kwame Nkrumah, which falls on his birthday, September 21.
When the bill goes through in Parliament, the three aforementioned public holidays will no longer be celebrated. However, the Republic Day holiday and the AU Day will be observed as commemorative days.
In their places two new holidays, Constitution Day and Founders’ Day which will be celebrated on January 7 and August 4 respectively have been introduced.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Defence and Interior for scrutiny and to report to the plenary for consideration and approval.
The bill explains that August 4 is being made a public holiday in place of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day because the real fight for Ghana’s independence started on August 4, 1947, when some Ghanaian patriots like George Alfred Grant, J.B. Danquah, R.A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo-Addo, Ebenezer Ako Adjei and some chiefs formed the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) founded on the foundation of the Fante Confederacy of 1868 and Aboriginal Rights Protection Society of 1897 for the independence of Ghana.
In 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo proposed that August 4 should be observed as Founders’ Day in memory of the successive generations of Ghanaians who contributed to the liberation of the country from colonial rule and September 21 set aside as a memorial day for Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President who was instrumental in the fight for the 6th March independence.
Meanwhile, some minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament have expressed misgivings about the Public Holidays Amendment Bill, 2018 which has been laid in Parliament saying that it could create confusion if passed and possibly change the history of the country.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr