The government has passed an amendment to the Public and Commemorative Days Holidays Act, restoring the July 1 Republic Day as a public holiday among a number of changes.
It also introduces a new public holiday for the Muslim community, known as Shaqq Day, to be observed a day after Eid-ul-Fitr. The day is intended to allow extended reflection and celebration after the Islamic festival.
In another significant change, the bill repeals August 4 as Founders’ Day. It also reinstates September 21 as Founder’s Day, in honour of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President.
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July 1 and National Prayer Day
July 1 was formerly a commemorative holiday instead of a substantive public holiday. This change appears to align with the government’s plan for a national prayer day set for July 1.
What does this mean for you?
For most workers, this appears like welcome news, as the bill empowers the President to shift all mid-week public holidays (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays) to either the preceding Friday or the following Monday, as a way of improving national productivity and scheduling flexibility.
“Mr. Speaker, we are keeping 1st January as New Year Day, 7th January as Constitutional Day, 6th March as Independence Day, March or April for Good Friday for our Christian brothers, March or April as Easter Monday for our Christian brothers, 1st May as Labour Day, 1st July as Republic Day. It was pushed to commemorate it. We believe that this is a very significant day in the life of Ghana that we should not just relegate to the background and therefore we are bringing it back as a full holiday and we believe that as a country we are united around the 1st July,” the Interior Minister said in Parliament.