Parliament has approved the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introducing significant changes to Ghana’s holiday calendar, including a new arrangement that allows midweek public holidays to be observed on Fridays or Mondays.
The legislation, presented by Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, was passed on Wednesday, June 25, despite opposition from Minority MPs who criticised the fast-tracking of the bill under a certificate of urgency.
The bill allows public holidays that fall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays to be shifted to either the preceding Friday or following Monday. The government believes this adjustment will improve productivity, promote longer weekends, and help businesses and institutions better plan operations.
Beyond the midweek holiday changes, the bill also restores July 1 as Republic Day, marking Ghana’s transition to a republic in 1960. The day, once removed from the statutory holiday list, returns to highlight its historical significance.
Another major change is the reinstatement of September 21 as Founder’s Day to exclusively honour Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and a key figure in the country’s independence struggle.
This repeals the controversial August 4 Founders’ Day, which recognised the collective efforts of multiple independence leaders.
“The purpose of the proposed amendment to the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, 2001 (Act 601) seeks to: introduce an additional holiday, namely the Shaga day, to be observed a day immediately following the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday each year; recognise the transition of the country to a republican status in 1960 and provide for the observance of Republic Day on the 1st of July as a public holiday and not as a commemorative day.”
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“Provide for the removal of the celebration of Founder’s Day on 4th August as a public holiday and rename Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day as Founders’ day which is to be celebrated on 21st September: empower the President to, by Executive Instrument, declare the Monday immediately after a Saturday or a Sunday, or the Friday immediately following a Tuesday, a Wednesday or a Thursday to be observed as a public holiday where the holiday falls on a Tuesday, a Wednesday or a Thursday other than a religious holiday.”
Despite the positive reception from some sections of the public, the Minority in Parliament strongly objected to the process, accusing the government of rushing the bill through and ignoring more urgent national concerns like economic hardship and unemployment.
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Presiding over the proceedings, First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor declared the bill read for the third time and passed.
He announced, “Honourable members, the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Amendment Bill 2025 is duly read the third time and passed.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
