Mahama To Reinstate Republic Day Holiday, Introduce Another New Holiday

• President John Mahama has announced plans to restore Republic Day as a statutory national holiday in Ghana
• Mahama has also suggested that the proposed National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving could be held on July 1
• An amendment by the previous government in 2019 removed Republic Day from the list of Ghanaian public holidays

President John Mahama has announced plans to restore Republic Day as a statutory national holiday and introduce an additional public holiday for Eid al-Fitr as promised.

During his thank-you tour in the Western Region on February 5, he said the proposed National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving could be held on July 1.

A 2019 amendment by the previous government removed Republic Day from the list of public holidays.

“We will have an opportunity as a nation soon to pray and give thanks to the almighty God as enjoined by the holy book that says in all things Give thanks to the Almighty God."

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"Nananom, my brothers and sisters, we will soon present to parliament an amendment to the Public Holiday Act so that we can restore July 1 as a holiday," Mahama said.

The previous government under Nana Akufo-Addo made January 7 and August 4 public holidays.

Under that amendment, September 21, celebrated as the Founder’s Day holiday, became Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.

Mahama fulfils promise to Muslim community

The government earlier reduced the fees for the Hajj pilgrimage from GH¢75,000 to GH¢62,000 after an earlier promise.

This reduction in the costs is expected to increase Ghana's quota for the number of Muslims who will embark on the holy pilgrimage.

The chairman of the interim Hajj task force also outlined the government’s plans to address existing challenges associated with the pilgrimage.

Interior Ministry shares list of 2025 holidays

YEN.com.gh also previously reported that the Ministry of Interior shared a schedule to show that Ghanaians would enjoy 13 holidays and two additional commemorative days in 2025.

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Independence Day will be celebrated on March 6, followed by the Easter holidays. Good Friday on April 18 and Easter Monday on April 21. May 1 is the celebration of Workers Day.

Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha, commemorating Islamic festive seasons, do not have fixed dates. The Office of the Chief Imam would determine these due to their nature as movable feasts.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh