Mahama set to Restore Republic Day, Introduce New Public Holiday for Eid
Western Region, Ghana - 06 Feb, 2025 - Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to restore Republic Day as a national holiday and introduce an additional public holiday to mark the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr.
Speaking during a thank-you tour in the Western Region, President Mahama said his administration would amend the Public Holidays Act to reinstate 1 July as a national holiday, commemorating Ghana's transition to self-governance.
The move reverses a 2019 decision by former President Nana Akufo-Addo, which removed Republic Day from the list of public holidays.
President Mahama also reaffirmed his pledge to the Muslim community to declare Eid al-Fitr a public holiday. Additionally, he proposed establishing a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving on 1 July, coinciding with Senior Citizens' Day.
The President assured Ghanaians that he would fulfil his campaign promises, including the establishment of a planning committee comprising religious leaders to organize the national day of prayer and thanksgiving.
“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. We will thank God for his blessing on our nation Ghana and I will soon announce a planning committee made up of religious leaders to plan the national day of prayer and thanksgiving,'' he stated.
“I proposed that this national day of prayer and thanksgiving should be held on the first of July which is also our republic day and also marks Senior Citizen’s Day. 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.
“In the amendment of the Public Holiday Act, we shall also make provision to fulfil our promise to the Muslim community of an extra holiday to mark the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.
“I am here to say Thank you to all the hundreds of people who voted for me here in the Western region. I am here to reaffirm my commitment to honouring the trust and confidence you have imposed on me. We will deliver on our promises, and I am hopeful that you will see tangible life-changing development across the region soon,'' he added.
Source: BBC
