Tuesday, August 4, 2020, has been declared a public holiday to mark Founders’ Day in Ghana.
“The general public is hereby reminded that Tuesday, August 4, 2020, which marks Founders’ Day is a statutory Public Holiday and should be observed as such throughout the country,” the Ministry for the Interior noted in a statement.
The sector Minister, Ambrose Dery, who signed the statement urged the public to strictly adhere to all COVID-19 preventive protocols as pertaining to social gatherings in all activities on the day.
“The general public is advised to observe the safety protocols associated with the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), especially in relation to social events at public places.”
This will be the second time the day is being marked in the country after Parliament approved it in 2019.
It replaced Founder’s Day which was celebrated on September 21 every year to mark the birthday of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah.
The celebration remains a controversial one due to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Convention People’s Party’s (CPP) opposition to it.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had earlier reiterated its intention to cancel the observation if it returns to power.
According to the NDC, the holiday is not a true representation of historical facts and is a deliberate attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to rewrite the country’s history and give prominence to his uncle JB Danquah who was a leader in the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the political party from which Kwame Nkrumah broke away to form the CPP which won him the election that saw him become Leader of Government Business and Prime Minister and eventually the first president of Ghana.
But President Akufo-Addo urged all Ghanaians to recognize the collective efforts played by key stakeholders towards the liberation of Ghana.
The President in a Facebook post to mark the Founders’ day in 2019 called on Ghanaians to also rise above partisan considerations and set the records straight.
