The Dean of Arts and Sciences at Ashesi University, Professor Stephen Adei, has said he is glad that the Akufo-Addo-led administration changed two of the country’s holidays and replaced them with two others.

The former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) expressed satisfaction that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) did not add new holidays and suggested a reduction in the number of public holidays if possible.

“I’m so glad that His Excellency Akufo-Addo, for whatever reasons that they have given, changed two national holidays and did not add to it because it would have been quite disastrous. I don’t think that we should add to our holidays, and if there is an opportunity, we should even reduce,” Prof Adei told Class 91.3FM’s Benjamin Akakpo in an exclusive interview on the Executive Breakfast Show.

Monday, 7 January 2019 was celebrated for the first time in Ghana as Constitution Day after proposals from the government.

The government has tabled an amendment to the Public Holiday (Amendment) Bill 2018 in parliament.

The Amendment Bill outlined the number of holidays in the year, including “New Year's Day (1st January), Constitution Day (January 7), Independence Day (6th March), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Eid-al-Fitr (Ramadan), Workers Day (1st May), Farmers Day (1st Friday in December) Christmas Day (25th December), Boxing Day (26th December), African Union Day (25th May), Republic Day (1st July).”

4 August of every year will henceforth be known as Founders Day.

Also, the birthday of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, which hitherto was marked as the country’s Founders Day, will now be known as Nkrumah Memorial Day while 7 January will be known as Constitution Day.

4 August and 7 January will subsequently be statutory public holidays if parliament passes the bill.

On the other hand, the government is proposing to scrap the AU Holiday on 25 May as well as the Republic Holiday on 1 July.