Parliament has passed the Public Holidays Amendment Bill to make room for new holidays in the country.
The new bill under the Public Holidays Act, 2001 (Act 601) now makes provision for three additional statutory public holidays, January 7, August 4 and September 21.
The Bill was passed by Parliament on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 after a motion was moved by Minister of Interior Ambrose Dery.
Prior to the passage, the Minority in Parliament walked out in protest.
Last Thursday, February 28, the Minority staged a walkout during an ongoing debate in Parliament over the passage of the Bill.
The Minority alleged that government is trying to re-write history by introducing the new holidays, hence, they will not be a part of any such attempt.
Despite the protest and disagreement with the passage of the Bill by the Minority, Parliament went ahead to pass the Bill to provide legal backing for the new holidays.
Speaking to TV3‘s Evelyn Tengma after sittings were brought to an end, Interior Minister Ambrose Dery denied allegations by the Minority that government is attempting to re-write history, and that government is only trying to celebrate all players in founding Ghana without sidelining any.
“They themselves testify to the fact that Ghana has more than one founder…and what we have done reflects the view that it is not one person who did it.
“No one person was the founder of Ghana, so therefore we have the Founders day and the day is 4th August, and [first] President [Kwame] Nkrumah played a key role, therefore his birthday has been made the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day,” he said.
According to Ambrose Dery, government is only focused on putting Ghana’s history in a proper perspective.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana