Founders’ Day holiday to be observed on Monday, August 5

The Ministry of the Interior has officially declared Monday, August 5, 2024, as an additional public holiday in commemoration of Founders’ Day, which falls on Sunday, August 4, 2024.

This day will be observed throughout the country as a day of significance and remembrance.

“The general public is hereby informed that Sunday, 4th August, 2024, marks Founders’ Day, which is a statutory public holiday,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“However, in view of the fact that 4th August, 2024, falls on a Sunday, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, has by Executive Instrument (E.I), in accordance with Section 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, (Act 601) declared Monday, 5th August, 2024, as an additional public holiday and should be observed as such throughout the country.”

Founders’ Day holds historical importance in Ghana as it marks the contributions of successive generations of Ghanaians who played pivotal roles in liberating the country from colonial rule.

The decision to designate this day as a public holiday was part of a broader initiative by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who proposed amendments to the Public Holiday Act in 2018.

The Public Holidays Amendment Bill, 2018, presented by Minister of the Interior Ambrose Dery, led to the cancellation of three existing public holidays and introduced two new holidays. As a result, Founders’ Day was designated on August 4, while September 21 was set aside as a memorial day for Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in recognition of his significant role in the fight for Ghana’s independence on March 6.

The three holidays affected by this amendment were Republic Day, previously observed on July 1, African Union (AU) Day, observed on May 25, and the original Founders’ Day, which fell on Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday, September 21.

According to the bill’s explanation, August 4 was chosen to replace Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day because it holds historical significance as the day when Ghana’s independence movement began in 1947. On this date, Ghanaian patriots such as George Alfred Grant, J.B. Danquah, R.A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo-Addo, Ebenezer Ako Adjei, and various chiefs formed the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). The UGCC was founded on the principles of the Fante Confederacy of 1868 and the Aboriginal Rights Protection Society of 1897, with a shared mission of achieving Ghana’s independence.

While Founders’ Day has been established as an official public holiday, two opposition political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP), have indicated that they might consider scrapping the holiday if they come into power.