Ministry of Interior has declared Thursday, 4 August 2022, as a public holiday.
A statement signed by the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, said the day “has been declared a Public Holiday to mark “Founders Day”.
The statement further called on Ghanaians to observe the day as a statutory public holiday throughout the country.
Founders’ Day is observed to commemorate the contributions of all the people, notably the “Big Six” who led the struggle for Ghana’s independence.
It was formerly spelled Founder’s Day, observed on 21 September of each year to mark the birthdate of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and in remembrance of the struggle for independence by Ghana’s brave “Big Six”.
But President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo upon assuming office and based on the call to celebrate other members of the “Big Six” proposed legislation to Parliament to designate 4 August as a new date for the Founders’ Day celebration.
This was to widen the scope of the celebration to cover all people who played a key role in the liberation of the country.
President Akufo-Addo again proposed that 21 September however should be instituted as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, to commemorate the birthdate of Ghana’s first president.
Following the president’s proposal, in March 2019, the Public Holiday Amendments Bill was passed into law by the government, and 4 August was instituted as “Founders’ Day”.
It is a day that also coincides with the formation of the first political party in the country – the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) on 4 August 1947.
In a message to the nation to mark the inaugural celebration in 2019, President Nana Akufo-Addo said: “We acknowledge the role played by successive generations of Ghanaians towards the liberation of our country from colonization and imperialism.”
Akufo-Addo added, “it is time we rose above partisan considerations, set the record straight, recognise the collective efforts in gaining our freedom and independence from colonial rule and do right by our history.”