January 9 Declared A Public Holiday

The Ministry for the Interior has declared Monday, January 9, 2023, 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 the Constitution Day”.

“The general public is hereby notified that Saturday, January 7, 2023, marks Constitution Day, which is a Statutory Public Holiday.

“However, in view of the fact that January 7, 2023 falls on a Saturday, the President, by Executive Instrument (E.I), in accordance with Section 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, (Act 601) has declared Monday, January 9, 2023, as an additional Public Holiday,” the ministry said.

The statement further called on Ghanaians to observe the day as a statutory public holiday throughout the country.

It will be recalled that in December 2018, a bill was laid before Parliament to amend the Public Holiday Act 2001, to provide for three different holidays.

January 7, which happens to be Constitution Day, was among the proposed holidays.

This bill was subsequently passed by Parliament and assented to by President Akufo-Addo.

The day marks the coming into effect of the 1992 Constitution and the birth of the Fourth Republic on this day in 1993.

The 1992 Constitution came into force for the Fourth Republic of Ghana, on January 7, 1993, following its overwhelming approval in a referendum held on April 28, 1992.

The Constitution defines the fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government, the structure of the judiciary and legislature, and spells out the fundamental rights and duties of a citizen.

January 7 is also the day new Heads of State are sworn into office in Ghana after elections.

The day is intended to acknowledge Ghana’s collective efforts at ensuring that the tenets of democracy, rule of law and principles of constitutionalism are upheld.

More importantly, the day is to remind the citizens of their collective commitment to a regime of uninterrupted constitutional order.