The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has indicated it would expunged from Ghana’s statute books August 4 as a public holiday.
A statement signed by the party’s Director of Communications, Kakra Essamuah accused President Akufo-Addo of attempting to rewrite Ghana’s history.
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President Akufo-Addo on May 2019 assented to the amended Public Holiday Act making Founders’ Day is a statutory public holiday celebrated on August 4th annually in spite of opposition from the Minority.
Prior to the passing of the Public Holiday Amendment Bill into law in March 2019, September 21st which is the birthday of Ghana’s first democratically-elected, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was regarded as the Founder’s Day.
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The decision to change it from Founder’s Day to Founders’ Day, the NDC claims is part of a grand scheme by the President to “glorify his family”.
As an immediate measure, the statement said ” The NDC would like to assure all Ghanaians that August 4 will be expunged from our statute books as a public holiday as soon as the NDC assumes the reigns of government in January 2021″.
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Below is the full statement
AUGUST 4 DOES NOT MERIT A HOLIDAY
Once again the clannish, nepotistic family government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has legislated into law the commemoration and celebration of 4th August as a holiday to be called the Founders’ Day, replacing the Founder’s Day that was celebrated in honour of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the architect of Ghana’s independence.
The only reason advanced for this law, passed by the NPP-dominated Parliament of Ghana, was that it was on 4th August, 1947, that the United Gold Coast Convention was set up as a political party.
The reason behind the August 4 commemoration is that President Akufo-Addo wants Ghanaians to remember the formation of UGCC because his grand-uncle, Dr. J. B. Danquah, his uncle, Mr. William Ofori-Atta, and his father, Mr. Edward Akufo-Addo were foundation members.
As ridiculous as this may seem, it is as clear as daylight that underlying this is President Akufo-Addo’s penchant to glorify his family for which reason he seeks to revise the history of Ghana at each and every opportunity.
President Akufo-Addo’s insistence on foisting on Ghanaians the slender historical contributions of his relatives towards the struggle for the attainment of independence, as compared to the heroic contributions of the much venerated Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory, can only be equated to the behaviour of megalomaniac power-drunk rulers of old.
Together with the generality of all Ghanaians, the National Democratic Congress condemns in no uncertain terms, this blatant misuse of Parliamentary majority for the wanton indulgence of the current occupant of Jubilee House.
The NDC would like to assure all Ghanaians that August 4 will be expunged from our statute books as a public holiday as soon as the NDC assumes the reigns of government in January 2021. We will waste no time to rid our country of vestiges of historical revisionism and the ethnic and clannish bigotry that comes with it.
LONG LIVE THE PROGRESSIVE FORCES!
LONG LIVE GHANA!
Issued in ACCRA
on Sunday, 4th August, 2019.
Signed
KAKRA ESSAMUAH
Director of Communications