Parliament passes Holidays Amendment Bill despite Minority’s boycott

March 5, 2019 Editor News 0

minority boycott holiday bill

“The Holidays Amendment Bill 2018 is duly read for the third time and passed,” Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Aaron Ocquaye said.

The Minority had accused government of trying to rewrite the country’s history with the bill.

The Minority in Parliament on Friday staged a walkout for the second time to express their disapproval for the holiday Amendment Bill which seeks to scrap Republic and AU days as public holidays and introduce August 4 as Founders’ Day and January 7 as Constitution Day leaving September 21 as a commemorative day.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), known for its support for Nkrumaist ideals, said the move is an attempt to distort Ghana’s history.

The Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa, K.T Hammond last week mounted a spirited defence for the government’s holidays Amendment Bill insisting that there was no way Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah will be recognized as the only founder of the country

KT Hammond insisted that the argument by the Minority was flawed simply because the amendment has the backing of many historians in the country.

“This is an extremely poor analogy by the Minority which is rather annoying a number of historians in this country. Let us get history right, how will you say there is only one founder of Ghana?

“We [NPP] of our [Dombo-Busia] tradition will never accept that Kwame Nkrumah was the founder of Ghana. He was one of them. Among the lot, I will not even say he is the Primus inter pares. We have Paa Grant and JB Danquah, Ako Adjei putting together resources to bring you from the diaspora, how do you come and say you are the person who started the talk. We will never agree”

New Holiday

There have been varied views on the celebration of the Constitution Day.
The Head of European Studies at the University of Ghana, Prof. Yaw Gyampo, in a statement on the matter said the celebration of Constitution Day is a celebration of “mediocrity”.

The government contended that celebrating the day as Founder’s day with Ghana’s independence achievement credited solely to Nkrumah was wrong as others including the Dr. J.B. Danquah also played key roles in the country’s independence struggle.

Some persons and groups including the Convention People’s Party which was formed by Kwame Nkrumah criticized the government for the declaration, describing it as an attempt to alter the country’s history.

credit: citinewsroom.com

Publish on Apt

Do you have any Social, informational, educational or entertaining stuff that should be featured on www.aptnewsghana.com?

Please submit your stories, pictures, and videos to us via WhatsApp: +233548388489 or click on the icon on your screen. Alternatively, email us: aptnewsghana@gmail.com

RSS APO Group – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

  • Egypt: President El-Sisi Meets Prime Minister (PM), Minister of Transport, Advisor to the President for Urban Planning August 2, 2026
    Download logoToday in El Alamein City, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Transport Lieutenant General Engineer Kamel El-Wazir, and Advisor to the President for Urban Planning Major General Amir Sayed Ahmed. The Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, stated that the meeting reviewed the implementation status of […]
  • Eritrea: Financial Support Extended to Families of Martyrs August 2, 2026
    Download logoMs. Nebyat Bahlibi, Secretary of the PFDJ in Adi-Quala sub-zone, reported that more than 700,000 Nakfa contributed by residents of 22 administrative areas in the sub-zone had been distributed to 1,395 families of martyrs. Ms. Nebyat also said that, in addition to the financial support, residents are cultivating land belonging to families of martyrs […]
  • Eritrea: Activity Assessment Meeting Reviews Development Programs August 2, 2026
    An assessment meeting was conducted in the Central Region to review progress made in administrative, development, and infrastructure programs during the first half of 2026. Mr. Zerit Tewoldebrhan, Managing Director of the region, said that the objective of the meeting was to assess the strengths and challenges in implementing projects that were initiated in 2025 […]
  • Eritrea: Extensive Water and Soil Conservation Activities August 1, 2026
    Mr. Abdu Ismail, representative of development, forestry, and wildlife conservation in Teseney sub-zone, reported that extensive water and soil conservation activities are being carried out through the students’ summer work program. Mr. Abdu further said that 736 participants in the students’ summer work program from the Fanko and Teseney centers are conducting commendable community campaigns. […]
About Editor 649 Articles
Joe Bright Nyarko Journalist/Communication Researcher. Environment & Sustainability Advocate. Managing Editor of aptnewsghana.com, a non-profit news portal with bias towards environment and sustainability issues, rural development policies and gender & inequality.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply