The Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has proposed groundbreaking amendments to Ghana’s Public Holidays Act.
This comes after he submitted two bills to the Clerk of Parliament aimed at fostering a more progressive and inclusive society.
According to him, the proposed amendments to the Public Holidays Act of 2001, Act 601, are designed to enhance productivity and address religious inclusivity.
The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No. 1)
The first bill known as “the Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No.1) 1. Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No.1),” has a primary purpose of ensuring effective use of public holidays to ensure productivity.
Among others, this bill seeks to amend the Public Holidays (Amendment) Act, 2001, Act 601, to remove the power of the President to declare additional public holidays, grant authority to the President to merge public holidays, postpone the celebration of public holidays on productive days to Friday, remove criminal sanctions for non-observance of public holidays, and provide for related matters.
“When passed, public holidays that fall on days between Tuesday and Thursday shall be observed on Fridays.
A substitute public holiday is an ordinary day that is treated like a public holiday instead of an actual public holiday. The basis for this proposal stems from the fact that productivity may be at its peak in the middle of the working week, say on a Tuesday or Wednesday,” he explained in an interview.
The proposed amendment also gives relevant power and authority to the President by combining, in a particular calendar year, the celebration of any two public holidays in the public interest and the interest of productivity.
In recognition of the constitutional right to freedom of religion, the second bill proposes extending the public holidays for Muslims from one to two days for each Islamic festivity.
The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No. 2) seeks to include Tashreeq (a day after the Eid-al-Adha Festival) and Shaqq (a day before the Eid-al-Fitr) as public holidays and provide for related matters.
By: Kuntu Blankson/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
