Govt declares December 6 public holiday

The central government, through the Ministry of Interior (MINT), has declared Friday, December 6, 2024, a public holiday. The holiday, which falls a day before the December 7 elections, has been welcomed by many Ghanaians who need to travel to cast their votes on Election Day.

December 6 is the first Friday in December and marks Farmers’ Day, a statutory public holiday in Ghana. Although the 2024 Farmers’ Day celebration was held on November 8, the statutory holiday remains in effect.

“The general public is hereby informed that Friday, 6^th December 2024 which marks Farmers’ Day, is a Statutory Public Holiday and should be observed as such throughout the country,” the Interior Ministry said in a blog post.

Farmers’ Day is an annual celebration of farmers and fishermen in the country that takes place on the first Friday of December. The first Farmers’ Day in Ghana was celebrated in 1985, following the severe famines of 1983 and 1984.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) on that day presents special awards to farmers and fishermen who have demonstrated excellence in their practices and output.

The country this year observed National Farmers’ Day on Friday, November 8, which was not a public holiday. However, Farmers’ Day on Friday, December 6, 2024, will be a statutory public holiday and will be observed throughout the country.

Meanwhile, eligible Ghanaians aged 18 years and above in the country on Saturday, December 7, 2024, will go to the polls to select new a President and Members of Parliament.

READ: Tuesday, December 27 declared public holiday

Ahead of the 2024 polls, the National Peace Council will Thursday, November 28, meet with all political parties and their presidential candidates contesting the December 7 elections to sign a peace pact to ensure a peaceful electoral process.

The agreement or peace pact will require presidential candidates to commit to maintaining peace before, during, and after the general elections.

Speaking to Citi News, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, expressed optimism about the candidates’ willingness to participate in the signing ceremony.

“So far, we believe that all the parties will be there. We have commitments for all of them. We have sent them a copy of the pact for them to study if they have any comments to come back, and so far, we have not had any adverse reactions from any of the parties.

READ: This Is The Time For Government To Take Farmers Serious- Mahama

And so right now what we are doing is putting down appropriations for the various logistics and the things that need to be done for the signing of the pact,” the EC official told the Accra-based radio station.