I am baffled by attempts to downgrade July 1 into a Commemorative Day - Kwesi Pratt

Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jr. has accused the NPP-led government of deliberately downgrading July 1 from a public holiday to a commemorative day.

Speaking on "Good Morning Ghana" on Metro TV on Wednesday, he stated that the move is a calculated attempt to de-emphasize the role of Ghana's first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, in the fight for independence.

"There is no doubt that reducing July 1 from a holiday to a commemorative day is a downgrade. It is a deliberate attempt by this government as part of efforts to de-emphasize the role Dr. Kwame Nkrumah played in Ghana's independence," he said.

Mr. Pratt further expressed concern about the government's fixation on the status of the country's 2nd and 3rd republics.

"The attempt to devalue Ghana's republican status in 1960 is worrying. Ghana's republican status has not changed; we have been a republic since July 1, 1960. I am baffled by these efforts to downgrade the holiday.

"I hope that one day we will have a government that will restore Republic Day as a public holiday just like African Liberation Day because the national liberation struggle is not over in Africa," he stated.

Ghana became a republic on July 1, 1960, and the day was celebrated annually until the Akufo-Addo administration made it commemorative.

JKB/OGB