Parliament Friday passed the Public Holidays (Amendment) Law, which abolishes the celebration of June 4 as a public holiday. The passing of the bill follows days of intensive debate on the bill, which generated a lot of controversy between the majority and the minority.
The Bill was laid before parliament under a state of urgency on May 29 by the Interior Minister, Alhaji Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu, who said June 4 should belong to history because that its observance as a holiday contradicts "the principles of a democratic and constitutional order". He said the June 4 event was a military mutiny and a military take over, which the country does not want to witness in its political life.
The NDC Minority in Parliament led by the MP for South Tongu Ken Dzirasah said the bill should not be passed under the state of urgency arguing that once the bill was published in the gazette on May 18 it should be allowed to become matured for debate after 14 days and no longer be considered as urgent.
Quoting Articles 108 and 106 of the Constitution, Mr. Dzirasah who is the second deputy speaker of parliament said if the bill had not been published earlier, it could be acceptable for the House to deal with it as urgent.
Mr. John Akologu Tia, the Deputy Minority Whip, said the June 4 uprising was not a coup d'etat and that for once "it introduced probity and accountability into the Ghanaian body politic". When the bill was mentioned in Parliament on Thursday, May 31, most of the minority boycotted the debate in the chamber and resorted to chatting and drinking tea in the lobby.
The Deputy Majority Leader, Papa Owusu Ankomah expressed concern about the attitude of the minority saying that they should not be allowed to hold Parliament hostage by "chatting and drinking tea in the lobby when there is a serious business to be conducted" but the minority were unconcerned about his comments.
The Majority NPP therefore mobilised themselves today presented a full house in order to secure the majority votes to repeal the law. Young military officers and other ranks took up arms on June 4, 1979 and rescued Flight-Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and other soldiers who were being tried for mutiny on May 15 in the same year.
The mutineers overthrew the military regime of the Supreme Military Council (SMC II) under the chairmanship of Lieutenant-General F.W.K Akuffo and established the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
The AFRC ruled the country for three months and handed over to the Peoples' National Party of President Hilla Limann. Flt. Lt Rawlings later overthrew the Limann government in 1981 and established the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
After ruling as a military dictator for 11 years, Flt. Lt. Rawlings metamorphosed into a constitutional President in 1992 and ruled for eight years. During the rule of Flt. Lt Rawlings, June 4 was observed as a public holiday with the assent of the Supreme Court.
