The Managing Editor of The Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has criticised the decision to hold the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving on Tuesday, July 1, arguing that it should have coincided with the official public holiday declared for Friday, July 4, 2025.

Speaking on Metro TV’s "Good Morning Ghana" on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, Pratt expressed confusion over the timing, contending that holding the prayers on the designated holiday would have allowed for broader public participation.

“I don’t understand why the prayer and thanksgiving was not held on Friday. The President wisely shifted the holiday to Friday so that citizens can have enough time to plan meaningful activities. What was the point of shifting it to Friday if it could have been done on the same day?” he queried.

Pratt argued that aligning the prayer event with the official holiday on Friday would have ensured greater public attendance and minimised disruption to regular work schedules.

He further noted that many people did not work on Tuesday anyway, effectively making it a ‘partial holiday,’ whereas Friday would have offered a more suitable time for nationwide observance.

“A lot of people didn’t work on Tuesday anyway, which made it a partial holiday,” he stated.

President John Dramani Mahama officially declared July 1, which marks Ghana's Republic Day, as the annual National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.

However, in accordance with the government's official calendar, when July 1 falls on a weekday, the statutory public holiday for Republic Day is often moved to the nearest Friday to create a long weekend.

For 2025, the Republic Day holiday was observed on Friday, July 4.

Despite this adjustment, the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving ceremonies proceeded on July 1, as initially scheduled by the planning committee.

MRA/VPO

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