Member of Parliament for Kwadaso, Professor Kingsley Nyarko, has raised concerns about President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to declare July 1 as a National Day of Prayer, arguing that it risks undermining national productivity at a time when Ghana faces serious economic challenges.
President Mahama’s directive, announced as part of a broader initiative to seek divine intervention and national unity under his administration, designates July 1 as a special day for nationwide prayer and thanksgiving.
The declaration follows the recent restoration of Republic Day and Founder’s Day as national holidays, a move that has drawn praise from various quarters, particularly the Convention People’s Party and Nkrumahist groups.
However, speaking to OTEC News’ Elizabeth Gyamfua Fosu, Professor Nyarko questioned the wisdom of setting aside a separate working day for prayer so close to an already existing public holiday.
“A National Day of Prayer is not a bad idea in itself,” Professor Nyarko acknowledged, “but having it on a working day, followed by another holiday, doesn’t make economic sense. We could have easily combined it with the Founder’s Day holiday to avoid losing an extra productive day.”
He cautioned that the back-to-back observance of a prayer day followed by a holiday could set a precedent that affects national output and delays important public and private sector activities.
“This economy is already struggling. We need to be mindful of how we use our productive time. Combining the prayer with the holiday would have been more efficient and symbolically powerful,” he noted.
