A developing country must not trade its productivity for enjoyment.

Ghana’s Parliament has recently passed what I will refer to as a controversial amendment to the Public Holidays Act. Under this new law, public holidays on weekdays, particularly Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, will now be observed on the nearest Friday. Similarly, holidays that fall on weekends will be shifted to the following Monday.

The rationale behind this policy is clear as it is to create long weekends that encourage leisure, travel, and rest. While this may seem like a forward-thinking move, it demands critical examination. Are we gaining more in convenience than we are losing in productivity? Your guess is as good as mine.

At first glance, longer weekends seem beneficial. They allow families to bond, promote domestic tourism, and provide much-needed rest for workers. However, in a developing economy like Ghana, where productivity levels are already fragile and economic recovery remains slow, the cost of such convenience cannot be ignored. Hence, the amendment is needless as it will lead to revenue losses in the end.

Shifting holidays from their original dates disrupts the structure of the workweek. Many institutions, schools, hospitals, and private businesses plan their schedules months in advance. When a Tuesday holiday is moved to a Friday, it doesn’t just change a date; it disrupts timetables, lessons, deadlines, appointments, and overall workflow. In effect, one day of celebration could compromise a full week’s output. This happens especially with certain holidays with no specific fixed dates within the calendar year but depend on certain physical signs. It's difficult to know exactly when such days will fall to incorporate those days while planning their schedules.

Moreover, when holidays are moved closer to weekends, an extended “holiday mood” often sets in. The working atmosphere begins to loosen by Thursday and doesn't fully recover until the following Tuesday. The result? A three- or four-day slump in national productivity, not just one day off.

From a macroeconomic perspective, this is troubling. Ghana is grappling with public debt, rising youth unemployment, and sluggish economic growth. Can we afford to forfeit valuable working hours for the sake of uniformity and convenience? The irony of the situation is that even those very Ghanaians who yearn for these holidays work overtime when they travel outside the country to look for greener pastures. Therefore, any arguments that support these longer weekend holidays because they may offer rest to the Ghanaian worker are not only weak but also porous and lack logic.

This new policy also sharply contradicts the government’s own ambition of building a 24-hour economy. A 24-hour economy thrives on efficiency, round-the-clock productivity, and strategic use of time and labour. If we are serious about implementing such a transformative policy, why simultaneously promote a system that elongates rest periods and shrinks effective workdays? The new holiday shift stands in direct opposition to the very principles that would make a 24-hour economy viable. It risks turning a bold vision into an empty slogan.

To be clear, this is not an argument against public holidays or the value of rest. Holidays are crucial for mental health, national identity, and social cohesion. But balance is key. A more sustainable approach would be to allow holidays to fall on their natural dates, while granting institutions the flexibility to adapt schedules or grant leave to staff as needed. If the aim is to promote tourism, the government could explore targeted incentives or voluntary long-weekend arrangements instead of blanket shifts.

Policies should not just look good on paper; they must make economic sense. Ghana needs every ounce of productivity it can muster. While comfort matters, so does national development. In balancing the two, we must ask: Are we trading too much productivity for too little gain?

Ghanaians are watching!!!
FAB’s Gist

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