Today is “Founder’s Day”, a day set aside to celebrate the birthday of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the founding father of Ghana.
This holiday is also known as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day. There has been an argument to celebrate August 4 as Founders’ (plural) Day instead of or in addition to 21 September as Founder’s (singular) Day.
Some have argued that Nkrumah was not the only main man and that there were six main independence leaders.
According to those suggesting the apostrophe after the ‘s’, many others contributed to securing Ghana’s freedom as well.
However, this effort has not yet succeeded, and September 21, remains Founder’s Day, a day to honour only Kwame Nkrumah.
Osagyefo Dr. Nkrumah was prime minister just before and after Ghana gained its independence from the British in 1957.
And he was the major force who pushed for independence with the most influence.
He then became the nation’s first president upon the passing of a new constitution in 1960.
Nkrumah put socialistic policies in place during his time in office, and he also undertook many big national projects to strengthen the economy and the educational system.
But in 1966, he was thrown out of office by the National Liberation Council, (NLC) which also privatised some state-owned corporations.
To mark the day, a group calling itself “The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation” is wishing all Ghanaians a happy holiday.
The group in a statement said various activities including lectures and symposiums have been earmarked by the Government and the Nkrumaist family to commemorate the day.
The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation is also urging all Ghanaians to reflect on the contributions of the forebears that led to Ghana attaining independence.
Below is the full statement from the group:
By Media coalition against open defecation on the commemoration of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, 21 st September 2018.
The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation wishes all Ghanaians a happy holiday as we mark the 109th birthday of the country’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah today.
Various activities including lectures and symposiums have been earmarked by the Government and the Nkrumaist family to commemorate the day which has been declared a public holiday.
The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation is urging all Ghanaians to reflect on the contributions of our forebears that led to Ghana attaining independence. On such a day, the coalition would like to single out the role Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah played by initiating and propelling Ghana on to a path of Socio-economic transformation and how Nkrumah worked tirelessly to ensure Freedom for the oppressed.
As we continue with the transformation agenda, 61 years after Independence, the Coalition wants to remind the general public of the threat posed by the practice of open defecation to the health of Ghanaians.
We believe that Osagyefo would definitely be disappointed in us if he were to see or feel the way we have managed our sanitation in general, and especially where his beloved Ghana ranks among the league of filthy countries in the world 61 years after his toil.
Once among the most attractive countries to visit in Africa, Ghana now ranks among seven poorest performing countries in terms of sanitation.
Open defecation is the main reason why Ghana still records cholera outbreaks and a lot of diarrhea deaths amongst children and adults. One out of every Five Ghanaians defecate outside a toilet each day, representing close to Six million people who engage in open defecation.
Experts have indicated that the practice costs Ghana $79million annually (excluding cost of funerals, single parenthoods, widows and orphans). Apart from the practice being an enemy to tourism, it is also the cause of many preventable illnesses like typhoid, malnutrition and stunted growth in children.
In order to work towards the attainment of a transformed economy, the coalition is calling on Government to provide a national roadmap for the eradication of open defecation at every administrative level, plus enforcement of by-laws by the MMDAs towards this national campaign.
The coalition is also calling for the establishment of a budget line for eradication of open defecation in annual budgets that syncs with the said national road map.
The coalition is of the view that, Ghana can achieve the universal access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation even before 2025, if more investments are made in improving sanitation facilities in Ghana.
On this day, the coalition wishes every Ghanaian a happy KWAME NKRUMAH MEMORIAL DAY AND AN OPEN DEFECATION FREE DAY.
– END –
Emmanuel Addai
(Convenor)
