President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana’s 70th anniversary celebrations in 2027 will stretch beyond 6 March, with heads of state expected to attend and events planned before and after the main commemoration.
Mr Mahama said preparations had begun after returning from London, the Russia-Africa summit and the 28th Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.
“Many world leaders have expressed a wish to come because of Ghana’s prominence as the first to break away from colonialism. So, we expect a lot of heads of state to join us for the celebration,” he told the Presidential Press Corps.
No visiting leader has yet been named as having confirmed attendance.
Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from British colonial rule on 6 March 1957. In October, Mr Mahama pardoned 863 prisoners to mark the anniversary.
The committee organising the celebrations has not submitted its report, meaning the final programme has yet to be determined. However, the president said the anniversary would not be limited to a single day.
“It’s not just going to be a day’s event. I’m sure it will be a celebration over a period, with many activities leading up to the event and even after it,” he said.
Mr Mahama said exhibitions should present an honest account of Ghana’s progress since independence, including both achievements and difficulties.
“We’ve had our setbacks, but we’ve also had successes, and so we need to showcase all that,” he said.
He also highlighted improvement work already taking place in Accra, including road repairs, new road markings, repairs to damaged pavements and landscaping. He said regional capitals should receive similar attention, with repairs carried out on selected roads.
The president did not provide a budget for the work or a completion date.
Call for new image on cedi notes
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park has asked the Bank of Ghana to replace the Big Six portrait on selected cedi notes with a photograph of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah declaring independence on 6 March 1957.
The request was made in a statement signed on Friday by the Park’s acting executive director, Collins Rawlings Nunyonameh. It did not identify which denominations should carry the proposed image.
The Park said the Big Six remained worthy of recognition and noted that their portrait appears on almost all Ghanaian banknotes. The group comprises Nkrumah, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, William Ofori Atta and Edward Akufo-Addo.
“Our currency should not merely facilitate transactions; it should tell our national story. And there is no story more fundamental to modern Ghana than the moment we became free,” the statement said.
It added that the proposal supported the Ghana Cedi Heritage Series announced by Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama in September.
A day before the Park’s statement, the Bank of Ghana said the notes would be launched on 12 November and confirmed that existing notes would remain legal tender.
The bank’s post did not address the proposal, and no public response from the Bank of Ghana had appeared by Saturday morning.
