Jubilee House will host 2025 Independence Day Celebrations.

The administration of President John Dramani Mahama intends to reduce the size of this year’s Independence Day celebration by moving the march to Jubilee House, the government seat, in order to save money.

Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State for Government Communications, told reporters that the 2023 event cost the country GH¢15,000,000, hence the regional rotational celebration has been postponed.

He reiterated the government’s dedication to spending responsibly while achieving its main objective. He stated that while the celebrations used to be mostly held in the national capital, there has been an effort in recent years to distribute the festivities throughout a number of provincial capitals.

“Whereas the intentions may be noble, President Mahama has asked that the rotational policy be suspended because of the need to scale down, and this has become necessary due to escalating costs.

It has been discovered after some review that the rotation imposed additional cost, and therefore, at a time when our national budget is severely constrained due to economic difficulties, it was not going to be sustainable to keep rotating the national celebrations.”

Indeed, if I were to put numbers on the cost, you would see that there are significant economic consequences based on where the celebrations are communicated.

For instance, the most recent Ho celebrations cost the country an astounding GHS15 million, and each time they were rescheduled to a different regional capital outside of Accra, we had to foot the bill.

President Mahama has directed that this rotational arrangement be halted in an effort to reduce non-essential spending. Additionally, there has been some backlash to the primary celebration, which typically would have taken place in Independence Square in Accra.

He added the President is mindful of the current economic difficulties and other urgent obligations to re-prioritize government spending, even though he regards the commemoration as an important part of the nation’s history.