President John Dramani Mahama’s government has opted to scale down this year’s Independence Day celebration.

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As part of this adjustment, the parade will be moved to Jubilee House to reduce costs.

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Addressing journalists, Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, disclosed that the practice of rotating the event among regional capitals has been put on hold, citing the GH¢15 million expenditure on the 2023 celebration.

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He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to responsible fiscal management while ensuring the effective execution of its mandate.

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Kwakye Ofosu further noted that although the Independence Day event was traditionally held in Accra, recent years have seen an intentional effort to decentralize the celebrations across various regions.

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"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."

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Indeed, if I were to put figures on how much it costs, you would find out that depending on where the celebrations are sent, there are significant cost implications. For instance, the last celebrations held in Ho cost the country a staggering GHS15 million, and every time it has been sent to a different regional capital aside from Accra, we've had to bear such cost.

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"In the spirit of cutting down on non-essential expenditure, President Mahama has instructed that this rotational policy be suspended. In addition to this, the main celebration, which ordinarily would have taken place in Accra at Independence Square, has become the subject of some rollback.

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He highlighted that although the President acknowledges the event's importance in the nation’s history, prevailing economic difficulties and urgent national needs have necessitated a reassessment of government expenditures.

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"He believes that it is entirely possible to hold a modest but significant event to mark this important occasion without breaking the national purse.

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