The government is set to declare December 27, 2022, and Monday, January 2, 2023 public holidays.
This follows the current situation this year where Christmas, December 25, falls on a Sunday, and Boxing Day, December 26, falls on a Monday. Whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is pushed to Monday, a working day. However, the Monday of December 26, 2022, will be another holiday (Boxing Day), which would mean that this year’s Christmas Day will be celebrated on December 27, 2022.
“Where, in any year, a public holiday falls on a Sunday, then the first succeeding day, not being a public holiday, shall be a public holiday and the first-mentioned day shall cease to be a public holiday,” Section 4 of the Public Holidays Act reads.
Section 3 of the Act gives the Interior minister powers to declare as a public holiday any day outside the originally-assigned public holidays.
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“The minister may at any time if he thinks fit, by notice in the Gazette, declare any day to be a public holiday either in addition to the days mentioned in the Schedule or in substitution for any of those days,” says Section 3 of the Public Holidays Act.
January 1, 2023 will fall on a Sunday, occasioning its rescheduling to Monday, January 2, 2023.
“I can confirm to you that December 27, 2022 and January 2, 2023 will be public holidays. This is by virtue of rescheduling the holidays due to calendar dynamics. Both Christmas and New Year fall on Sundays. And the Public Holidays Act says that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is rescheduled to the following day. We have forwarded to the Government Printer the notice to gazette December 27, 2022 and January 2, 2023 as public holidays. The gazette notice should be out soon,” said the senior Interior Ministry official quoted by The Standard.
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