Ghana’s 70th Independence Anniversary: Mahama Promises Month-Long Celebrations

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President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that planning for Ghana’s 70th Independence Anniversary is under way, and he expects many heads of state to attend. He spoke to the Presidential Press Corps after returning from London, the Russia-Africa Summit and the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda.

President Mahama said the celebration will stretch beyond a single day, with activities before and after the main event, while a national facelift reaches Accra and every regional capital.

World leaders want to attend, he explained, because Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to break free from colonialism. The anniversary falls on March 6, 2027, seven decades after independence in 1957.

“But the 70th anniversary is a very important event, and we’ve started the planning towards it.”

Touching on whether the trip produced commitments Ghanaians should expect, President Mahama began with history. He noted that he had recounted Russia’s support for the decolonisation of Africa during the summit. He also thanked the Russian people and reminded his audience that 70 years have passed since Ghana broke free.

That record gives Ghana its pull. Many leaders, President Mahama stated, have expressed a wish to come because of the country’s prominence as the first to break away. “So we’ll expect a lot of heads of state coming to join us for the celebration,” he said. The President did not name any leader who has confirmed.

The committee organising the event has yet to present its report on what form the celebration will take. President Mahama offered no programme, yet he ruled out a single-day affair. He expects a celebration over a period, with activities leading up to the event and continuing after it.

Culture will feature strongly. President Mahama suggested events that showcase Ghana and what the country has achieved since independence. He also wants honesty about the journey. “We’ve had our setbacks, but we’ve also had successes,” he stated, and he argued that the celebration should present both.

Planners are lining up a wider slate of activities. Cultural homecoming programmes, independence concerts and creative arts projects, including The 70 Slate and the film premiere of The Return of Makunse, are being prepared to engage citizens and the diaspora.

The government has already begun beautifying the capital. President Mahama pointed to road networks being fixed and re-marked, and he announced that crews will repair broken pavement slabs and landscape the city. The work follows his directive for an Accra road facelift ahead of the anniversary.

A separate national initiative aims to paint 1.28 million houses across the country. That figure comes from announcements on the anniversary preparations, not from the president’s remarks to the press corps. Accra is also marking 200 years as a city, which adds weight to the makeover.

President Mahama stressed that the effort will not stop in the capital. Regional capitals, he said, will be encouraged to do facelifts of their own. The government plans to build a few kilometres of road in each of them, so that every regional capital gets a much better outlook than it has had.

The pledge speaks directly to residents outside Accra, who often wait longest for infrastructure. The President gave no budget, no list of roads, and no completion date, so Ghanaians will look for those details as work progresses.

The anniversary has already shaped national policy beyond roads. President Mahama pardoned 863 convicted persons to mark the occasion, including 819 first-time offenders and people aged 70 and above, and he commuted 11 death sentences to life imprisonment.

The gesture shows the government treating the milestone as a moment for national renewal as well as celebration.

President Mahama also takes on the African Union chairmanship, a role that fits a year of high-profile diplomacy. The ECOWAS leaders’ endorsement of Mahama adds regional backing to that profile.

His earlier outreach to the diaspora, including his message in New York, set the tone for a celebration that invites Ghanaians abroad to take part. For now, the President has offered direction rather than detail.

The committee’s report will decide the shape of the programme, and Ghanaians will watch whether the promised roads, pavements and landscaping arrive before March 6, 2027.

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