As if South Africa needed any more reasons to ditch work during a festive season jam-packed with off days, on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared 27 December 2022 a public holiday.
Why was 27 December 2022 declared a public holiday?
In addition to the December global holidays that keep us away from work for a significant amount of time this month, the embattled president, whose impeachment vote over his culpability in the ‘Phala Phala‘ farm scandal looms, won over the hearts of many South Africans when he declared Tuesday, 27 December 2022 a nationwide holiday.
Effectively, this means that in the last week of 2022, South Africans will only have three working days before the new year. That’s not considering the majority of the private sector which traditionally maxes out on leave days during this period.
So, why was Ramaphosa generous enough to extend the Christmas long weekend?
As reported by News24, Ramaphosa’s hand may have been forced by a rare technicality found in Section 2(1) of the Public Holidays Act, which declares that “whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a public holiday.”
In 2022, Christmas Day falls on Sunday, with Boxing Day following the next day, another public holiday in South Africa. Due to the occurrence of two public holidays falling on Sunday and Monday, Ramaphosa was obliged to enforce the rules of the Public Holidays Act.
For holidaymakers in South Africa, this is a greater incentive to explore the best South Africa has to offer, while workers will enjoy another paid off-day.
Here’s how South Africa reacted to the 27 December 2022 public holiday: