Many South Africans can look forward to an extended Christmas long weekend as President Cyril Ramaphosa has made his decision regarding whether 27 December will be declared a public holiday.
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The good news for many will be that Tuesday, 27 December, has been declared a public holiday, giving South Africans a total of five days off over the festive season.
Last week, Cosatu joined the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) in requesting the additional paid public holiday this year. Ramaphosa has provided a response.
Four of South Africa’s 12 public holidays currently fall over the festive season:
- Day of Reconciliation – Friday, 16 December
- Christmas Day – Sunday, 25 December
- Day of Goodwill (Boxing Day) – Monday, 26 December
- New Year’s Day – Sunday, 1 January
In a statement by legal firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (Act) provides that “whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a public holiday.” The law states that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is still regarded as a public holiday, and the Monday following the public holiday becomes an additional public holiday.
This year, 25 December falls on a Sunday, which would mean that the Monday following the 25 December is an additional public holiday, but the 26 December 2022 is already a public holiday in terms of the Act.
In a statement last week, CDH said, “This year, there has not yet been confirmation that President Cyril Ramaphosa will declare an additional public holiday on Tuesday, 27 December 2022. However, there is a possibility that this may occur.”
We had the same situation in 2016 when former president Jacob Zuma declared Tuesday, 27 December an additional public holiday.
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Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery