27 NOVEMBER DECLARED A PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Another day has been added to the country’s public holiday calendar.

The news was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement.

“If the holiday of Sunday, 25 December were to be moved to Monday, 26 December, this would cancel the holiday of 26 December or cause the two holidays – which are part of 12 paid holidays annually – to overlap”.

The decision to make the day a public holiday is based on the country’s traditional 12 public holidays per year. Because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, there are only 11 public holidays this year.

The number of public holidays is set based on the Public Holidays Act.

The news was welcomed by the local tourism industry as it expects an influx of bookings around the Christmas weekend. This has prompted establishments to offer last-minute deals.

According to Rosemary Anderson, the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa’s (FEDHASA) National Chairperson, the public has shown a lot of interest and has been searching for last-minute bargains.

“The additional public holiday may just be the nudge they needed to grab the great deals hospitality providers have put in place this December to entice South Africans to travel around their country.”

Image credit: Cape Business News