Ghana’s New Cedi Notes Reignite Founders’ Day Debate as Five Members of Big Six Disappear – Seth Afum A. Dankwah

Ghana’s newly unveiled Heritage Series banknotes have reignited the longstanding debate over who deserves recognition as the founder or founders of the country, following the removal of five members of the famous Big Six from the redesigned currency.

In an article examining the historical, political and symbolic implications of the new banknotes, Seth Afum A. Dankwah of J. G. Knol Technical Institute, Adukrom-Akuapem, Eastern Region, argues that the currency redesign goes beyond security improvements and has reopened Ghana’s unresolved debate over the country’s independence history.

President John Dramani Mahama unveiled the new banknotes at Bank Square in Accra on Thursday, November 12, 2026, under the theme, “The Cedi, Our Future: Secure, Designed to Last.”

Although the redesign introduces several technical improvements, including enhanced security features, reinforced cotton paper, QR codes, kente-inspired borders and tactile markings for visually impaired persons, Dankwah believes the selection of personalities has become an equally important part of the national conversation.

Of the six personalities collectively known as the Big Six, whose portraits have featured prominently on Ghanaian banknotes since 2007, only Dr Kwame Nkrumah has been retained.

The other five, Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, Edward Akufo-Addo, William Ofori Atta, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey and Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, have been left out.

They have been replaced by a market woman, a Catholic Cardinal, an educationist, a female judge, a composer, the designer of Ghana’s national flag and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

According to Dankwah’s analysis, the decision has revived the political and historical disagreement over whether Ghana’s independence should be attributed primarily to one individual or recognised as the collective achievement of several personalities.

The new Heritage Series maintains the existing eight denominations, from GH¢1 to GH¢200, but introduces a different design concept that places one prominent personality on the front and a landmark associated with Ghana’s heritage on the reverse.

Each denomination also carries an Adinkra symbol and a specific national theme.

The GH¢1 note features Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome, a market trader, with market women represented on the reverse under the theme of Commerce.

The GH¢2 note honours Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery, Archbishop of Tamale, with the Larabanga Mosque appearing on the reverse. Its theme is Religious Freedom.

The GH¢5 note features Dr J.E.K. Aggrey, a renowned educationist, alongside Achimota School, representing Education.

The GH¢10 note celebrates Justice Annie Jiagge, recognised as Ghana’s first female judge, with the Supreme Court featured on the reverse under Justice and Equality.

The GH¢20 note honours Dr Ephraim Amu, a celebrated composer, with the National Theatre representing Arts and Entertainment.

The GH¢50 note features Theodosia Okoh, the designer of Ghana’s national flag, alongside Jubilee House under the theme of Nationalism.

The GH¢100 note celebrates Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General, with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) representing Peace.

The GH¢200 note features Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, with the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park on the reverse under the theme of Sovereignty.

Dankwah identifies Nkrumah’s positioning as one of the most significant changes. While the former currency featured him alongside the other members of the Big Six on the GH¢2 denomination, the new arrangement places him alone on the highest denomination, the GH¢200 note.

The Big Six acquired their collective identity following the 1948 disturbances in Accra, which occurred after British colonial police shot ex-servicemen who had marched to present a petition over their welfare.

The colonial authorities subsequently arrested six prominent leaders of the independence movement.

They were Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, Edward Akufo-Addo, William Ofori Atta, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey and Ebenezer Ako-Adjei.

Their collective image later became an important representation of Ghana’s struggle for independence.

However, different political traditions have continued to offer contrasting interpretations of their contributions.

The Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, associated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), maintains that Ghana’s independence was the result of a collective movement that began with the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) in 1947.

On the other hand, the Nkrumahist tradition, associated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), places particular emphasis on Nkrumah’s role in breaking away from the UGCC, establishing the Convention People’s Party (CPP), mobilising the masses and leading the country to independence on March 6, 1957.

Dankwah argues that both historical accounts contain important truths but also leave out aspects of the other side, contributing to Ghana’s longstanding disagreement over its founding story.

The disagreement has been most visible in Ghana’s annual public holiday arrangements.

In 2009, under the administration of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, with Mahama serving as Vice President, September 21, Nkrumah’s birthday, was designated as Founder’s Day.

The singular form was widely interpreted as recognition of Nkrumah as the central figure in Ghana’s founding.

However, under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the arrangement was changed through the Public Holidays (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The law established August 4 as Founders’ Day, commemorating the formation of the UGCC in 1947, while September 21 was retained as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.

The change reflected the position that Ghana’s independence should be recognised as the achievement of several individuals rather than one personality.

Dankwah links the latest currency redesign to this longstanding disagreement, arguing that the decision to retain Nkrumah while removing the other five members of the Big Six sends a significant symbolic message.

Although the Mahama administration has not formally restored the previous Founder’s Day arrangement, the new banknotes have brought the debate back into public discussion.

Beyond the political controversy, the Bank of Ghana has defended the redesign on technical and operational grounds.

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, announced the currency upgrade on September 24, 2026, explaining that the existing banknotes required modernisation after more than 20 years of circulation and improvements in counterfeiting technology.

The redesign introduces enhanced security threads, improved printing technology and additional features to help the public distinguish genuine banknotes from counterfeit ones.

The new notes are printed on reinforced cotton paper, which is expected to improve their durability and reduce the frequency of replacement.

Their smaller and more compact sizes are also intended to make them easier to handle, carry and store.

For visually impaired persons, the redesigned currency includes improved tactile markings and differences in denomination sizes to make identification easier.

The Bank of Ghana has also introduced a Cedi App, which can scan banknotes, announce their denominations aloud and assist users in checking their authenticity.

Another improvement is the enhanced compatibility of the notes with automated teller machines, cash deposit machines and currency-counting equipment.

The central bank has also developed Enterprise Currency Operations Management Software (ECOM) to improve the management of currency operations.

The return of the GH¢2 denomination as a banknote is another notable feature of the redesign, following its gradual disappearance from circulation and replacement by coins.

The Bank of Ghana has also indicated that there are no plans to introduce a GH¢500 note.

Dr Asiama has maintained that physical cash remains important despite the increasing use of mobile money and electronic payment platforms.

He explained that cash continues to serve as an important pillar of monetary resilience, particularly during cyberattacks, technical failures and natural disasters that could disrupt electronic payment systems.

The central bank is also preparing legislation to replace the Currency Act of 1964, with the aim of strengthening penalties for counterfeiting and the deliberate destruction of banknotes.

Despite the technical explanations, Dankwah raises questions about the criteria used to determine which historical personalities qualify for recognition on the new currency.

He argues that the removal of five members of the Big Six, particularly those associated with the Danquah-Busia-Dombo political tradition, raises concerns about the possibility of using national currency to promote a particular historical interpretation.

He also draws attention to earlier controversies over the representation of Ghana’s independence history.

In 2010, the Daily Guide newspaper reported allegations of a calculated attempt under an earlier NDC administration to remove the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition from the country’s historical narrative by replacing the Big Six with Nkrumah alone. The allegations were disputed at the time.

Dankwah further highlights a public appeal by the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, a week before the unveiling, urging the Bank of Ghana to replace the Big Six portrait with the famous 1957 photograph of Nkrumah declaring Ghana’s independence.

The final design went further by featuring Nkrumah as the only member of the Big Six on the new banknotes.

The controversy has also revived memories of the period between 1967 and 1971, when Nkrumah’s portrait was removed from Ghana’s currency following the 1966 military coup that overthrew his government.

For Dankwah, these developments demonstrate how changes in political leadership have influenced the country’s currency designs and the historical figures represented on them.

The new Heritage Series banknotes are expected to enter circulation on December 1, 2026, and will circulate alongside the existing notes.

The Bank of Ghana has assured the public that the old notes will remain legal tender and will be withdrawn gradually through the banking system.

The redesign does not constitute a redenomination, and the value of the cedi remains unchanged. Members of the public are therefore not required to rush to exchange their existing banknotes.

However, Dankwah believes the decision to remove five members of the Big Six while retaining Nkrumah has opened another chapter in Ghana’s longstanding debate over national identity, historical recognition and political ownership of the independence struggle.

He questions whether future administrations will maintain the current design or introduce another change reflecting their own interpretation of Ghana’s history.

In his assessment, the Heritage Series deserves recognition for its improvements in security, accessibility and durability, as well as its recognition of women, religious leaders, artists and other prominent Ghanaians.

However, he maintains that the removal of five members of the Big Six has given the currency a political and historical significance that goes beyond its economic purpose.

He argues that Ghana needs a transparent and lasting approach to recognising the personalities who contributed to its independence, rather than allowing the country’s founding story to change with successive political administrations.

The article is written by Seth Afum A. Dankwah of J. G. Knol Technical Institute, Adukrom-Akuapem, Eastern Region.