The National Hajj Board has announced that Muslims who failed to register for this year’s Hajj before the deadline day yesterday [Friday] will forfeit their chances of going on this year’s holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
Speaking to Citi News, the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the National Hajj Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Amin Lamptey said that “in March this year, we came out with a release indicating the starting of payment for Hajj 2016 and a deadline of 15th July 2016.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”3LZvROanf6YfWdQPt6JzOm8xoOUIqIvt”]He stated that “we have gone down on the people to sensitize and educate them on the need to pay on time”.
This decision forms part of efforts by the Hajj Board to prevent reoccurrence of past challenges that undermined previous trips to the holy city.
He stated that payment can be made at any UniBank branch across the country.
A prospective candidate must have a biometric passport and must pay $3,450 or its equivalent of GHc11, 900 to be deemed to have completed the registration process.
Over 5,000 Muslims are expected to leave Ghana for the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Lamptey also spoke about arrangements to ensure safety of pilgrims during the pilgrimage.
He noted that a new strategy has been developed “where you have some gadget that each and every pilgrim will have that will help to identify pilgrims”. He explained that the use of the gadget was to monitor the actions of pilgrims.
Meanwhile, pilgrims in the three Regions of the north will travel direct from the Tamale airport to Mecca, while those in the south will depart from the Kotoka International Airport.
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By: Kuukua Buahin/citifmonline.com/Ghana