He said the actual fare is GH¢19,500.00, but government has absorbed GH¢4,500.00 of the cost to enable more pilgrims to perform the Hajj.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tK73zxjfzjnlRUJAzami5LG9tedU7qdo”]Sheikh Quaye, who made this known at the official launch of the 2018 Hajj season in Accra, said the board would accept a direct full payment into the Hajj Account with Unibank.

He said some officials of the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana have been assigned to specifically handle those who pay directly to the Board.

Sheikh I.C said late payment of the Hajj package would not be accepted because it causes delays and makes planning very difficult.

He said the late payment affects the Hajj operations with grave consequences, and therefore the deadline for payment would be June 30, 2018, adding that, there shall be no extension of the date whatsoever.

“Pilgrims who pay up before the deadline would be airlifted to Mecca, irrespective of whether our quota has been attained or not,” he said.

He said Hajj fares keep rising due to the introduction of new policies by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which would significantly affect Hajj transactions and services.

He said key amongst these new policies, was the introduction of five per cent VAT on goods and services, due to the diversification of the Saudi economy and its consequential implications.

He said pilgrims performing the Hajj more than once shall pay a penalty of GHȼ3,000.00 chargeable before Visa acquisition.

The rational according to Saudi authorities he said, was to prevent multiple performance of Hajj.

He said there was also an increase in social amenities as well as accommodation, transport, flight fares, catering and general service fees, but with the reduction of taxes and interventions, Ghanaian pilgrims are paying the lowest fare.

He said due to a new immigration policy by the Saudi Kingdom, pilgrims would undergo finger-print data collection in Ghana before departing.

He said medical teams charged with the responsibility to manage programmes that would ensure the effective and efficient management of the health needs of pilgrims both in Ghana and in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall kick start its activities with a health screening exercise.

He further stated that, this year, the welfare team would be categorized into three units, which includes the luggage handlers, meet and assist and that of security.

“We therefore call on would be pilgrims to, as a matter of urgency, begin payments now without delay for there shall be no extensions at all.”

He said this was important to the Board as the timelines provided by the Saudi Authorities for the payments of Hajj services were so tight and that failure to conform could cost us the Hajj all together.

Sheikh I.C advised the pilgrims to start practising the processes and rituals of the Hajj and Umrah, be physically fit and be each other’s keeper throughout their stay in Mecca.

He encouraged the pilgrims to desist from travelling with prohibited items, as well as human trafficking in particular, which attracts harsh sentence if caught.

The Hajj board, under the chairmanship of Sheik I.C Quaye, pledged that they would do everything possible to facilitate a memorable 2018 Hajj.

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Source: GNA

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This comes a few days after government released a 14-member committee chaired by former New Patriotic Part (NPP) Member of Parliament and Minister Sheikh IC Quaye.

Some regional Chief Imams have reacted to the names saying there was no consultation to include regional representatives.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KMCRvizEpwDajZQARbDts6Pp0nGicHgL”]Speaking to Citi News, spokesperson for the Chief Imam, Sheik Aremeya Shaibu said even the Chief Imam was not consulted before the announcement was made.

“It appears to me that the board has been rashly been composed without taking time to study the structure and the outcome of the work of the previous committee so we can learn the lessons from there. I would have wished that it would have been a bit more of looking at a structure, putting in place a certain interim Hajj board that will not be directly involved in the management and then you put in place an interim management that would be accountable to the interim board of trustees so that there would be some form of accountability.”

He explained that the defect in the previous board bothered on “accountability transparency” he said “was completely absent” and too partisan.

Sheik Shaibu further observed from all indications “It appears to me that there is going to be a repeat of that and that is my worry.”

This he said is because “even with the Chief Imam’s office, as far as I know, I am not aware of any such consultation. I served on the advisory board of the National Chief Imam, the opportunity would have been for us to also see and know those people who have been put in place.”

He also explained that the Chief Imam and his team bares no grudges against the current board but their worry “is more of procedure on how it has been composed and ones the Chief Imam has not been brought into the picture directly, the way we expect, then we are unable to comment even on the political background of the people.:

Meanwhile the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Harun is suggesting that the board be dissolved and re-constituted to include regional representatives.

“It will allow for all the Regional Imams to be informed. We don’t want some people to blame the government and say that the government doesn’t like moslems and that is why some people couldn’t perform Hajj,” he explained.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post We weren’t consulted about new Hajj board – Office of Chief Imam appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A statement issued by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin indicated that the President had appointed 14 persons to serve on the board.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TpQNZu5gHEJZUcDKhYdNDGEKKp4pfup5″]The 14 members include a medical head, head of communications and head of I.T.

Others members on the board includes the National Coordinator of Nasara wing of the New Patriotic Party, Kamal-Deen Abdulai

Below is the list of members of the board;

1. Sheikh I.C. Quaye (Chairman)
2. Abdul Malik Adams Gariba (Member)
3. Mr. Farouk Hamza (Member)
4. Sheikh Amin Bonsu (Member)
5. Alhaji Inusa Amadu (Member)
6. Mr. Kamal-Deen Abdulai (Member)
7. Ismaela Ibrahim (Member)
8. Mohammadu Osmanu Alidu (Member)
9. Mohammed Osumanu Yunusah (Member)
10. Mr. Braimah Adams (Member)
11. Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed (Member)

The others are;

1. Dr. Seidu Zakaria (Head, Medical)
2. Abdulai Rahman Alhassan Gomda (Head, Communications)
3. Dr. Sani Abduai (Head, I.T.)

The appointment of the 14 persons to serve on the board comes at a time when there is a reported debt of $23 million on government from the previous administration.

Sources in government told Citi News that, Flynas, formerly Nas Air, a domestic and international low-cost airline based in Saudi Arabia, is owed the highest amount out of the larger sum.

The situation has cast doubt over the smooth process for this year’s pilgrimage since the airline may refuse to airlift Ghanaian pilgrims.

It is unclear how the immediate past National Democratic Congress government accrued the debt. Each pilgrim for the 2016 Hajj was expected to pay $3,500 or its equivalent of GHc11, 900.

Meanwhile the immediate past Chairman of the National Hajj Committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul has said that his administration will give a full account of the situation to the new Hajj committee that will be taking over from them, explaining that some debt has been left but it was not new and alarming, as far as organizing Hajj in the past is concerned.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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