Sheikh IC Quaye
The Ghana Hajj Board has commenced the distribution of the uniformed bags for prospective pilgrims at the Hajj Village.
As part of the Hajj package, prospective pilgrims in good standing are entitled to four bags of various sizes – two pieces of which would be given to them in Ghana and the rest when they land in Saudi Arabia.
Accredited agents are collecting the bags for their passengers while those who paid directly into the Hajj accounts at Unibank can upon the presentation of their receipts also pick theirs at the Hajj Village.
Pilgrims have been advised to be calm as the bags were imported based on the country’s quota and so there is no need to rush in apprehension of a shortage.
“Everything is being done to ensure a hitch-free Hajj this year” a source at the Hajj Board said yesterday.
The integrated Hajj package encompasses the cost of the uniformed bags as opposed to the previous system of prospective pilgrims paying for these separately through their accredited agents.
The Documentation Section now featured a flurry of activities as preparation of passports for visa acquisition at the Saudi Arabia Embassy is on steam. One of the officials engaged in this exercise told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that “we are leaving no stone unturned towards the performance of the task bestowed upon us.”
The IT Departmental head, Dr. Mohammed Sani-Abdulai is on the verge of completing his mission of creating and launching a functioning website which would feature, as he put it, all vital information about the Hajj.
This year’s Hajj management would be IT intensive so the usual challenges confronting the annual religious exercise are reduced to the barest minimum, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.
Dr. Mohammed Sani-Abdulai has assured that very soon the yet-to-be launched site would contain the full list of paid-up pilgrims.
The completed and ongoing infrastructural developments at the Hajj Village have given the location a fillip.
In a related development, the Tamale Stadium – the host of the Hajj Village in the Northern Region, has been prepared for the first phase of the airlift; the maiden flight being 10th August 2017.
By A.R. Gomda