The Ghana Hajj Board has extended the deadline for the payment of the Hajj fare for prospective pilgrims.
The extension was informed by numerous pleas from prospective pilgrims asking for such an extension.
Until the extension to the end of March, deadline was March 15.
According to a statement from the Ghana Hajj Board, “prospective pilgrims desirous of performing the Hajj this year have been given another window to pay GH¢75,000 through the 42 accredited agents across the country or do so directly at the Ghana Hajj Board. Such persons may pay through the Hajj app or through the Hajj Board Stanbic accounts. Prospective pilgrims have up to the end of March to complete payments.”
The Board has repeated the warning that gatecrashers who plan using non Hajj visas to perform the pilgrimage will meet an insurmountable hurdle this year. Such gatecrashers, apart from not going to be allowed into facilities meant for Ghana Hajj Board pilgrims, will be prosecuted.
According to the February 23, 2024 online issue of the Gulfnews quoting the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, “performing Hajj without obtaining necessary permits is illegal and attracts a fine of 50,000 Saudi riyals.
“Additionally, individuals caught transporting pilgrims without proper permits will also be slapped with a fine of up to SR 50,000.”
Expatriates on the other hand found guilty of such violations will be jailed for six months, followed by deportation from Saudi Arabia and a ten-year ban from re-entering the Kingdom.
Those violating the Hajj regulations will face public discreditation through media channels, the ministry stressed.
Controlling the number of persons performing the Hajj at any given season is, according to the Saudi authorities, intended to “ensure the smooth operation of this system.”
A collaboration between the General Directorate of Passports and the Saudi authorities will ensure the enforcement of the aforementioned “severe consequences for individuals found to be violating Hajj regulations.”
In the past few years, the incidence of such visa abuse by Ghanaians among other nationalities has been on the rise.
The Ghana Hajj Board, the only body charged with the responsibility of managing the annual Islamic pilgrimage, while announcing the commencement of the season a few months ago warned against the abuse of visa by some Ghanaian Muslims who obtain tourist, lesser Hajj and business entry authorisations but use same for Hajj.
Over three million perform the Hajj every year and to obviate stampedes and related challenges the Saudi authorities assign quotas to various countries.
Those who perform the Hajj through the Ghana Hajj Board, the authorised state agency to convey prospective pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia, will be entitled to transportation, two meals a day, medical attention rendered by Ghanaian medical personnel and the services of dedicated Islamic clergymen during the pilgrimage.
By A.R. Gomda