The Hajj Board Chairman (left) signing the MoU as the Saudi Deputy Minister looks on
The Hajj authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced that they would implement new security features to stem the abuse of tourist visas.
One of these, the authorities said, would be the issuance of identification cards during the annual religious exercise.
The security arrangements emerged last Wednesday during an interaction between a delegation of the Ghana Hajj Board and the Deputy Minister of Hajj in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Hajj conference and expo precedes each year’s pilgrimage during which discussions are held between the participating countries and the Saudi authorities.
A member of the delegation told DAILY GUIDE that “some issues we discussed with the Ministry of Hajj and Ummrah, is the infiltration of Ghana’s Hajj camp by people who connive with others to use tourist visas to perform the Hajj using Ghana’s Hajj allocations and restricted facilities”.
The infiltration has caused logistic challenges over the years, including denial of facilities for genuine pilgrims from Ghana.
The highlight of the conference is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between representatives of the Hajj Ministry and the Ghana Hajj Board led by its chairman, Alhaji Ben Abdallah Banda, who signed on behalf of the Board.
The delegation, as it is customary, held discussions with service providers so improvement would be observed during the forthcoming Hajj season.
The conference, attended by the six-member Ghanaian delegation, commenced on Monday and ended on Wednesday.
Other members of Ghana’s delegation are Alhaji Manaf, Alhaji Farouk Hamza, Ahmed Abdulai Abu, Zakaria Seidu and Ahmed Tijani.
By A.R. Gomda