Sheikh IC Quaye, Chairman of Ghana Hajj Board
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has charged the Ghana Hajj Board to ensure that this year’s pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia is bereft of disturbing shortcomings such as pilgrims going through the ordeals of passing nights at the Hajj Village in Accra not knowing when they would be airlifted.
In an engagement with managers of the annual pilgrimage last week, he charged them to make maximum use of Information Technology to ensure that prospective pilgrims come to Accra only when their departure dates are communicated to them through available channels such as newspapers in which this vital information would be published or mobile phone alerts. Dr. Sani Abdulai Head of the IT Department has especially been charged to ensure that novelties are introduced which would reduce to the barest minimum the annual challenges of the Hajj airlift to and from Saudi Arabia.
The Vice President reminded the board members and the Heads of Department of the Pilgrims Affairs Office, Ghana (PAOG) about the President’s passion for a smooth airlift of Ghanaians pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia during his remarks at the Flagstaff House when board members were for the first time made to swear by the Holy Quran to perform their tasks with the fear of God as their cornerstone.
Hajj as one of the five pillars of Islam is dear to the hearts of Muslims, he said, and should not be managed in a manner that would attract plaudits from members of the faith.
He promised to do all that he can to ensure that those charged with managing the annual ritual do so without avoidable challenges so the President’s wish comes to pass.
Regarding the Tamale Operation of the pilgrimage, he asked that the Board to expedite action towards the acquisition and commissioning of a permanent structure for the Hajj exercise in the Northern Region where six flights are scheduled to take off and return.
He was however informed by the Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board Sheikh IC Quaye that the Northern Regional Minister has already assured that he was on the verge of acquiring a permanent location near the Tamale Sports Stadium for the purpose.
In previous operations, the Jubilee Park in Tamale served the purpose of managing the Hajj in Tamale; a location which serves the purpose of the airlift of six flights or so of the total of seven flights of the total number from the country.
In a related development, the Pilgrims Affairs Office, Ghana has set June ending as the deadline for the acceptance of charges for the Hajj package. This has become necessary because it would assist the managers to deliver hitch-free Hajj operations at both Tamale and Accra.
Preparations for Hajj 2017 is gathering momentum as the Hajj Village is being readied for the operation. The Clinic previously operated from a tent is on the verge of transformation – the temporary shelter giving way to brickworks.
By A.R. Gomda