We’ve flown over 5000 Ghanaians for Hajj this year – Sheikh I.C Quaye

e annan

August 16, 2018 11:29 AM

However in an interview to the media, Sheikh I.C Quaye debunked all the allegations making rounds in the media and said the Board under his tutelage have performed very well.

Performing of

And this year hasn’t been different. Reports have emerged on how some supporters of the ruling party have been sidelined after being promised the trip. This has led to a friction between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman of the Northern Region, Mohammed Baatima Samba and the Chairman of the National Hajj Board, Sheikh I.C Quaye.

Samba is quoted as saying, “I have actually lost confidence in the Hajj board especially Sheikh and Farouk. They are causing a lot of mess and disaster in the Hajj board. I thought your Excellency put them there to deliver, to serve the people in Ghana, especially Muslim community but they have failed totally. In fact, I’m highly disappointed”.

Outlining measures and policies put together by the board to improve travelling conditions this year, Sheikh I.C Quaye said peacekeeping security men and women have been tasked to accompany this year’s pilgrims to Mecca, with accommodation and feeding arrangement handled weeks before the departure.

“Last year the board experienced a peculiar challenge with accommodation. Since the hotels were scattered, there was a challenge with communication, mobilization and rendering of services. But this year 13 hotels have been rented all in the same locality”, he stated.

Quaye also disclosed the number of pilgrims that have been flown to perform this year’s Hajj by government.

“Tamale lifted 2,640 pilgrims, Accra lifted 3,096”.

The Board has also been accused of gross financial misappropriation and lack of accountability. I.C Quaye said, “We’ve been meeting with the vice-president, we’ve been submitting reports to the vice-president and the president and then we heard someone saying that we don’t account to anybody and so on. When we account to the appointing authority, is that not transparency? But somebody thought that we should come on air and all that.”

“What we have done, as of now, is accounting for what we did last year and what we are going to do this year; the monies involved, we have stated them; are we not accountable?” he quizzed.

Sheikh also disclosed that: “Pilgrims will also be fed twice daily throughout their stay in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as mandated by the Saudi authorities. Although pilgrims have undergone health screening by the medical team of the Pilgrim’s Affairs Office Of Ghana, a second screening exercise will be undertaken on their arrival because of that eight clinics have been established in Mecca and five in Mina and Arafat to serve the pilgrims.”

The 2018 Hajj officially begins from Sunday, August 19 to Friday, August 24, with three million Muslims expected to gather in the Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia

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