The Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board, Ben Abdallah Banda, has signed a 2024 Hajj agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The mandatory agreement, signed in Jeddah during the ongoing 2024 Hajj Conference, officially confirms Ghana’s participation in the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage, which is expected to take place in June this year.
With the agreement, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will now commence official engagements with Ghana’s Hajj Board, which will include the allocation of quota to Ghana and other important engagements between now and the time of the Hajj.
Speaking to Saudi media after the signing ceremony, Alhaji Ben Abdallah expressed satisfaction at the signing, and also gratitude to Saudi’s Ministry of Hajj.
“We just signed the agreement with the Ministry of Hajj. This indicates that Ghana is formally and legitimately cleared to participate in this year’s Hajj,” he told the press.
“We would like to express our sincerest and heartfelt gratitude to the Minister, the Prince and the King himself for their commitments to ensuring a successful Hajj last, and also ensuring that this year’s Hajj becomes successful,” he added.
The Ghana Hajj Board boss, who supervised his first Hajj operation last year following his appointment as Chairman a few months into the Hajj, said he has had discussions with the Saudi authorities on ways to improve Ghana’s Hajj experience.
Among issues he discussed with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Board Chairman revealed, is the infiltration of Ghana’s Hajj camp by people who connive with others to use tourist visas and perform Hajj, using Ghana’s Hajj allocations.
“This has become a source of concern to the Ghana Hajj Board because last year when they gave us a quota of 6730, because of the huge numbers of tourism visas that some people procured, which they used to perform Hajj, it negatively impacted us.
“We have put this request before His Excellency the Deputy Hajj Minister and he has given us the assurance that they will put in place very strict measures to ensure that people do not use it to perform Hajj. They are also putting in place additional measures to ensure that people who do that are punished.”
The former Offinso South lawmaker is leading Ghana’s delegation to the 2024 Hajj Conference, which commenced on Monday and ended today, Thursday, January 11, 2024.