A cross section of Moslems in Ghana have bemoaned the high cost of cattle and sheep as well as the general high cost of living and how it has affected the mood of this year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations.
Eid al-Adha is one of the major feasts celebrated by Moslems across the world. It is the second and bigger of the two main holidays observed in Islam. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to Allah’s command.
Each year, various Moslem families and individuals kill cows and sheep to mark the Eid by sacrificing cows and sheep to emulate and signify the attempt by Prophet Ibrahim to willingly sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah.
According to Mr. Abdulai Mahama, the average a Moslem could buy a cow was around six thousand and seventeen thousand cedi indicating about 100% increase on last year’s prices.
Therefore, if one has not received any or much Sala meat this year, then it is because of the challenges of the economy not that your Moslem friends or relatives have been cruel.
“It depends on one’s preparation towards the Eid if you could enjoy the Sala with your family but I must say a lot of people had stress. The prices of cow have really shot up this year and in line with Islam, three people had to come together to buy and share one cow” Abdulai Mahama told Helen Appiah-Ampofo on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show.
The Ashanti Region Chief butcher, Wahab Ibrahim has also confirmed to 3FM and TV 3 regional correspondent Ibrahim Abubakar that indeed the prices of cattle and sheep have doubled compared to last year.
This year, the price range for cattle in the Ashanti Region is between 4,000 to 15,000 cedi whereas sheep is sold between 1,500 and 7,000 cedi.
But despite the price increase, the patronage has shot up compared to last year at the livestock market at Kumasi Abattoir popularly known as Mayanka. Thus; twenty thousand livestock were sold last year and more than thirty thousand for this year.
By Samuel Afriyie Owusu|3news.com|Ghana