The Chairman of the interim Hajj Taskforce, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has said that the previous NPP government left a whopping GH¢81,142,899.90 debt from past Hajj pilgrimage trips.

According to him, this debt is owed to various service providers for the pilgrimage.

Collins Dauda added that the previous government owes a substantial amount of money to a company that provides plastic wheelchair services to Muslim pilgrims in Mecca.

“… US$5,409,526.66. I asked the young men around me to convert that into Cedis and they tell me it’s GH¢81,142,8990. It's a debt that the taskforce has to deal with and the debt is made up of the following; there's a company that provides plastic wheel service for us, for our programs in Mecca, we are indebted to them to the tune of US$446,933.

“The airline that accepted our program last year, we are indebted to them to the tune of US$4,429,260; I'm talking about flying us. And lastly, we are indebted to a company called Ardua, which provides accommodation and kitchen service for our programs in Madinah. That also sums at US$533,333,” Dauda revealed.

He continued, “Together, it's US$5,409,526. We have debt around us, our neighbouring countries. The average Nigeria is charging is US$5,500. Cote D’Ivoire is also charging more than US$5,000; Burkina Faso more than US$5,000.”

Collins Dauda, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament of Asutifi South in the Ahafo Region, assured that President Mahama is committed to fulfilling his promise to improve the lives of Muslims in Ghana.

He said, “In effect, therefore, our US$4,000, our rate at US$4,150, in the top regions, this is the lowest for high debt here. President Mahama wishes to assure Muslims in Ghana that we will do everything we can to make the government of Ghana very comfortable.”

Also, Dauda shared some positive news during the press conference on February 5, 2025, that the government has reduced the Hajj fare from GH¢75,000 in 2024 to GH¢62,000 in 2025.

This reduction, he said, is part of President John Dramani Mahama's campaign promise to make the pilgrimage more accessible and affordable and is also expected to increase Ghana's quota for the number of Muslims who will embark on the pilgrimage.

“During the 2024 presidential electioneering campaign, John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana, pledged to the Muslim community that if he won the elections, he would do everything possible to reduce the hajj fare. That was to enable our Muslim brothers and sisters to perform the Hajj at a reduced fare. He also committed himself to making Hajj accessible and affordable. We will recall that last year, the fare was set at GH¢75,000.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that President Mahama has been able to honour this commitment. He set up a task force made up of four Muslims to participate in the Hajj conference which took place in January in Saudi Arabia and to also have the opportunity to engage our service providers in Saudi Arabia, specifically in Mecca and Madina,” he said.

In the meantime, find out why Duncan-Williams cried after seeing Akufo-Addo, Mahama together



VKB/AE