It’s about time government of Ghana tell the good people of this country how much its putting into the organisation of hajj in Ghana.

Hajj is the largest annually occurring pilgrimage in the world, and one of the pillars of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his/her lifetime.

“And hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House of (Kabah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for ones conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves (i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah), then Allah stands not in need of any of the Alameen (mankind and Jinns). (Quran 3:97)” It must to be put on record that government does not subsidise nor sponsor religious trips to Mecca.

People need to realise that about 99.99% of those who embark on the pilgrimage pay their fees in full; most times in excess of 3000 US dollars (now one should tell us the cost of return flight to Saudi Arabia and a sub standard accommodation for 3weeks), the rest are party loyalists which are allocated seats by the government. The state does not bear the cost or sponsors all the pilgrims as the NDC communicators are making us believe, they have been using that to justify the government supposed sponsorship/facilitating role in the organisation of pilgrimage to Jerusalem by the NDC government.

Government only acts as a facilitator for Ghanaian pilgrims because Saudi authorities does not deal with individuals pilgrims when it comes to the organisation of the pilgrimage in Mecca, as it’s done in other countries through approved travel agents.

The moderator of the Presbyterian church of Ghana, Rev. Prof Emmanuel Martey is also on record for calling government to discontinue the sponsorship of Muslims to the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. The honourable man contends that funds used for the sponsorship irrespective of the source must rather be channelled into developmental projects in deprived communities.

Well I don’t blame the honourable man but rather the NDC communicators and the minister of youth and sports, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah for making people believe the government is sponsoring or subsidizing trips to Mecca. The government must come clear and tell the good people of this country how much it is putting in the hajj preparations and how much revenue it makes off hajj pilgrims.

If the government is taking flak for the “philanthropist/sponsorship” of our Christian brothers to Jerusalem, it must find a way to deal with it and leave the Muslims out of it because hajj pilgrimage didn’t start today and certainly won’t end to today.

Fauzan shamsudeen